The 1989 San Francisco Giants, part two: Earthquake at the World Series

An earthquake in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series forced an evacuation
of Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and delayed the World Series for 10 days.
Source: Getty Images
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The San Francisco 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.

National League Championship Series

The Giants won their second National League West Division championship in three years with a 92-70 record, three games better than the San Diego Padres.

Awaiting them in the National League Championship Series were the Chicago Cubs, champions of the National League East with the best record in the National League at 93-69. The Cubs had a good crop of young players including Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith along with Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace, and a solid starting pitching rotation of Rick Sutcliffe, Mike Bielecki and a young Greg Maddux, who all had at least 16 victories.

The teams split the first two games at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Led by Will Clark who had six RBIs, tying the NLCS record for an entire series in just one game, the Giants routed the Cubs 11-3 in Game 1. The Cubs rebounded in force for Game 2, scoring six runs in the first inning and rolling to a 9-5 win.

It was the last time the Cubs would win that season.

The series moved to Candlestick Park in San Francisco for the next three games.

The teams settled in for Game 3, going back and forth until the Giants went ahead in the seventh and won by a score of 5-4. Game 4 was also close as Chicago led 2-1 after two innings, before the Giants came back with two in the third and one in the fourth to lead 4-2. The Cubs would tie it 4-4 in the top of the fifth but the Giants rebounded in the bottom half of the same inning with two more runs, which turned out to be the last scoring. Their bullpen shut the door on a 6-4 victory for San Francisco  and a 3-1 lead in the series.

Chicago had to win to extend the series. They would score first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, which held up until the seventh when San Francisco scored once in the bottom half to tie it, then twice more in the bottom of eight to lead 3-1. The Cubs had one more chance in the top of the ninth. They got one run, but that was all, as the Giants won the game 3-2, and the series 4-1.

Will Clark was named most valuable player, batting .650 with eight RBIs. The Giants were moving on to the World Series.

Earth shattering: the 1989 World Series

It was the first World Series the Giants had been to since 1962, but they would have a tough row to hoe.

Looming on the horizon were the mighty Oakland A’s, champions of the American League for the second straight season, and owners of the best record in baseball.

The A’s were looking to avenge their loss to Los Angeles in the World Series the year before, and they came out with a vengeance.

Dubbed “The Battle of the Bay”, the A’s would never trail in the World Series, sweeping the Giants in four straight games.

The series opened in Oakland where the A’s won 5-0 on Oct. 14. The next day, they won 5-1 to take a 2-0 series lead, heading to San Francisco.

What really made this series stand out, tragically, was a massive earthquake that took place minutes before Game 3 on Oct. 17. The game would be postponed for 10 days, the amount of time it took to restore some semblance of order.

Again Oakland took control early, and cruised to a 13-7 victory. They closed out the Giants the next day, to win their first World Series since 1974, with a 9-6 win.

Parting thoughts

The Giants would not make it back to the World Series until 2002, when they lost to Anaheim. They would not win the World Series until 2010, when it would be their first title in San Francisco, and the first of three in five years.

Looking back at that 1989 team, they had all the makings of a champion, with hitters such as Kevin Mitchell and Will Clark, and good pitching and defence. The problem was they ran into one of the best teams ever. Beyond all their strengths, the Oakland A’s were a team on a mission. They had been upset the year before, after being heavily favoured, and had no intention of letting that happen again. It was only the third time in history that a team never trailed in the World Series.

It is sad the series will be remembered more for the off-field tragedy surrounding the games, than the on field brilliance of the A’s and the Giants.

Still, the Giants provided a lot of interesting moments to cement their place in the history of the decade.

*This is from the vault