Facing the potential of a World Series loss after being up 3-0 in the series, Andrés Galarraga stepped up once again, as the 1998 Atlanta Braves held off the 1990 Oakland Athletics to take the 1990s Championship. In what had become a common sight, Galarraga hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning off Scott Sanderson to put Atlanta on top. Michael Tucker hit a 2-out RBI double in the 2nd, and a 2-out 2-run single in the 4th, taking advantage of a Willie McGee error, to give the Braves a 5-1 lead. Kevin Millwood held the Oakland offense to 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings, turning over a 3-run lead to the Atlanta bullpen. The Athletics made some costly mistakes. In addition to the two unearned runs from McGee’s error, Carney Lansford hit a leadoff single in the 7th that was misplayed by Ryan Klesko. Rather than hold up at 3rd, Lansford was thrown out trying to score. Their biggest chance came against Atlanta’s relief in the 8th. Rickey Henderson hit a leadoff home run off John Rocker to make it 5-3. McGee followed with a single. That brought in Rudy Seánez to face José Canseco. Seánez struck out Canseco, but then walked Mark McGwire and allowed an RBI single to Dave Henderson to cut the lead to 5-4. Mike Cather came in for Atlanta and got Walt Weiss to pop out. Lansford dribbled one in front of the plate that loaded the bases. But pinch-hitter Jamie Quirk struck out to end the inning. Galarraga followed with another homer to lead off the bottom of the 8th to give Atlanta a 6-4 lead. Kerry Ligtenberg, fresh off a blown save in Game 6, struck out Mike Gallego, Rickey Henderson, and McGee to end the game and end Oakland’s hopes of a miraculous comeback. Galarraga was named World Series MVP, hitting .448 with 7 home runs and 19 RBI.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Braves – 10/23/24

For the 2nd straight game, José Canseco hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning to put pressure on the 1998 Atlanta Braves. In his 1st start in the World Series, Denny Neagle allowed two runs in each of the 1st two innings. But after scoring a run in the 1st, Atlanta loaded the bases with one out in the 4th against Dave Stewart, and plated two runs on a sacrifice fly by Andruw Jones and an RBI single by Michael Tucker to cut the lead to 4-3. Rickey Henderson’s two-out single in the 6th gave the Athletics a 5-3 lead. Back in the lineup after missing two games with an injury, Ryan Klesko led off the Atlanta 6th with a single, and Javy López took Stewart deep to tie the game. A pair of singles by Walt Weiss and Chipper Jones put Atlanta in the lead in the 7th. After a perfect inning by John Rocker, Kerry Ligtenberg came in to close out the Series, striking out Jamie Quirk and getting Henderson to ground out. Willie McGee worked a walk to bring up Canseco. Then the unthinkable happened as Canseco drilled one deep to left for another 2-run shot and a 7-6 Oakland lead. The Atlanta crowd looked on in stunned silence as Dennis Eckersley picked up his 7th save with a perfect 9th, sending the World Series to Game 7!

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Braves – 10/22/24

The 1990 Oakland Athletics continue to defy expectations, this time overcoming 1998 Atlanta Braves starter Tom Glavine, putting up 4 runs in the 1st inning helped by a 2-run home run from José Canseco. Atlanta pulled to within a run with a 3-run 2nd inning against Bob Welch, but those would be the only runs they would score. Oakland’s offense, absent in the 1st three games, has been relentless since. Glavine allowed 7 runs on 11 hits in 5 innings, capped by a 2-run homer by Terry Steinbach. That started a 5-run 6th inning against Glavine and Dennis Martinez. Oakland got production all up and down the lineup. While Rickey Henderson’s offensive struggles continued, he still walked twice. Other than Mike Gallego, every other Athletics hitter had at least two hits. Canseco finished 3 for 5 with 3 RBI to go with his homer. Mark McGwire also added a solo shot. With the 11-3 win, Oakland sends the Series back to Atlanta with Dave Stewart taking the mound to try to force a Game 7.

’98 Braves @ ’90 Athletics – 10/20/24

Down 6-1 and hitless into the 4th inning against Greg Maddux and the 1998 Atlanta Braves, it looked like the 1990 Oakland Athletics were going to end Game 4 of the World Series much like Games 1-3. But little by little, they stayed in it. Willie McGee hit a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mark McGwire. With 2 outs, Walt Weiss and Carney Lansford added singles of their own to plate another run and cut the lead to 6-3. In the 5th, Rickey Henderson singled and stole 2nd and scored on McGee’s single to make it 6-4. In the 7th, everything changed. Mike Gallego hit a leadoff single, and then Henderson hit his 8th home run of the Tournament to tie the game. A few batters later, with 2 outs, Dave Henderson hit a 2-run homer of his own to give Oakland their 1st lead of the Series. Meanwhile, three Oakland relievers held the Braves scoreless, capped by Dennis Eckersley’s 6th save. The save nearly wasn’t, as Andruw Jones hit a deep drive to left with 2 on and 2 out that Henderson caught at the wall to end the game. The 9-6 victory keeps Oakland’s hopes alive. Maddux allowed 8 runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Rickey Henderson was just 1 for 12 before going 3 for 4 with a walk, a home run, and two stolen bases. Andrés Galarraga hit his 5th home run of the Series in his 1st at-bat. Jones, Javy López, and Danny Bautista hit home runs for Atlanta.

’98 Braves @ ’90 Athletics – 10/19/24

Oakland had high hopes as they came back home and had their ace starter, Dave Stewart, on the mound after two losses in Atlanta in the Best of the 1990s World Series. They had faced this before against the 1998 New York Yankees and had reeled off 4 straight wins. But it was not meant to be this time, as ghosts of Game 2 haunted them even at home. Once again, the 1998 Atlanta Braves took an early lead thanks to an Andrés Galarraga home run in the 1st inning. Once again, the Athletic bats were cold. Once again, Galarraga would hit another homer to further seal the deal. Even injuries to two key Atlanta starters couldn’t change the outcome. John Smoltz looked hittable, but exited in the 3rd inning with a pulled groin. Ryan Klesko, hitting over .400 in the Tournament, exited the game with a strained rib after colliding with the wall in the 2nd. But Oakland didn’t have an answer for any of the 5 pitchers that Atlanta sent out. Meanwhile, coming off a 2 homer game in Game 2, Galarraga did it all again, going 4 for 5 with 2 more homers, including a grand slam, and 8 RBI. Back-to-back errors by Willie Randolph and Walt Weiss led to In the end, the Braves won 10-0 on a combined shutout, and now hold a 3-0 series lead. Greg Maddux will take the mound on short rest as Atlanta goes for the sweep. Randolph will miss the rest of the series after dislocating his collar bone on a slide in the 8th inning.

’98 Braves @ ’90 Athletics – 10/18/24

After squeaking by with a 1-0 win in Game 1, the 1998 Atlanta Braves wasted no time in building a big lead in Game 2 against the 1990 Oakland Athletics. After Scott Sanderson hit Walt Weiss, Keith Lockhart hit his 1st home run of the Tournament. A Carney Lansford misplay put Chipper Jones on, and Andrés Galarraga hit another 2-run homer, putting the Braves up 4-0 before Sanderson could record his first out. Galarraga drove in another run with a single in the 2nd. In the 4th, he launched his 2nd homer of the game, a 2-run shot that gave Atlanta a 7-0 lead. After an overthrow on a steal attempt, Andruw Jones grounded out to score another run in the 5th off reliever Todd Burns. While the Braves were quiet the rest of the game, that was all they would need. Once again, Oakland’s offense couldn’t find their groove. Tom Glavine took a 4-hit shutout into the 9th. Finally, with a runner on, Dave Henderson took Glavine deep to break the 17-inning scoreless streak and give the Athletics their first runs of the Series. Glavine finished the game, as the Braves won Game 2 8-2. Galarraga finished 3 for 4 with 2 homers and 5 RBI. Atlanta heads to Oakland with a 2-0 series lead, while the Athletics face a big test on whether they can still turn this series around.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Braves – 10/16/24

Greg Maddux continued his amazing run in the Best of the 1990s Tournament, holding the 1990 Oakland Athletics to 4 hits on his way to his 3rd shutout in 5 starts. It nearly wasn’t enough. Oakland’s Bob Welch had the best start of his tournament, matching Maddux inning for inning into the 8th. With two outs, Michael Tucker singled to center and took 2nd when Willie McGee couldn’t make a clean stop. Walt Weiss followed with a double to drive in the game’s only run, as the 1998 Atlanta Braves won it 1-0. Oakland had their chance earlier in the 6th when Keith Lockhart misplayed McGee’s grounder. José Canseco singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. But Maddux struck out Mark McGwire and got Dave Henderson to pop up. Oakland’s Walt Weiss grounded out to end the inning. Maddux improved to 4-1 in the tournament, striking out 10 and lowering his ERA to 0.89. Oakland hopes to bounce back in Game 2 tomorrow.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Braves – 10/15/24

The Oakland Athletics topped the New York Yankees for the 4th straight time, winning 3-2 and advancing to the World Series to face the 1998 Atlanta Braves in the Baseball Maelstrom Best of the 1990s Tournament. Game 6 followed the same formula that was a common theme in the series: Oakland scored first and forced New York to play from behind. The Athletics scored 1st in every game of the series, scoring in the 1st inning in the last 5 games. This time it was Rickey Henderson again. Henderson hit a leadoff homer off David Wells – a mammoth 466′ shot. Dave Stewart retired the 1st 11 hitters he faced, but the Yankees scored 2 in the 6th on back-to-back doubles from Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez. Dave Henderson tied things back up with a solo shot in the 7th. In the bottom of the inning, the Yankees had their best chance when they loaded the bases with one out after Stewart hit Scott Brosius and walked Chuck Knoblauch. But Derek Jeter grounded right to Walt Weiss for the inning-ending double play. In the 8th, it was Rickey again with his 2nd homer of the game, giving Oakland a 3-2 lead. Wells lost his 3rd game, giving up 3 homers, which was a common problem for him in the Tournament. Dennis Eckersley pitched a perfect 9th for his 5th save. Rickey finished 2 for 3, and is hitting .393 in the leadoff spot. As the top-seeded 1998 Yankees head home, the 1990 Athletics get a day off before facing the Braves to see who will win it all.

’90 Athletics @ ’98 Yankees – 10/13/24

Once up 2 games to none, the 1998 New York Yankees have watched their World Series hopes slip away. José Canseco hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning off Andy Pettitte, and Mike Moore scattered 7 hits, allowing just 1 run in 7 innings to pick up his 1st win of the Tournament. Once again, the Yankees outhit the Oakland Athletics, this time 9-7. But those hits didn’t come when it mattered most. Jorge Posada provided the only New York run on a solo homer in the 7th inning. In the 8th, the Yankees put runners on the corners with just one out, but pinch-hitter Tim Raines struck out, and Chad Curtis grounded out to end the inning. Dennis Eckersley struck out all 3 batters he faced in the 9th for his 4th save. With the 3-1 win, Oakland hopes to carry the momentum into New York as the teams prepare for Game 6.

’98 Yankees @ ’90 Athletics – 10/11/24

It’s a series again. Rickey Henderson’s hitting and speed helped the Oakland Athletics top the New York Yankees 5-2 to even the series with one more game left to play in Oakland. Henderson walked and scored on Willie McGee’s double in the 1st, as the Athletics jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Henderson scored again in the 5th on a José Canseco groundout. The Yankees had many opportunities, but always seemed to come up short. After taking advantage of a Carney Lansford error to cut the Oakland lead, Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams had back-to-back singles to lead off the 7th. But Joe Klink retired the next 3 batters to keep Oakland’s 3-2 lead. Jorge Posada flew out to start the 8th. Scott Brosius and Chuck Knoblauch followed with singles off Reggie Harris. Harris then walked Derek Jeter to load the bases. That’s when Dennis Eckersley came in and struck out O’Neill and Williams to end the inning. Henderson provided some insurance runs with a 2-run double in the bottom of the inning, and Eckersley struck out two more in a scoreless 9th to earn his 3rd save. Orlando Hernández allowed 3 runs on just 5 hits while striking out 7 in 7 innings. Bob Welch scattered 10 hits but allowed just one earned run in 6 innings. Game 5 will be important as the teams battle for the American League championship.

’98 Yankees @ ’90 Athletics – 10/10/24