The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants were the division winners this year. The Giants had not won a pennant since 1962, and the Cubs had not won since 1945, so something had to give. After splitting the first two games, the Giants won three straight close ones, and Cubs fans were again let down by their team. In the World Series, the Giants faced a powerful Oakland team, in the first ever matchup between the two neighbouring cities.
        The Giants were whupped, swept in four games by their mighty cousins. But that's not what fans remember; after two games in Oakland, the Series shifted across the Bay to San Francisco. Just as Game Three got underway, a powerful earthquake struck; the game was cancelled, and the fans were sent home. Both cities were devastated by the quake, and many people were killed; but after a delay of almost two weeks, the Series was resumed, and the Athletics completed the sweep.

         Mark Davis of the San Diego Padres won the Cy Young Award. Davis had debuted with the Phillies in 1980, at age 19. He was a starting pitcher, and by age 24 had a career record of 17-37. His new team, the Giants, decided to move him to the bullpen, where he pitched better; inexplicably, they then moved him back to the starting rotation, where he again struggled. Finally, Davis was dealt to the Padres, who needed a closer. Davis did the job magnificently for three seasons, and this was his best one.
        At the end of the season, Davis was 28 years old, and a free agent. After winning the Cy Young Award, he signed a monster contract with the Kansas City Royals. The signing was a disaster; Davis pitched horribly for the Royals over the next three seasons, and never again regained effectiveness. Not only was the Davis signing an expensive bust, it was completely unnecessary; the Royals already had a great young closer in Jeff Montgomery. A smart organization for many years, the Royals spent their money horribly in the early 1990's, and have never really recovered since then.
        After his phenomenal season in 1988, Orel Hershiser followed up with a season that was almost as good. But he wasn't rewarded with many wins; the Dodgers this season had the worst offense in the National League, and Hershiser got stuck with a mediocre record. Still, I think that Orel was again clearly the best starting pitcher in the league. It was Hershiser's last great season; in 1990 he started only four games, then had Tommy John surgery on his arm. When he returned he continued to pitch well, though not nearly as well as before.
        Mike Scott was runner-up in the Cy Young vote. He had a terrific year, but I think there were other pitchers who were better. Joe Magrane was a big lefty, 6'6" tall. He didn't throw hard, but he had good stuff; after leading the NL in ERA in 1988, he came back with a big season this year. Magrane had a tough season in 1990, losing 17 games despite pitching well; afterwards, he too required surgery on his arm, and couldn't make a comeback.
        Greg Maddux, you have probably heard of. "The Professor" was just a young punk at this time, 23 years old. He had his second straight outstanding season, and led the Cubs into the playoffs. Unlike Hershiser and Magrane, Maddux stayed healthy. He pitched well the next two seasons, then took a couple steps forward to become one of the greatest pitchers ever, winning four straight Cy Young Awards at one point during the 1990's.