The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
The American League saw the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays as the AL West and AL East division winners, respectively. Oakland dominated the entire American League with their second straight season of more than 100 wins (including postseason wins) and looked to be a future dynasty. The Blue Jays, powered by their offense, won their division title in the final weekend of the season. The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants stole the spotlight in the National League, but the Giants proved to be more dominant with a strong hitting presence, while the Cubs extended their streak without a World Series championship to 81 years.
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Al Barlick Johnny Bench Red Schoendienst Carl Yastrzemski
+Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueRookie of the YearJerome Walton (CHC)Gregg Olson (BAL)Cy Young AwardMark Davis (SD)Bret Saberhagen (KC)Manager of the YearDon Zimmer (CHC)Frank Robinson (BAL)Most Valuable PlayerKevin Mitchell (SF)Robin Yount (MIL)Gold Glove AwardsPositionNational LeagueAmerican LeaguePitcherRon Darling (NYM)Bret Saberhagen (KC)CatcherBenito Santiago (SD)Bob Boone (KC)First BasemanAndrés Galarraga (MON)Don Mattingly (NYY)Second BasemanRyne Sandberg (CHC)Harold Reynolds (SEA)Third BasemanTerry Pendleton (STL)Gary Gaetti (MIN)ShortstopOzzie Smith (STL)Tony Fernández (TOR)OutfieldersEric Davis (CIN)Gary Pettis (DET)Tony Gwynn (SD)Kirby Puckett (MIN)Andy Van Slyke (PIT)Devon White (CAL)Silver Slugger AwardsPitcher/Designated HitterDon Robinson (SF)Harold Baines (TEX)/(CWS)CatcherCraig Biggio (HOU)Mickey Tettleton (BAL)First BasemanWill Clark (SF)Fred McGriff (TOR)Second BasemanRyne Sandberg (CHC)Julio Franco (TEX)Third BasemanHoward Johnson (NYM)Wade Boggs (BOS)ShortstopBarry Larkin (CIN)Cal Ripken Jr. (BAL)OutfieldersEric Davis (CIN)Kirby Puckett (MIN)Tony Gwynn (SD)Rubén Sierra (TEX)Kevin Mitchell (SF)Robin Yount (MIL)
Other awards Outstanding Designated Hitter Award: Dave Parker (OAK) Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Gary Carter (NYM). Rolaids Relief Man Award: Jeff Russell (TEX, American); Mark Davis (SD, National).
Player of the Month Month American League National League April Fred McGriff Von Hayes May Ron Kittle Will Clark June Rubén Sierra Howard Johnson July Robin Yount Mark Grace August George BellNick Esasky Pedro Guerrero September Paul Molitor Will Clark
Pitcher of the Month Month American League National League April Jeff Ballard Mark Davis May Chuck Finley Rick Reuschel June Mark Gubicza Mike Scott July Mike Moore Mark Langston August Bret Saberhagen Tom Browning September Bret Saberhagen Tim Belcher
Statistical leaders Statistic American League National League AVG Kirby Puckett MIN .339 Tony Gwynn SD .336 HR Fred McGriff TOR 36 Kevin Mitchell SF 47 RBIs Rubén Sierra TEX 119 Kevin Mitchell SF 125 Wins Bret Saberhagen KC 23 Mike Scott HOU 20 ERA Bret Saberhagen KC 2.16 Scott Garrelts SF 2.28 SO Nolan Ryan TEX 301 José DeLeón STL 201 SV Jeff Russell TEX 38 Mark Davis SD 44 SB Rickey Henderson NYY/OAK 77 Vince Coleman STL 65
Standings
American League
National League
Postseason
Bracket
Managers
American League Team Manager Notes Baltimore Orioles Frank Robinson2nd season as Orioles manager Boston Red Sox Joe Morgan California Angels Doug Rader Chicago White Sox Jeff TorborgFirst season as White Sox manager Cleveland Indians Doc Edwards, John Hart Detroit Tigers Sparky Anderson Kansas City Royals John Wathan Milwaukee Brewers Tom Trebelhorn Minnesota Twins Tom Kelly New York Yankees Dallas Green, Bucky Dent Oakland Athletics Tony La Russa Won World Series Seattle Mariners Jim Lefebvre Texas Rangers Bobby Valentine Toronto Blue Jays Jimy Williams, Cito Gaston Won AL East
National League Team Manager Notes Atlanta Braves Russ Nixon2nd season as Braves manager Chicago Cubs Don Zimmer Won NL East Cincinnati Reds Pete Rose, Tommy Helms Houston Astros Art HoweFirst season as Astros manager Los Angeles Dodgers Tommy Lasorda Montreal Expos Buck Rodgers New York Mets Davey Johnson Philadelphia Phillies Nick LeyvaFirst season as Phillies manager Pittsburgh Pirates Jim Leyland St. Louis Cardinals Whitey Herzog San Diego Padres Jack McKeon San Francisco Giants Roger Craig Won National League Pennant
Home field attendance and payroll Team nameWinsHome attendanceEst. payrollToronto Blue Jays892.3%3,375,88330.1%41,678$16,586,66615.1%St. Louis Cardinals8613.2%3,080,9806.5%37,120$16,078,83321.9%Los Angeles Dodgers77 −18.1%2,944,653 −1.2%36,354$21,071,56222.9%New York Mets87 −13.0%2,918,710 −4.5%36,033$19,885,07129.1%Oakland Athletics99 −4.8%2,667,22516.6%32,929$16,314,26553.1%California Angels9121.3%2,647,29113.1%32,683$15,097,83323.2%Baltimore Orioles8761.1%2,535,20852.7%31,299$10,916,401 −24.1%Boston Red Sox83 −6.7%2,510,0121.8%30,988$18,556,74826.3%Chicago Cubs9320.8%2,491,94219.3%30,765$11,918,000 −14.6%Kansas City Royals929.5%2,477,7005.4%30,589$18,914,06827.4%Minnesota Twins80 −12.1%2,277,438 −24.9%28,117$16,806,66626.3%New York Yankees74 −12.9%2,170,485 −17.6%26,796$17,114,375 −16.0%San Francisco Giants9210.8%2,059,70115.4%25,428$15,040,83417.3%Texas Rangers8318.6%2,043,99329.2%25,234$11,893,78186.3%San Diego Padres897.2%2,009,03133.3%24,803$15,295,00042.6%Cincinnati Reds75 −13.8%1,979,320 −4.5%24,436$11,717,00020.8%Milwaukee Brewers81 −6.9%1,970,7352.5%24,330$12,716,00033.8%Philadelphia Phillies673.1%1,861,985 −6.4%22,987$10,779,000 −22.5%Houston Astros864.9%1,834,908 −5.1%22,377$15,579,50023.2%Montreal Expos810.0%1,783,53320.6%22,019$13,807,38937.4%Detroit Tigers59 −33.0%1,543,656 −25.8%19,057$15,669,30416.7%Pittsburgh Pirates74 −12.9%1,374,141 −26.4%16,965$13,992,50096.3%Seattle Mariners737.4%1,298,44327.0%16,030$10,099,50030.2%Cleveland Indians73 −6.4%1,285,542 −8.9%15,871$9,894,5006.8%Chicago White Sox69 −2.8%1,045,651 −6.3%13,071$8,565,4100.3%Atlanta Braves6316.7%984,93016.1%12,467$11,180,334 −14.4%
Television coverage This was the last season under the television contracts with ABC and NBC. MLB signed new deals with CBS and ESPN to begin broadcasting games in 1990.
Network Day of week Announcers ABC Thursday nights Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Gary Thorne, Joe Morgan NBC Saturday afternoons Vin Scully, Tom Seaver, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek
Events
January 9 – Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in their first year of eligibility. Bench was named on 96.4 percent of the ballots, the third-highest figure in history at the time behind Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron. February 3 – Bill White, a former MLB player and broadcaster, was elected president of the National League. February 28 – Red Schoendienst, a former second baseman and manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Al Barlick, a National League umpire for 28 seasons, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. April 3 – Outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. debuts with the Seattle Mariners and hits the first pitch he sees for a double (thrown by Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics). Griffey's father, Ken Griffey Sr., is still active with the Cincinnati Reds, making them the first father-son combination to play simultaneously in Major League Baseball (Griffey, Sr. would join the Mariners the following year, becoming first father/son combo playing in the same Major League game). May 7 – Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley presides over the groundbreaking of the new Comiskey Park. May 28 – George Bell ends the Toronto Blue Jays' twelve-year stay at Exhibition Stadium with a walk-off home run to win the Jays' final game there with a 7–5 win over the Chicago White Sox, the same team the Jays' faced in their first game at Exhibition Stadium and in franchise history twelve years earlier. May 29 – Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies calls a press conference and tearfully announces his retirement, effective immediately. Nonetheless, he will be voted to start the All-Star Game, and is permitted to appear in uniform. June 3 – At the Astrodome, the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers engage in a 22-inning battle lasting seven hours and fourteen minutes, setting a new record for the longest night game in National League history. Houston's ace pitcher Mike Scott, never known for his batting abilities, surprises everyone by coming through with a walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Astros a 5–4 victory. Amazingly, the two teams meet again just hours later and wage another marathon, with Houston once again emerging victorious, 7–6 in 13 innings. June 5 – Just eight days after leaving Exhibition Stadium, the Toronto Blue Jays inaugurate their brand-new home, SkyDome, the first Major League stadium with a fully retractable roof. As in the final game at Exhibition Stadium, George Bell hits a home run, but the Blue Jays fall to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5–3. June 8 – At Veterans Stadium, the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates score 10 runs in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, three of which come on a Barry Bonds home run. As the Phillies come to bat in the bottom of the first, Pirate broadcaster Jim Rooker says on the air, "If we lose this game, I'll walk home." Both Von Hayes and Steve Jeltz hit two home runs to trigger the comeback for the Phillies, who finally tie the game in the 8th on a wild pitch, then take the lead on Darren Daulton's two-run single and go on to win 15–11. After the season, Rooker conducts a 300-plus-mile charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. June 24 – Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals broke the major league record of 38 consecutive stolen bases set by Dave Lopes in by stealing his 39th stolen base against the Pittsburgh Pirates. July 4 – At Veterans Stadium, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning, having already pitched a perfect game a year earlier, misses becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to throw two perfect games. Dickie Thon's leadoff double in the ninth breaks up this bid; Thon later scores on a Steve Jeltz single. John Franco then relieves Browning and induces Lenny Dykstra to hit into a game-ending double play for a 2–1 Reds victory. July 5 – Mark McGwire of the Oakland Athletics hits his 100th career home run. However, the Kansas City Royals come out on top by a score of 12–9 in 11 innings. July 11 – At Anaheim Stadium, Bo Jackson and Wade Boggs lead off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs off Rick Reuschel to spark the American League to a 5–3 win over the National League in the All-Star Game. Jackson earns MVP honors. July 26 – Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by stealing his 50th consecutive base against the Chicago Cubs. Coincidentally, the streak began on September 16, also against the Chicago Cubs. August 3 – The Cincinnati Reds set a Major League record for the most singles in an inning, with 12 in the 1st inning against the Houston Astros at Riverfront Stadium in an 18–2 victory. August 4 – Dave Stieb, pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, loses a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning when Roberto Kelly of the New York Yankees doubles and later scores on a single by Steve Sax. Stieb wins a 2–1 two-hitter, but it is the third no-hitter that he has lost in the ninth inning in the past 11 months. August 15 – San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky, making a comeback from cancer in his deltoid muscle, snaps his humerus bone while throwing a pitch to Tim Raines in the sixth inning of a game against the Montreal Expos. The bone had been frozen as part of surgery for his cancer the previous year. Dravecky's cancer would return after the Giants' pennant win, forcing his retirement and the eventual amputation of his arm. August 21 – Cal Ripken Jr. hits his 200th career home run, helping his Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5–0.