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| The 1989 San Francisco Giants Source: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/ (may be subject to copyright) |
When the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals in the 2014
World Series, it made me think about the only time the Giants made the World
Series in the 1980s – and it was an eventful season for a number of reasons.
The years leading up
The Giants had already become a serious contender by the time the 1989
season rolled around. They won the National West Division in 1987 and gave the
St. Louis Cardinals all they could handle in the National Championship Series
before finally losing.
In 1988, the Giants plummeted to fourth place, finishing with an 83-79
record behind the Los Angeles Dodgers who went on to become World Series
champions.
The season left observers wondering if next season would bring
success, like the 1987 season had, or frustration like the 1988 season.
Most Valuable Player
The 1989 season would not only take the Giants farther than they had
been in decades, but it would also feature some great individual performances
from a line-up with many outstanding players.
Leading the way was left fielder Kevin Mitchell who gave fans something
to cheer about right from the start, as he set a torrid pace to break the
single-season home-run record of 61 held by Roger Maris. If memory serves, he
kept up that pace until the all-star break.
He also made the defensive play of the year. He was ranging to his
right for a ball. It was heading past him to his left. He stuck out his bare
hand and caught the ball. It just increased his mystique that season. Check it out for yourself above on YouTube.
Mitchell would go on to be named the National League Most Valuable
Player for 1989, and an all-star, after leading the league with 47 home runs
and 125 runs batted in. He was the first Giant MVP since Willie McCovey in
1969.
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| Will Clark, first baseman of the 1989 San Francisco Giants. Source: www.tradingcarddb.com (May be subject to copyright) |
The Thrill
But there was much more to the Giants than just Kevin Mitchell. Providing
protection in the line-up was first baseman Will “The Thrill” Clark, one of my
favourite players of the era. It was his third full season with the Giants, and
he had a career year. He batted .333, losing the batting title to Tony Gwynn on
the last day of the season, and had 111 RBIs. He finished second in balloting
for National League MVP to the aforementioned Kevin Mitchell.
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| Matt Williams, third baseman of the 1989 San Francisco Giants. Source: www.tradingcarddb.com (May be subject to copyright) |
Around the corner
Today he may be known as the third base coach of the Oakland A’s and
the one-time manager of the Washington Nationals, but back in 1989 Matt
Williams was the every-day third baseman for the Giants. He was just coming
into his own, and would have his best years later on, but he was another
favourite of mine. He was an all-around good player – four Gold Gloves,
four Silver Slugger awards, led the league in home runs in 1994, in RBIs in
1990, and was a five-time all-star. His time in San Francisco set the stage for
that career.
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| Terry Kennedy, catcher of the 1989 San Francisco Giants. Source: sabr.org/bioproj/person/c75c9bc4 (May be subject to copyright) |
Behind the plate
Catcher has always been my favourite position, and the Giants had a
veteran behind the plate in Terry Kennedy. I first watched him play at the
beginning of the decade with the Cardinals and the Padres. By the time he got
to San Francisco for the 1989 season, he was in the twilight of his career. In
fact he played with the Giants from 1989 to 1991 then retired. What he did for
the Giants was provide veteran leadership behind the plate, and manage the
pitching staff.
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| Roger Craig, manager of the 1989 San Francisco Giants. Source: www.tradingcarddb.com (May be subject to copyright) |
Skipper
Managing the Giants was another one of my all-time favourites – Roger
Craig. He was the ultimate baseball version of the wing man for so long. I
first saw him when he was the pitching coach for Sparky Anderson and the
Detroit Tigers, who beat my beloved Toronto Blue Jays in 1984. He had served in
that role for four years, starting in 1980. His claim to fame was teaching this
nasty split-finger fastball that confounded opposing batters. After the 1984
season, he joined the Giants as their manager. From 1985 to 1990, they never
had a losing record under Roger Craig.
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| Dave Dravecky, pitcher of the 1989 San Francisco Giants. Source: sonsofjohnnielemaster.blogspot.com (May be subject to copyright) |
Courage
The 1989 season also saw one of the more courageous episodes in
baseball. The Giants had a pitcher named Dave Dravecky, who was part of an
outstanding San Diego Padre pitching staff that took the team all the way to
the World Series back in 1984, but was sent to the Giants in 1987. In 1988,
cancer was discovered in his pitching arm and he had surgery. He would make a
triumphant comeback in the 1989 season, pitching eight innings to defeat the
Cincinnati Reds.
Then tragedy struck in his next start. Anyone who watched baseball,
will remember that day.
Dravecky drew the Montreal Expos for his second start. He pitched five
innings when, in the sixth inning, he faced Tim Raines. As Dravecky delivered a
pitch, his arm snapped. The sound and the scream echoed across the continent.
It was all over news and sports shows. His career was over, as he retired after
the 1989 season, after breaking his arm a second time.
Still his courage was inspiring.
Needless to say, the Giants had their share of stories throughout that
1989 season.
It was the post-season that would hold one more surprise, a first for
Major League baseball and something no one would like to see repeated.
*This is from the vault
*This is from the vault
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