By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field was never more electric - not even during the Big Red Machine era - than it was Oct.16, 1990, for the opening game of the World Series between the Reds and powerful Oakland A's of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, aka the Bash Brothers.The A's had won their last 10 postseason games. Invincible, said many experts. "A's in five," pundits predicted.
But there was just something about this Reds team. Fans had been starving for a winner since former Reds manager Pete Rose led the team to four straight second-place finishes from 1985-88.
The Reds finally had all the parts: a complete pitching staff, with solid starters - including a dominating ace in Jose Rijo - and a deep bullpen whose Nasty Boys threesome of Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers was overpowering. The Reds had almost as much hitting as they did under Rose. Plus, they had a better bench and a better mix of young and older players, with an excellent clubhouse presence in veteran Ron Oester and newly acquired Billy Hatcher. It was a good blend, and the Reds had been in first place in the National League West from Day1.Although the Reds sleep-walked through a lackluster second half, they turned it on against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS, taking them in six games and looking like the first-half Reds in the process.
The Reds - particularly Dibble and Rijo - even talked some trash after losing Game5 of the NLCS. It was a good sign, indicative of confidence that gave off just the slightest whiff of arrogance, just what you want in a ball team.
One serious concern the Reds had, however, was the health of slugger Eric Davis. He hit only .174 in the NLCS, and most everyone agreed that a sore shoulder had robbed him of his power.
But an Oakland scouting report warned the A's pitchers: If you're going to come up and in to Davis, make darn sure you are in, because Davis still can take a ball down the middle out of the park. And if you're going to pitch him away, make sure it's away.
Reds manager Lou Piniella, however, had his doubts. He was a big believer in Davis and knew him to be a gamer, but he didn't think Davis was healthy enough to drive in runs.
Piniella asked Davis to at least consider batting leadoff in Game1 and see how it went. Davis, who still felt he had some hits in him in the fourth spot, politely declined.
Oester, for one, was glad.
"I could see why Lou was thinking about batting Eric leadoff," Oester said. "But as soon as I heard he was staying in the four spot, I thought, `Good.' ... Eric's the kind of guy who can strike out four or five times in a row and then hit one out. He's a threat. Even hurt, he's a threat. At any time, he can hit one out."
Oakland starter Dave Stewart - he of the fearsome stare - had won 20-plus games each of the past four seasons and his postseason numbers were glittering.
He'd won six straight postseason games, was the MVP in the 1989 and 1990 ALCS, and, coming into this game, his overall postseason record was 7-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 10 starts.
Stewart hadn't given up a home run to a right-handed hitter in the last 65 innings.
But Davis could tell Stewart was having trouble locating his pitches in the first inning. He had walked Billy Hatcher, and maybe, just maybe, Davis figured, he might get a pitch he could drive. He would have to be ready.
Stewart threw Davis a fastball inside to back him off the plate. Then he threw him a fastball that was meant to be away but instead was right down the middle, waist-high.
Crack! The ball shot off Davis' bat, and many of the 55,830 fans shot out of their seats.
"I knew when I hit it that I hit it good," Davis said.
The shot sailed over the wall, just left of center field, blasting off the huge World Series logo. The crowd went bonkers. They hadn't gone this crazy since Rose returned home in a Reds uniform six years earlier and roared around the bases and slid head-first into third base. But this - Davis' home run - was bigger. This was the World Series, and the Reds were supposed to get pasted.
Stewart - and the A's - were human, after all.
Epilogue: Davis' homer rocketed the Reds on their way to a four-game sweep for the world title.
Davis was only the 10th player to hit a home run in his first World Series at-bat. He didn't say a lot after the game about his blast. He merely nodded affirmatively when asked if his homer was his most exciting moment in baseball.
Here is what Davis said about the home run in his book, Born to Play:
"Riverfront exploded into my ears and the world tilted as I quickly ran the bases, my feet barely touching the ground. ... It was more than just a home run, (more) than just a home run to lead off the World Series. It was belief."
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