1992 American League Championship Series

1992 American League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Manager(s) Season Toronto Blue Jays (4) Cito Gaston 96-66, .593, GA: 4 Oakland Athletics (2) Tony La Russa 96-66, .593, GA: 6
Dates	October 7–October 14
MVP	Roberto Alomar (Toronto)
Umpires	Don Denkinger, Larry Young, Al Clark, Durwood Merrill, Joe Brinkman, Drew Coble
Broadcast
Television	CBS
TV announcers	Dick Stockton, Jim Kaat, and Johnny Bench (Game 2)
Radio	CBS Radio
Radio announcers	Jim Hunter and Johnny Bench
ALCS

The 1992 American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics from October 7 to October 14, 1992. The Blue Jays won the series 4 games to 2 to advance to the World Series. The series was a rematch of the 1989 ALCS, which Oakland won in five games.

Background

Oakland finished the 1992 season with a 96-66 record (.593), clinching their fourth American League West title in five years by six games over the Minnesota Twins. The Blue Jays also finished 1992 with a 96-66 mark, claiming their second straight American League East championship by four games over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Athletics clinched the Western division on September 28. Although they were not playing that day, the Twins' 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox at home eliminated Minnesota from contention and gave the A's the crown. The race for the Eastern division went down to the final weekend of the season, with the Brewers leapfrogging the Baltimore Orioles for second place in mid-September. However, Toronto pulled out a 3-1 defeat of the Detroit Tigers on October 3 to secure the division title.

Summary

Oakland Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto wins the series, 4-2

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Oakland Athletics - 4, Toronto Blue Jays - 3	October 7	SkyDome	51,039
2	Oakland Athletics - 1, Toronto Blue Jays - 3	October 8	SkyDome	51,114
3	Toronto Blue Jays - 7, Oakland Athletics - 5	October 10	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	46,911
4	Toronto Blue Jays - 7, Oakland Athletics - 6 (11 innings)	October 11	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	47,732
5	Toronto Blue Jays - 2, Oakland Athletics - 6	October 12	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	44,955
6	Oakland Athletics - 2, Toronto Blue Jays - 9	October 14	SkyDome	51,335

Game summaries

Game 1

Wednesday, October 7, 1992 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	1
Toronto	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	9	0
WP: Jeff Russell (1-0)   LP: Jack Morris (0-1)   Sv: Dennis Eckersley (1) Home runs: OAK: Harold Baines (1), Mark McGwire (1), Terry Steinbach (1) TOR: Dave Winfield (1), Pat Borders (1)

The first game of the series had Oakland's Dave Stewart face off against Toronto's Jack Morris. The A's put up a three-spot against Morris in the second inning, as Mark McGwire and Terry Steinbach hit back-to-back home runs. Stewart held the Jays scoreless until the fifth, when catcher Pat Borders homered to put Toronto on the board. Dave Winfield added another solo shot for Toronto in the sixth, and in the eighth a base hit by John Olerud scored Winfield to tie the game.

However, Oakland took the lead right back in the top of the ninth, when Harold Baines led off the inning with a solo home run. A's closer Dennis Eckersley then shut down the Jays in the bottom half of the inning to preserve a 4-3 victory and give the Athletics a 1-0 lead in the series.

Game 2

Thursday, October 8, 1992 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	6	0
Toronto	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	X	3	4	0
WP: David Cone (1-0)   LP: Mike Moore (0-1)   Sv: Tom Henke (1) Home runs: OAK: None TOR: Kelly Gruber (1)

Game 2 saw Oakland's Mike Moore face the Jays' David Cone. The game was initially a pitchers' duel, as Moore and Cone put up zeroes for the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Toronto's Kelly Gruber hit a two-run home run off Moore to give the Jays the lead. In the seventh, Gruber doubled, took third on a grounder, and came home on a Manuel Lee sacrifice fly to extend the Toronto lead to three. The A's avoided a shutout in the top of the ninth, when Rubén Sierra tripled and scored on a single by Baines, but that was all they could muster against Toronto closer Tom Henke. The Jays took the second game and tied the series at a game apiece.

Game 3

Saturday, October 10, 1992 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	1	1	7	9	1
Oakland	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	5	13	3
WP: Juan Guzmán (1-0)   LP: Ron Darling (0-1)   Sv: Tom Henke (2) Home runs: TOR: Roberto Alomar (1), Candy Maldonado (1) OAK: None

The series shifted to Oakland for Game 3, as Juan Guzmán took the hill for the Jays while Ron Darling toed the rubber for the A's. Toronto struck in the second, when Winfield reached on an error by Athletics' third baseman Carney Lansford, moved to third on a wild pitch by Darling, and scored on a single by Candy Maldonado. Roberto Alomar hit a solo home run in the fourth to give the Jays a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom half of the inning the A's tied the game with RBI base hits by Baines and Steinbach.

However, the very next inning, Maldonado hit a solo homer of his own, and after Oakland manager Tony La Russa gave Darling the hook in the seventh, the Jays added two unearned runs due to an error by Lance Blankenship and a triple by Lee, making it a 5-2 game. Although the A's cut TO's lead down to a run, the Jays tacked on single runs in the eighth and ninth. Henke retired the Athletics in order in the ninth, giving Toronto a 7-5 victory and a 2-1 edge in the series.

Game 4

Sunday, October 11, 1992 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Toronto	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	7	17	4
Oakland	0	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	12	2
WP: Duane Ward (1-0)   LP: Kelly Downs (0-1)   Sv: Tom Henke (3) Home runs: TOR: Roberto Alomar (2), John Olerud (1) OAK: None

For the fourth game, Toronto threw Morris against Oakland's Bob Welch. In the second inning, Olerud tagged Welch for a solo homer to give the Jays the lead. However, the Athletics came back in a big way with a five-run third and tacked on another run in the sixth when Sierra doubled Rickey Henderson home, giving Oakland a seemingly secure 6-1 advantage. In the top of the eighth, however, La Russa pulled Welch, who had been cruising along, and went to his bullpen. The Jays capitalized by scoring three runs off hits by Joe Carter, Olerud, and Maldonado, cutting the A's lead to 6-4.

For the top of the ninth, La Russa turned to Eckersley to shut down the top of the Jays' order and tie the series. Although he had given up two of Toronto's three runs in the previous inning, the Oakland closer was still fearsome. Devon White led off with a single to left, but moved to third on an error by Henderson. Roberto Alomar was up next, and he hit a high line drive to right field that disappeared behind the wall for a game-tying two-run home run. This turned out to be a crucial point of the series, as it forced the game into extra innings and gave the Jays a chance to win.

Indeed, in the top of the 11th, Toronto came through. Derek Bell walked, moved to third on a Maldonado single, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Borders to give the Jays a 7-6 lead. Henke shut the door on the A's in the bottom of the inning, handing Toronto a 3-1 series lead.

Game 5

Monday, October 12, 1992 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	3
Oakland	2	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	X	6	8	0
WP: Dave Stewart (1-0)   LP: David Cone (1-1) Home runs: TOR: Dave Winfield (2) OAK: Rubén Sierra (1)

Game 5 pitted Toronto's Cone against Oakland's Stewart. In the bottom of the first, Sierra cracked a two-run home run off Cone, and the next inning an error by Cone proved costly as Henderson got on base and then scored on a single by Jerry Browne. Although Winfield broke the shutout with a homer off Stewart in the fourth, the unearned runs continued to hurt the Jays, as the A's added three runs in the fifth (only one of which was earned) for a 6-1 lead. Toronto managed only one more run in the seventh when White singled Gruber home, and Stewart went the distance as the Athletics took a 6-2 victory and cut the Jays' advantage in the series to 3-2.

Game 6

Wednesday, October 14, 1992 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	7	1
Toronto	2	0	4	0	1	0	0	2	X	9	13	0
WP: Juan Guzmán (2-0)   LP: Mike Moore (0-2) Home runs: OAK: None TOR: Joe Carter (1), Candy Maldonado (2)

The series came back to Toronto for Game 6, with Guzmán going against Moore. In the bottom of the first, the Jays took a lead they would never relinquish, as White reached on an error by Henderson and scored on a homer by Carter, making it 2-0. In the third, Olerud lashed an RBI double and Maldonado followed with a three-run shot, extending the advantage to 6-0. McGwire put Oakland on the board in the sixth with a single that scored Sierra, but the A's could only manage another run against the Jays. In the ninth, Henke took the mound and induced a flyout from Sierra to end a 9-2 win, making Toronto the first non-U.S.-based team to win a pennant in Major League history.

Composite Box

1992 ALCS (4-2): Toronto Blue Jays over Oakland Athletics

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Toronto Blue Jays	2	2	4	2	5	1	4	7	3	0	1	31	59	8
Oakland Athletics	2	3	6	2	3	2	2	2	2	0	0	24	52	7
Total Attendance: 293,086   Average Attendance: 48,848

Quotes of the Series

And a drive hit to right field, Sierra going back, looking up...and this game is tied, Roberto Alomar! - Dick Stockton calling Roberto Alomar's top of the 9th inning home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 4.