1988 ALCS recap

Oakland had not won an ALCS game since the Swingin' A's pulled off a threepeat from 1972-74, and this A's team created a unique link by starting a run of what would be three consecutive World Series appearances in its own right. Tony La Russa had managed the 1983 White Sox to the ALCS against Baltimore, but that had resulted in a quick elimination against the eventual World Series champs; now he was in his second year at the helm in Oakland and building a superpower behind stellar pitching and the fearsome "Bash Brothers" tandem of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.

Ironically, though, the man who drove in the decisive run for Oakland in Game 1 -- thus charting the course for a sweep - was Dave Henderson. He had been a hero for Boston two years earlier, homering off Angels reliever Donnie Moore when the Red Sox were down to their last strike in the ALCS. Henderson had signed a one-year contract with Oakland before the 1988 season, and he proceeded to homer 24 times and drive in 94 runs while batting .304. In the ALCS, he continued to be a clutch performer, going 6-for-16 with a homer and four RBIs.

The most telling moment in this quick series was what happened at the end of Game 1. A's closer Dennis Eckersley had come in for a 1-2-3 eighth, and he retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth. After a double by Jody Reed and then a walk to Rich Gedman, Eckersley would have to work out of a jam to protect a 2-1 lead -- and it would be a showdown of future Hall of Famers. Wade Boggs had just wrapped up his fourth consecutive AL batting crown, and Eckersley quickly got him into an 0-2 hole. Boggs, the best two-strike hitter in baseball, just got a piece of the next pitch to stay alive, but then whiffed at a high-and-away heater to end it. It was the first of four consecutive saves for Eckersley, who was named ALCS MVP.

As commentator Joe Morgan noted at the end of the Game 1 telecast, it meant that instead of just hoping to come to Boston and secure a split, the A's now smelled blood and would want to go back 2-0 and hope for a rout. That is exactly how it happened, as Canseco homered (off Roger Clemens) for the second day in a row, and Walt Weiss' RBI single off Lee Smith in the ninth inning won Game 2 to set up a quick end to the series back in Oakland.

Path to the ALCS: Oakland (104-58) won the AL West by 13 games; Boston (89-73) won the AL East by one game.

Managers: Tony LaRussa, OAK; Joe Morgan, BOS

MVP: Dennis Eckersley