Two teams recovered from disastrous seasons and made the playoffs this year. The Pirates were one of the worst teams in the NL in 1989, despite high expectations. This year, led by MVP Barry Bonds and Cy Young winner Doug Drabek, they had the best record in the league. The Cincinnati Reds also had a tumultous 1989 season, when manager Pete Rose was banned from the sport midway through the year. This year, the Reds hired Lou Pinella to be their manager, and he took them all the way to the World Series.

         Doug Drabek had the best season of his career, and deserved to win the Cy Young Award. Drabek had a solid rookie season for the Yankees in 1986; but the Yankees at that time didn't believe in keeping good young pitchers, and traded Drabek to the Pirates. Drabek pitched outstanding ball for the Pirates for several years, and then continued to pitch well in Houston.
        The next best pitchers in the league were Frank Viola and Ramon Martinez. Viola had neen acqured by the Mets the previous year, and had his best season in the National League. Martinez pitched for the Dodgers, and was only 22 years old. Martinez looked for all the world like he would be the best pitcher in baseball for the next ten years, but suffered arm problems in 1991, and his career has been injury-plagued ever since. Ironically, the best pitcher in baseball in 1999 was another Martinez, Ramon's younger brother, Pedro.
        The Reds won the World Series, despite being underdogs against both the Pirates and the Athletics. They even swept Oakland in four games. How did they do it? One of their biggest assets was a great bullpen, led by the three "Nasty Boys", Rob Dibble, Randy Myers, and Norm Charlton. Dibble was the hardest thrower in the league, and his strikeout rates were unprecedented. He was also somewhat nuts; Myers and Charlton also had great stuff, and both had their share of eccentricities as well.
        In the playoffs against Pittsburgh, the Nasty Boys threw 15.2 innings, allowed 1 earned run, and struck out 20 batters. In the World Series against Oakland, they threw 8.2 innings, and did not allow a run. The Nasty Boys were joint winners of the World Series MVP Award. But their success together was limited. Dibble and Charlton both hurt their arms; Dibble was out of baseball a few years later, while Charlton has been plagued by inconsistency. Myers remained a solid closer for the rest of the decade, and ranks among the all-time saves leaders with 347, but never took another step forward to greatness.