1990 Oakland Athletics season

The Oakland Athletics' 1990 season was their 23rd in Oakland, California. It was also the 90th season in franchise history. The team finished first in the American League West with a record of 103-59.

Contents

• Offseason
• Regular season
• Notable transactions
• Draft Picks
• Dave Stewarts No Hitter
• Starters by position
• Game 1
• Game 2
• Game 3
• Game 4
• World series
• Awards and honors
• Team leaders
• References

The Athletics' 1990 campaign ranks among the organization's finest. Oakland, in winning 103 games, led the league outright in wins for a third consecutive season; they remain the last major North American team to accomplish this in their respective league. The Athletics benefited from stellar performances in all areas of the game. The team's offense was led by eventual Hall-of-Famer Rickey Henderson. Henderson finished the season with 65 stolen bases, 28 home runs, and a .325 batting average; for his efforts, he took home the 1990 American League MVP Award. The Athletics also benefited from strong performances by superstars Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. The pair clubbed 39 and 37 home runs, respectively; in doing so, they drove in a combined total of 209 runs. Over the course of the season, the team added to an already strong offense; the additions of recent All-Stars Willie Randolph, Willie McGee, and Harold Baines further widened the gap between the Athletics and the rest of the league. Established veterans (such as Carney Lansford, Terry Steinbach, Dave Henderson, and Mike Gallego) and promising young players (mainly Walt Weiss and Mike Bordick) rounded out arguably the deepest roster in all of Major League Baseball. Eight of the Athletics' nine main postseason starters (R. Henderson, McGwire, Canseco, McGee, Steinbach, Randolph, Baines, and Lansford) played in at least one All-Star Game between 1988 and 1990.

The Athletics pitching staff, in many regards, had an even stronger campaign. The starting rotation was led by veteran Bob Welch. Welch would finish the season with both an MLB-leading 27 wins and a 2.95 ERA; this performance was strong enough to net the 1990 Cy Young Award. Welch, as of 2014, remains the last MLB pitcher to win at least 25 games in a season. Fellow starter Dave Stewart, winner of 22 games, finished in a tie (with Pittsburgh starter Doug Drabek) for the second-most wins in MLB. 1989 All-Star Mike Moore, 1991 All-Star Scott Sanderson, and longtime Athletic Curt Young rounded out the American League's top rotation. The Athletics' bullpen was led by superstar closer Dennis Eckersley, who posted a microscopic 0.61 ERA while recording 48 saves. As a team, the Athletics allowed only 570 runs (the fewest in the American League by a wide margin).

The Athletics easily won the American League West for a third consecutive season. They swept the Boston Red Sox, four games to none, in that year's American League Championship series; in doing so, they won a third consecutive American League pennant. The Athletics entered the 1990 World Series as heavy favorites. Despite this, however, they were themselves swept by the Cincinnati Reds. The Athletics have not reached the World Series since.