Seven to remember The Giants and the A’s had eye-opening moments in several World Series

BY JOAN MORRIS

Baseball’s fall classic always produces memorable moments, but some World Series exploits continue to amaze even decades later. From game-interrupting earthquakes to pitchers who dug deep, the sights and sounds of those autumn deeds come hurtling back whenever the fields are freshly cut and cries of “Play ball!” ring.

In honor of longtime San Francisco Giants manager and Sacramento native Dusty Baker winning his first World Series ring as a manager — with the Houston Astros — here are seven surprising World Series moments starring the Giants and Oakland A’s.

Unhittable

The only thing that stood between the Giants and a seventh game victory over the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 World Series, was three outs, but those outs were hardly the whole story.

Conventional wisdom wouldn’t have put Madison Bumgarner on the mound in the first place. He came into the game after just two days’ rest following a 117-pitch shutout. He’d been almost unhittable, allowing just a single run in the first game — a home run served up by Salvador Perez that was meaningless to the final score.

Now here he was — 61 pitches into the ninth inning, with a man on third and just one out remaining to cement a 3-2 win and a World Series ring — with Perez at the plate. Bumgarner let that 62nd pitch fly, Perez hit a pop out to third, and MadBum became part of baseball history.

10-DAY DELAY

Half an hour before the third game of the Bay Bridge World Series on Oct. 17, 1989, Giants fans were hoping for a comeback win. A’s fans hoped to celebrate a victory that would put them one win away from the championship.

But at 5:04 p.m., a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Bay Area along the Loma Prieta fault. The quake knocked chunks of concrete off Candlestick’s top tier and cut power to the stadium. Damage was more severe across the Bay Area, where 63 people died and thousands were injured. Buildings crumbled, Oakland’s Cypress highway structure pancaked and a section of the upper deck of the Bay Bridge fell onto the lower. The death rate likely would have been higher, were it not for the World Series, officials said. With fans leaving work early to watch the game, the Cypress, normally jam packed during rush hour, was relatively empty.

The game was delayed by 10 days, but the A’s resumed their dominance over the Giants, winning the series in four.

HAIRS VS. SQUARES

It was a different world back in the 1970s, perhaps best illustrated by the 1972 series between the Hairs (Oakland A’s) and the Squares (Cincinnati Reds).

The A’s, under owner Charlie Finley, wore bright yellow uniforms and sported thick mustaches to go along with brash personalities — Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman. The non-mustachioed Reds had its own squad of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, including catcher Johnny Bench, first baseman Tony Perez, second baseman Joe Morgan and outfielder Pete Rose.

Despite their opposite images, the teams were strikingly wellmatched, with each game in the series, save one, won by a single run. The teams ended the series — the A’s won in seven — with identical hits (46) and an identical batting average of .209.

The A’s celebrate in the locker room after winning the 1972 World Series in Cincinnati. Front row from left is Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter and World Series MVP Gene Tenace. Back row from left is Dave Duncan, Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers and Mike Epstein.

The A’s biggest star, Jackson, had pulled his hamstring stealing home in the fifth game of the ALCS, so the bold, brash A’s relied on an unlikely hero, backup catcher Gene Tenace. Tenace had hit five home runs all season — 20 less than Jackson that year — but during the series, he hit four. And Tenace, who drove in nine of the 16 runs the A’s totaled during the series, was named MVP.

THE CATCH, BASEBALL VERSION

In the first game of the 1954 World Series, four years before the New York Giants became the San Francisco Giants, center fielder Willie Mays made a defensive play so incredible, the memory spans generations.

It was the eighth inning of Game 1, and New York and Cleveland were tied 2-2. With Cleveland at bat and two runners in scoring positions, lefty Vic Wertz took a mighty swing and drove the ball 425 feet into center field. Mays, in a full-out gallop to the warning track, never even looked back at the ball for the last 20 feet. He just reached up and caught it over his shoulder, then pivoted and hurled the ball to second, preserving the tie. The Giants went on to win that game as well as the next three to claim the series.

ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, MONKEY IN THE DUGOUT

It was 2002, and the Giants were looking for their first championship in 48 years. Their opponents: the Anaheim Angels, who had yet to win a World Series ring. Going into the sixth game of the series, the Giants held a one-game advantage, and by the seventh inning, they were leading 5-0 with one out, when the rally monkey made its appearance, and everything went south.

The Giants’ simian nemesis had made its debut two years earlier, when the Angels were hosting the team in regular season play. The Angels were down by one run in the ninth inning, when video board operators aired a clip of the monkey from “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and added the words “rally monkey.” The Angels promptly scored two runs, winning the game and making the rally monkey instantly famous. So the team hired Katie, the whitehaired capuchin who famously played Marcel, Ross’ pet monkey in “Friends,”and recorded “rally time” clips to a musical backdrop of “Jump Around” by the House of Pain.

The Angels’ rally monkey worked its magic at the World Series, too. After Katie appeared, the Angels scored six unanswered runs in two innings, knotting the series and forcing Game 7, which the Angels also won.

Home Run Limp

The 1988 World Series was a disappointment for the Oakland A’s. Not only did they lose four games to one, the series also featured a shocking, come-frombehind, walk-off home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1.

Dodgers outfielder Kirk Gibson, hobbled by leg injuries, was called up as a pinch hitter. The A’s dynamic closer, Dennis Eckersley, entered the game in the ninth to preserve the win, but Gibson fought off Eckersley until he finally sent one soaring over the wall.

As he limped around the bases, Gibson pumped his fists, celebrating every step. Gibson later would apologize to Eck, who said he hadn’t been offended.

With a runner bearing down on home plate, J.T. Snow grabbed young batboy Darren Baker by the shirt and hauled him to safety during Game 5 of the 2002 World Series against the Angels.

The Most Important Save

Although the Giants lost the 2002 World Series to the Anaheim Angels — we blame the monkey! — first baseman J.T. Snow made a dramatic save that had nothing to do with hitting or fielding.

In Game 5 of the series, which the Giants won handily 16-4, outfielder Kenny Lofton drilled an off-speed pitch off the wall in right center, driving home Snow and David Bell. Just as Snow crossed the plate, and with Bell close behind, 3-year-old batboy Darren Baker, the son of manager Dusty Baker, ran out to pick up Lofton’s bat.

Realizing the boy was in danger of being run over at home plate, Snow grabbed the front of the youngster’s jacket and pulled him to safety. Afterward, the league declared ball boys and girls should be at least 14.