October Legends Closing October 27,2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/27/2018
The 1988 World Series saw the 104-win Oakland Athletics match up against the 94-win Los Angeles Dodgers. Oakland, led by the “Bash Brothers” duo of American League MVP Jose Canseco and home run hitting phenom Mark McGwire, were the overwhelming favorites despite the Dodgers boasting National League Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser and an all-around excellent pitching staff. Game 1 of the World Series saw A’s ace Dave Stewart take the hill against Dodgers rookie Tim Belcher, as Hershiser had pitched a complete game to end the NLCS three days earlier. Belcher was shaky early, surrendering a grand slam to Jose Canseco as the A’s jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second inning. Mike Scioscia closed the gap with an RBI single off Stewart in the sixth, but the score remained 4-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley came to the mound in the ninth inning for the A’s, who were looking to close out Game 1 and negate the Dodgers home field advantage. Eckersley walked Mike Davis, bringing up the pitcher, Alejandro Pena. Lasorda, not wanting to see his pitcher hit in the bottom of the ninth inning of a one-run game, sent out a nearly-immobile Kirk Gibson to the plate against Eckersley. Gibson, who could barely walk due to knee injury, worked a full count against Eckersley before launching a backdoor slider from Eck deep into the right field bleachers. Gibson’s home run trot, punctuated by a pair of emphatic fist pumps, has become one of the most iconic images in baseball history.
Offered here are the lineup cards from Oakland and Los Angeles used for Game 1 of the 1988 World Series on October 15th, 1988. This lineup card was consigned to us as part of the Tommy Lasorda collection from Lasorda's agent. The Dodgers lineup card is written in blue pen, with Gibson listed under the “Also Eligible” column. Lasorda has signed the lineup card in blue pen. The A’s lineup card is written in black pen, with “La Russa” written on the “Manager’s Signature” line in place of Tony La Russa’s full signature. Both lineup cards are in good condition save for a folding line down the center. The date “10-15-88” is written on both lineup cards. These items are a fantastic treasure from one of the most famous games in baseball history.