The 1989 Oakland A's roster by position, the 99-63 season, the earthquake-delayed World Series sweep of the Giants, and the Hall of Famers who built the legacy.
Quick answer: The 1989 Oakland Athletics went 99-63, won the AL West under manager Tony La Russa, and swept the San Francisco Giants in a Loma Prieta earthquake-delayed World Series. The roster was led by Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley, with World Series MVP honors going to Dave Stewart.
The 1989 Season: A 99-Win AL West Champion
The 1989 Oakland Athletics finished 99-63, first in the American League West, under manager Tony La Russa. That record was built on a deep starting rotation, a dominant closer, and a lineup anchored by Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, the pair known as the Bash Brothers for the power they generated in the middle of the order.
Oakland carried that regular-season form into October, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4 games to 1 in the AL Championship Series to reach the World Series for the second straight year. The opponent this time was the San Francisco Giants, setting up an all-Bay Area World Series between two teams separated by the bridge over the bay.
The World Series: A Four-Game Sweep Interrupted by an Earthquake
The A's opened the World Series at home in Oakland, winning Game 1 by a score of 5-0 on October 14 and Game 2 by a score of 5-1 on October 15. The series then shifted across the bay to San Francisco for Game 3, scheduled for October 17.
Just before that game was set to start, the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area, causing major damage across the region and halting the series for ten days while the cities and the league assessed the damage. When play finally resumed, Oakland won Game 3 on October 27 by a score of 13-7, then closed out the sweep with a 9-6 win in Game 4 on October 28, completing a 4-0 World Series victory over the Giants.
Rickey Henderson led the Oakland offense in the series, batting .474 with four runs scored and three stolen bases. Dave Henderson added a .308 average with two home runs and six runs scored, giving the A's production up and down the lineup against a Giants pitching staff that never found an answer.
World Series MVP: Dave Stewart
Dave Stewart was named World Series MVP after winning both of his starts, Game 1 and Game 3. Stewart anchored the regular-season rotation with a 21-9 record and a 3.32 ERA, and he finished second in the 1989 AL Cy Young voting. Mike Moore also won twice in the series, taking Games 2 and 4, giving Oakland's top two starters all four series wins between them.
The 1989 Roster by Position
went 99-63, won the AL West under manager Tony La Russa, and swept the San Francisco Giants in a Loma Prieta earthquake-delayed World Series.
The search intent behind "1989 Oakland A's roster" is usually the actual names and positions, so here is the regular-season roster broken out by group, with games played (G) where available from Baseball-Reference.
Starting Rotation
- Dave Stewart: 21-9, 3.32 ERA. World Series MVP.
- Mike Moore: 19-11, 2.61 ERA.
- Storm Davis: 19-7, 4.36 ERA.
- Bob Welch: 17-8, 3.00 ERA.
Bullpen
- Dennis Eckersley: Closer, 4-0, 1.56 ERA.
- Todd Burns: 6-5, 2.24 ERA.
- Rick Honeycutt: 2-2, 2.35 ERA.
- Gene Nelson: 3-5, 3.26 ERA.
Catchers
- Terry Steinbach: 130 games. All-Star selection.
- Ron Hassey: 97 games.
Infield
- Mark McGwire, 1B: 143 games. All-Star selection.
- Tony Phillips, 2B: 143 games.
- Carney Lansford, 3B: 148 games.
- Walt Weiss, SS: 84 games.
- Mike Gallego, SS: 133 games, splitting time at shortstop and filling in around the infield.
Outfield
- Rickey Henderson, LF: 85 games with Oakland after his mid-1989 trade back from the Yankees.
- Dave Henderson, CF: 152 games.
- Jose Canseco, RF: 65 games. All-Star selection.
- Stan Javier, RF: 112 games.
Designated Hitter
- Dave Parker, DH: 144 games.
Awards and Recognition
Five 1989 Athletics made the All-Star team: Terry Steinbach, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Dave Stewart and Mike Moore, a reflection of how much talent this roster carried at every level of the game. In AL Cy Young voting, Stewart finished second, Moore finished third and Eckersley finished sixth, an unusually deep showing for one pitching staff. In AL MVP voting, Eckersley finished fifth, Dave Parker finished 11th, Carney Lansford finished 17th and Mark McGwire finished 25th.
The Legacy: Bash Brothers, the Eckersley Era and the Hall of Famers
The 1989 championship is remembered for two things above all else. The first is the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, whose combined power at the heart of the lineup defined the era's offense and became one of the signature pairings in baseball history. The second is Dennis Eckersley's transformation into the prototype of the modern one-inning closer. A 1.56 ERA across a full season of ninth-inning work helped cement the bullpen usage pattern that most of baseball still follows today.
Three figures from that team are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Rickey Henderson, inducted in 2009; Dennis Eckersley, inducted in 2004; and manager Tony La Russa, inducted in 2014 as a manager. The 1989 title remains the last World Series championship in franchise history, which is part of why the roster still gets searched by name more than three decades later.
What the 1989 Title Means for the Las Vegas Athletics
Franchise history travels with the team, not the city it is played in. The 99 wins, the sweep of the Giants, and the championship banner from 1989 belong to the same organization now building a new home in Las Vegas. For a look at the roster the franchise is building for its next era, see our Las Vegas A's 2026 roster breakdown. For where that history will be played out going forward, our Las Vegas ballpark guide covers the Strip site targeting Opening Day 2028, and our Plan Your Trip hub covers everything else fans need to know before then.
Sources
- Baseball-Reference, 1989 Oakland Athletics season summary (record, roster, pitching and batting stats, awards voting)
- Baseball-Reference, 1989 World Series results (game-by-game scores, Loma Prieta earthquake delay, MVP)
- National Baseball Hall of Fame, Rickey Henderson (2009 induction)
- National Baseball Hall of Fame, Dennis Eckersley (2004 induction)
- National Baseball Hall of Fame, Tony La Russa (2014 induction, manager)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was on the 1989 Oakland A's roster?
Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in the field, Dave Parker at DH, Terry Steinbach catching, and a rotation led by Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, Bob Welch and Storm Davis, with Dennis Eckersley closing.
Who did the A's beat in the 1989 World Series?
The San Francisco Giants, swept 4 games to 0 in a series interrupted for ten days by the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake before Game 3.
Who was the 1989 World Series MVP?
Dave Stewart, who won both of his starts in the series, Game 1 and Game 3, after going 21-9 with a 3.32 ERA in the regular season.
What was the Oakland A's record in 1989?
99-63, first place in the AL West, under manager Tony La Russa, before beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS and sweeping the Giants in the World Series.
How did the Loma Prieta earthquake affect the 1989 World Series?
It struck the Bay Area just before Game 3 on October 17, 1989, postponing the series for ten days. Play resumed on October 27, and Oakland completed the sweep on October 28.
Which 1989 Oakland A's are in the Hall of Fame?
Rickey Henderson (inducted 2009) and Dennis Eckersley (inducted 2004) as players, and Tony La Russa (inducted 2014) as the team's manager.