1988 World Series - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Game 1

Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

Because of using ace Orel Hershiser

Orel Hershiser

Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...

in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher

Tim Belcher

Timothy Wayne Belcher is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He won the Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award in for the National League...

in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have their troubles in this game starting out. Belcher loaded the bases in the first by giving up a single to Dave Henderson

Dave Henderson

David Lee Henderson , nicknamed Hendu, is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Seattle Mariners , Boston Red Sox , San Francisco Giants , Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals . He batted and threw right-handed...

, then hitting José Canseco

José Canseco

José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...

and walking Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...

. Canseco was hit in the forearm as he checked his swing, but home plate umpire Doug Harvey

Doug Harvey (umpire)

Harold Douglas Harvey is a former umpire in Major League Baseball, who worked in the National League from 1962 through 1992. Noted for his authoritative command of baseball rules, he earned the tongue in cheek nickname "God" from players, and was among the last major league umpires who never...

signaled a strike, thinking the ball had hit Canseco's bat. Audio from the game seemed to confirm this, but replays showed the ball hit Canseco in the forearm. Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

would comment later, "Jose's arms are as hard as a bat, so I can see where Harvey was confused." Terry Steinbach

Terry Steinbach

Terry Lee Steinbach is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for 14 years from to . He was drafted in 1980 out of New Ulm High School by the Cleveland Indians. He was the starting catcher for Oakland Athletics teams that won three straight American League pennants from 1988 to...

flied out, however, to end the threat.

Stewart's problems began in the bottom of the first when he hit Steve Sax

Steve Sax

Stephen Louis Sax is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He was a right-handed batter for the Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox , and the Oakland Athletics ....

with his first pitch. After retiring Franklin Stubbs

Franklin Stubbs

Franklin Lee Stubbs was a Major League Baseball player from 1984 to 1995.Over his 10-year career he played with four teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , Milwaukee Brewers , and Detroit Tigers .Playing for the Dodgers in 1987, primarily as a first baseman, Stubbs had 885 total...

, Stewart balked Sax to second. Mickey Hatcher

Mickey Hatcher

Michael Vaughn Hatcher is a former Major League Baseball player and a current coach. Most notably, he was Kirk Gibson's replacement for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series, batting .368 with two home runs and five RBI...

, who hit only one homer all season, then shocked the crowd by hitting a two-run shot off Stewart. Hatcher further excited the Dodger stadium fans by running full speed around the bases, prompting Vin Scully

Vin Scully

Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

to comment, "He's a Saturday Evening Post character!" Commentator Joe Garagiola noted, "He ran in like they thought they were going to take it off the scoreboard! He really circled those bases in a hurry!"

Stewart would calm down, however, and the A's provided him a lead in their half of the second. With two outs, Glenn Hubbard

Glenn Hubbard (baseball)

Glenn Dee Hubbard is a former first base coach for the Atlanta Braves and second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1978 to 1989...

singled. Belcher's control problems continued as he walked both Stewart and Carney Lansford

Carney Lansford

Carney Ray Lansford is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball and the hitting coach of the Colorado Rockies...

to load the bases. With a two outs and a 1–0 count to Canseco, Canseco crushed the next pitch for a grand slam over the left-center field fence, denting an NBC game camera in the process. The A's had a 4–2 lead. Canseco's grand slam in Game 1 was his only hit of the series. His fellow Bash Brother Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

had only one hit as well, the game-winning shot that ended Game 3.

In the sixth, the Dodgers broke Stewart's groove with three singles, the latter one by Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia

Michael Lorri Scioscia is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has worked in that capacity since the 2000 season, and is the longest-tenured manager in Major League Baseball....

that scored Mike Marshall. The A's lead was cut to 4–3.

While Kirk Gibson

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...

was taking practice swings in the Dodgers' clubhouse during Game 1, Orel Hershiser

Orel Hershiser

set up the hitting tee for his teammate. Along the way, NBC's Bob Costas

Bob Costas

Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

could hear Gibson's agonized-sounding grunts after every hit.

A's closer, Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...

, came on to pitch the ninth to close it out for Stewart. After retiring the first two batters, Eckersley issued a walk to pinch-hitter Mike Davis, bringing a hobbled Kirk Gibson

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...

to the plate to bat for reliever Alejandro Peña

Alejandro Peña

Alejandro Peña Vásquez [PEH-nya] in Cambiaso, Dominican Republic, is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Peña batted and threw right-handed...

. Gibson bravely fouled off Eckersley's best offerings, demonstrating in the process just how badly he was hurting as his swings were hobbled by his injured legs. One swing in particular that dribbled up the first base line before rolling foul, forcing Gibson to hobble towards first, prompted Scully to observe, "And it had to be an effort to run THAT far." After fouling off several pitches, Gibson finally took a pitch for ball three as Davis stole second. Gibson then stepped out of the batters box for a moment and when he stepped back in, he hit a backdoor slider into the right field bleachers to win the game. The footage of Gibson hobbling around the bases on both hurt legs and pumping his fist as he rounds second will forever live on highlight reels. Gibson would never bat again in the Series. Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer in Game 1 marked the first time that a World Series game ended with a come-from-behind home run, and it is considered the greatest home run hit in Dodgers' history.

Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda

Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...

tried to trick the Athletics into thinking that Kirk Gibson was not going to pinch-hit in Game 1. Preceding Gibson's at-bat, while Mike Davis was at the plate, Lasorda sent Dave Anderson, who hit .249 in the regular season, out into the on-deck circle. Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley

, who had seen Davis hit for power in the American League, became too cautious, reasoning that he would rather risk walking Davis (assuming that Anderson next up would still prove to be an easy out), instead of trying to pitch to Davis, and perhaps make a mistake that Davis could hit for a game-tying home run. Eckersley did indeed walk Davis, thus setting the stage for Kirk Gibson to hit his game-winning home run.

By the time Kirk Gibson reached his locker after Game 1, bullpen coach Mark Cresse had written "R. HOBBS" on a piece of paper and taped it over Gibson's nameplate, which was in reference to Gibson's heroics mirroring those of the fictional slugger played by Robert Redford

Robert Redford

Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...

in The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...

.

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...

would later say that prior to the Series, Dodgers scout Mel Didier had provided a report on Eckersley that claimed with a 3–2 count against a left-handed power hitter, one could be absolutely certain that Eckersley would throw a backdoor slider. Gibson said that when the count reached 3–2, he stepped out of the batter's box and, in his mind, could hear Didier's voice, with its distinctive Southern drawl, reiterating that same piece of advice. With that thought in mind, Gibson stepped back into the batter's box; and thus when Eckersley did in fact throw a backdoor slider, it was, thanks to Didier, exactly the pitch Gibson was looking for.

Game 2

Sunday, October 16, 1988 at Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

With a rested Orel Hershiser

Orel Hershiser

on the mound, the Dodgers took a 2–0 Series lead. Hershiser got all the runs he needed in the third, with Mike Marshall providing the big blow with a three-run homer. Hershiser went the distance, allowing only three singles, all three hit by Dave Parker

Dave Parker

David Gene "The Cobra" Parker is an American former player in Major League Baseball. He was the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion. Parker was the first professional athlete to earn an average of one million dollars per year, having signed a 5-year, $5 million dollar contract...

.

Hershiser also contributed offensively, with three hits, including an RBI double in the fourth inning. In the five-run third inning, he singled, went to third on an opposite-field single by Steve Sax

Steve Sax

Stephen Louis Sax is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He was a right-handed batter for the Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox , and the Oakland Athletics ....

and later scored. He was the first pitcher to get three hits in a World Series game since 1924.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 18, 1988 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

The A's got back in the series on the strength of strong pitching by former Dodger World Series hero Bob Welch and three relievers. Dodger starter John Tudor left during the second innings with tightness in his pitching shoulder.

The A's struck first in the third when Glenn Hubbard

Glenn Hubbard (baseball)

Glenn Dee Hubbard is a former first base coach for the Atlanta Braves and second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1978 to 1989...

singled, stole second, and came home on a single by Ron Hassey

Ron Hassey

Ronald William Hassey is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. Hassey began his career with the Cleveland Indians after the Indians drafted him in the 18th round of the 1976 MLB amateur draft...

. The Dodgers tied it in the fifth when Franklin Stubbs

Franklin Stubbs

drove home Jeff Hamilton with a double.

A's relievers helped squelch a Dodger threat in the sixth. Danny Heep

Danny Heep

Daniel William Heep , is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder.Heep played for five different ballclubs during his 13 year career: the Houston Astros , New York Mets , Los Angeles Dodgers , Boston Red Sox , and Atlanta Braves .Heep played for two different World Series champions: the New...

led off with a double. John Shelby

John Shelby

John T. Shelby is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981–1991. His nickname was "T-Bone" for his slight frame...

singled to left, but Heep was held up at third on the throw home as Shelby took second. Welch walked Mike Davis to load the bases, and left-hander Greg Cadaret

Greg Cadaret

Gregory James Cadaret is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues primarily in relief from - and -....

was brought in to face lefty-hitting Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia

. Scioscia popped out to third. A's manager Tony LaRussa then brought in right-hander Gene Nelson

Gene Nelson (baseball)

Wayland Eugene Nelson , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1981 to 1993. After beginning his career as a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, Nelson gradually converted to a relief role starting in 1983...

to face Hamilton, who forced Heep out at home. Alfredo Griffin

Alfredo Griffin

Alfredo Claudino Griffin is a former Major League Baseball player, who played shortstop for four teams from 1976 to 1993. He is currently the first base coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.-Playing career:...

grounded out to end the threat.

The A's got their winning run in the bottom of the ninth when Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

deposited a one-out fastball from Jay Howell

Jay Howell

Jay Canfield Howell is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Chicago Cubs , New York Yankees , Oakland Athletics , Los Angeles Dodgers , Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers .Howell was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers when they won the 1988 World Series...

into the left-center field seats.

Jay Howell was suspended for two games (shortened from three) by then National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

president Bart Giamatti

A. Bartlett Giamatti

Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti was the president of Yale University and later the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Giamatti negotiated the agreement that terminated the Pete Rose betting scandal by permitting Rose to voluntarily withdraw from the sport, avoiding further...

, for using pine tar

Pine tar

Pine tar is a sticky material produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions . The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed container; the primary resulting products are charcoal and pine tar.Pine tar consists primarily of aromatic...

during the 1988 National League Championship Series

1988 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 4, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe series opened with a classic pitching matchup, pitting the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, who had won 23 games during the regular season and carried a Major League record 59 consecutive scoreless innings into the game,...

against the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

. Howell was, incidentally, also the losing pitcher in the prior year

1987 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...

's All-Star Game

1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 58th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 1987 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland,...

in Oakland while a member of the Oakland Athletics

1987 Oakland Athletics season

The Oakland Athletics' 1987 season involved the A's finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 81 wins and 81 losses. Mark McGwire set a rookie record by hitting 49 home runs. At the beginning of the season, the word "Athletics" returned, in script lettering, to the front of the...

Game 4

Wednesday, October 19, 1988 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

Game 4 didn't feature very many big hits or any home runs, but it was won by the Dodgers in typical scratch-and-claw fashion that defined their 1988 season.

The Dodgers got two in the first when Steve Sax

Steve Sax

Stephen Louis Sax is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He was a right-handed batter for the Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox , and the Oakland Athletics ....

walked, went to third on a Mickey Hatcher

Mickey Hatcher

single, and scored on a passed ball

Passed ball

In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...

by A's catcher Terry Steinbach

Terry Steinbach

. Hatcher scored the second run on a groundout by John Shelby

John Shelby

John T. Shelby is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981–1991. His nickname was "T-Bone" for his slight frame...

. The A's got one back in their half when Luis Polonia

Luis Polonia

Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte was a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter....

led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball, and later scored on a José Canseco

José Canseco

groundout.

The Dodgers went up 3–1 when Franklin Stubbs

Franklin Stubbs

doubled and scored on A's shortstop Walt Weiss

Walt Weiss

Walter William Weiss is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball.Weiss was a member of the National League All-Star Team...

's throwing error on a ball hit by Mike Davis. The A's answered in the sixth on an RBI single by Carney Lansford

Carney Lansford

Carney Ray Lansford is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball and the hitting coach of the Colorado Rockies...

.

The Dodgers got their final run in the seventh when pinch-hitter Tracy Woodson

Tracy Woodson

Tracy Michael Woodson was a Major League Baseball player from 1987 to 1989 and 1992 to 1993.Over his five-year career he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Woodson was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers team that won the 1988 World Series...

drove in Alfredo Griffin

Alfredo Griffin

with a groundout. The A's half of the seventh was more eventful, however.

With one out, Weiss singled and reached second when he was called safe on a double-play grounder hit by Polonia; he was running with the pitch. Dave Henderson

Dave Henderson

cut the Dodger lead to 4–3 on a two-out RBI double. José Canseco

José Canseco

walked and Dave Parker

Dave Parker

reached on a Griffin error to load the bases, but Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

popped out, ending the A's last chance to score.

Game 5

Thursday, October 20, 1988 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

Orel Hershiser

capped one of the greatest seasons ever by a starting pitcher and one of the most improbable World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

wins in history by pitching a complete game

Complete game

In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

, allowing only four hits, two runs, and striking out nine.

In addition to Hershiser's performance, the Dodgers won because Mickey Hatcher

Mickey Hatcher

stepped in for the hobbled Kirk Gibson

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...

in left field and provided spark, enthusiasm, and unexpected offense. He blasted his second home run in the Series , a two-run shot, in the first; he had hit only one home run in the 1988 season.

Mike Davis, a disappointing free-agent signing for most of the 1988 season, added a two-run blast in the fourth, and former World Series MVP Rick Dempsey

Rick Dempsey

John Rikard Dempsey is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to , most notably for the Baltimore Orioles...

, filling in for an injured Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia

, added an RBI double in the sixth.

The Dodger pitching tamed Oakland monsters José Canseco

José Canseco

(one hit, his grand slam

Grand slam (baseball)

In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...

in Game 1) and Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire

(one hit and one RBI, which came in Game 3) for pretty much the entire series.

The Dodgers became the first (and so far only) team to have a perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

pitched against them and win a World Series in the same season. Tom Browning

Tom Browning

Thomas Leo Browning is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals...

of the Cincinnati Reds

1988 Cincinnati Reds season

The Cincinnati Reds' 1988 season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Cincinnati Reds attempting to win the National League West. Led by manager Pete Rose, the Reds had a record of 87 wins and 74 losses, finishing seven games back of the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers...

pitched the Perfect Game on September 16, 1988.

With the Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

winning their fourth NBA championship in seven years

1988 NBA Finals

The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1987–88 NBA season.One of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley's most famous moments came when he promised the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers' 1986-87 championship parade in downtown Los Angeles...

four months before, the Dodgers winning the World Series made Los Angeles the first city to have both NBA and World Series champions in the same year.

Composite box

1988 World Series (4–1): Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

(N.L.) over Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

(A.L.)

Television and radio coverage

The 1988 World Series marked the last time that NBC would televise a World Series for seven years. Beginning in , NBC would be shut out of Major League Baseball coverage

Major League Baseball television contracts

The following is a detailed description of the various television networks , rights fees, and announcers who have called Major League Baseball games throughout the years .-United States:...

completely, after CBS signed a four year, exclusive television contract. After splitting coverage of the 1995 World Series

1995 World Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....

with ABC, NBC would next cover a World Series exclusively in 1997

1997 World Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...

.

Longtime Dodgers' broadcaster Vin Scully

Vin Scully

Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

called the 1988 World Series for a national television audience on NBC with Joe Garagiola. According to Scully (during an interview on ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...

's SportsCentury
SportsCentury
SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries....

profile on Dennis Eckersley), when he saw Kirk Gibson walk up to the plate, he seemed to be using his bat as a cane. When NBC returned from a commercial break at the start of the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1, Scully commented (as NBC's cameras were panning the Dodgers' dugout) that Gibson (who wasn't in the dugout at the time) wouldn't play for sure. According to Gibson, Scully's comments in large part influenced his decision to want to bat.

Bob Costas

Bob Costas

Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

, who along with Marv Albert

Marv Albert

Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...

, hosted NBC's World Series pregame coverage and handled postgame interviews made on-air statements that enraged many in the Dodgers' clubhouse (especially manager Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda

). Costas' said that the 1988 Dodgers

1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1988 season was a memorable one for the Dodgers as a squad that was picked to finish fourth wound up winning the World Series, beating the heavily favored New York Mets and Oakland Athletics on the way. Kirk Gibson carried the Dodger offense, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award...

possibly had the weakest hitting line-up in World Series history. After the Dodgers won Game 4, Lasorda (during a postgame interview with Marv Albert) sarcastically said that the MVP of the World Series should be Bob Costas.

On the radio side, Jack Buck

Jack Buck

John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...

and Bill White provided commentary for CBS Radio. It was White's last World Series as a broadcaster, as he left broadcasting to become President of the National League following the final game.

Aftermath

This was the last World Series

World Series

that Peter Ueberroth

Peter Ueberroth

Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....

presided over as commissioner

Baseball Commissioner

The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...

. Ueberroth rose to prominence for organizing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

in Los Angeles.

Following this confrontation, both teams appeared on Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...

with Ray Combs

Ray Combs

Raymond Neil "Ray" Combs, Jr. was an American comedian, actor, and host of the game show Family Feud on CBS and in syndication from 1988 to 1994.-Early life and career:...

for a special sweeps week billed as a World Series Rematch.

Series quotes

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.