[Matches]

1980

Having blown a golden opportunity the previous year, the Indians fell well out of contention after star pitcher Bert Blyleven left in free agency for the St. Louis Cardinals. The new decade also began an unhappy transition for the AL Champion Angels, who were in last pace midway through the season. The team to beat early was the Detroit Tigers, led by first baseman Eddie Murray, coming into his own after a strong .335-34-112 season in 1979. Murray would finish the 1980 campaign with .337-32-109 and the AL MVP award.

In the National league, the West had a heated race as the defending champion Dodgers fought with the Reds, Braves and Padres in the final two months. It was a 2-game lead on Rickey Henderson and the Padres at the beginning of September, but the Braves came on strong, mounting a late charge and taking first place on the final day of the season to make the postseason for only the second time since 1961.

The Braves faced the Phillies, another long-suffering team, in the NLCS. For Philadelphia it was only the fifth postseason appearance in franchise history. The Braves won the NLCS in five games and faced the Tigers, who beat the Minnesota Twins, in the World Series.

Detroit’s John Candelaria shook off a few bad postseason starts and stepped up on the game’s biggest stage – Game 7 of the World Series. He threw a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits as the Tigers beat the Braves 6-1 for their second World Series in club history. Their only other ring came in 1907.

1981

Longtime Yankee starter Nolan Ryan packed up and signed a big deal with the Cincinnati Reds, who made the move in anticipation of losing all-star catcher Gary Carter (who signed with the AL West champion Twins) and promising shortstop Robin Yount, who went to Montreal. Meanwhile the Mets shored up their offense, adding former Oakland first baseman Keith Hernandez.

The Toronto Blue Jays, in their 5th year of existence, looked to go from cooptain to captain after a 100-loss season in 1980. They held first place by 9 games over the Tigers in the AL East at the all-star break. The Pirates were the top team in baseball with a 50-25 record at the break and the NL West saw another tight four-team race, though only the Reds and Giants were over .500 at 38-37. Meanwhile the NL champion Braves sunk to the bottom of the league.

Toronto’s miracle season hit a rough patch in July as the Tigers made a move to take first in the AL East, and they did on August 6th. The teams battled fought closely into September, when the Blue Jays folded (11-18 in their last 29 games). The West saw Oakland, led by Wally Backman, trying unsuccessfully to hold off the Twins, who ended up winning their second straight AL West title by five games. In the NL it was the Pirates, led by eventual Cy Young winner Jerry Koosman’s 20-win season, taking the East, while the Padres who took the NL West.

San Diego, built around speedsters Willie Wilson and Rickey Henderson, advanced to the World Series for the first time in franchise history but were defeated in five games by the Minnesota Twins.

1982

The defending champion Twins faced stiff competition in the first half of 1982, as they battled the Athletics and White Sox for first place in the AL West. The Blue Jays and Tigers fought on the East, while the Reds put together the league’s best record and a 9 game lead in the NL West. Meanwhile in the NL East, a 4-team race brewed, with the Mets a game up on Philadelphia, two up on St. Louis, and three ahead of the Pirates.

Toronto faded in the second half, and Detroit, led by J.R. Richard in the rotation took the AL East title. The Phillies emerged as the only contending team in the NL East to play much better than .500 ball, while the Reds, led by young Cal Ripken and veteran pitcher Nolan Ryan, held off the Dodgers in the West. Oakland and California battled deep into September as Chicago faded late and Minnesota played terrible ball in the second half. The Athletics and Angels fished the regular season tied for first, and in the playoff the Angels took it, only to be swept in the NLCS by Detroit in three games. The Phillies, led by Andre Dawson, swept the Reds, but were ousted in the World Series by the Tigers in 5 games.

1983

The Tigers and their potent 3-4-5 combo of Eddie Murray, Pedro Guerrero and Harold Baines posted 50 wins in the first half of the season and had a four game lead on the Boston Red Sox at the all-star break. Young bats Kent Hrbek and Tony Gwynn led the Dodgers to a first place finish in the NL West, while the NL East was baseball’s weakest division. The White Sox and Athletics battled in the AL West through August, but the White Sox went 10-19 the remainder of the season, and the Athletics made it to the postseason for the first time since 1965.

The Dodgers had a scorching second half but needed all 5 games to take out the 85-win Cubs in the NLCS. The Athletics upset the Tigers, winners of 104 regular season games, and advanced to the World Series, where they had won two rings in three tries in the history of the franchise. They faced the Dodgers, winners of 9 World Series titles. The series went 7 games, and the Athletics scored 2 runs in the top of the ninth inning and held on to become World Champions.

The Tigers’ Eddie Murray won his third AL MVP, and their ace J.R. Richard won his third Cy Young award, with his fourth consecutive 20-win season. In the National League Kent Hrbek (.326-39-135) put together a great year for the Dodgers at the young age of 23. The Dodgers also featured Rookie of the Year winner Andy Van Slyke.

A draft loaded with pitching prospects saw Roger Clemens go first overall to the Minnesota Twins, and Dwight Gooden go second to the Texas Rangers. Bret Saberhagen was chosen third overall by the Braves.

1984

J.R. Richard, one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers, had won two World Series titles with the Tigers, but a three-year contract offer worth over $15 million was enough to persuade the mercurial 33-year-old to sign with the San Francisco Giants. It made him the league’s highest-paid pitcher. The signing did not help the Giants fortunes early as they were in last place one month into the season. The Cleveland Indians played .700 ball early on, led by Steve Carlton on the mound and their young first baseman Don Mattingly. They held the top record in baseball at the all-star break with 50 wins, but the Red Sox were in the hunt, just a few games back, and took over first place on July 11. The Dodgers positioned themselves for a return to the playoffs in the NL West, while the AL West and NL East were generally weak. The New York Mets finished strong and won 90 games while the California Angels snuck out of the AL West with 83 wins. The favored Dodgers swept the Mets in the NLCS, while the Angels shocked the world by sweeping Boston in the ALCS. In the battle California the Dodgers dispatched the overwhelmed Angels in 5 games.

Don Mattingly took home AL hardware for MVP for his .342-21-111 performance at the young age of 23. Mel Hall won the award in the NL for the Giants.

1985

The Giants made another splash in free agency in the offseason. Last year’s signing of J.R. Richard in fact resulted in three fewer wins than the season before, despite the surprising MVP performance of Mel Hall. This season they signed another former Tiger, the 29-year-old Eddie Murray. The three-time AL MVP was penciled into the third spot in the lineup, to be followed by reigning MVP Hall and promising rookie Kevin Mitchell. The Tigers reign early in the decade appeared to be fading as yet another star, Pedro Guerrero, left in free agency, signing with California. The addition kept California in the playoff hunt as he and Ken Phelps were among the league leaders in home runs most of the season. Baltimore battled Boston at the top of the AL East for nearly the entire season, but Wade Boggs and the Red Sox finished strong again and cruised to the division title, setting up a rematch of last year’s ALCS with the Angels. The Dodgers struggled in September and lost the NL West race to Atlanta, who faced the Phillies in the NLCS. Both championship series went seven games, with Boston avenging last season’s upset and advancing to the World Series against the Phillies. The Phillies won just their second World Series title in over 80 years in five games.

Don Mattingly won his second straight MVP award, hitting .350 and 41 homers for the sixth-place Indians. California’s Ken Phelps went off for a stunning 57 home runs but only hit .240.

The Houston Astros, who had never been to the playoffs, hoped to turn their future around, selecting 19-year old Greg Maddux first overall in the draft. The Cardinals selected second and took Barry Bonds, the 21-year old outfielder with a strong baseball pedigree. The Brewers continued to build a strong young foundation with the selection of Kevin Brown third overall.

1986

The biggest move in the offseason was once again made by the San Francisco Giants. This year their big signing was of Mike Scott, from divisional rival Los Angeles. Scott, coming off back-to-back 20 win seasons with the Dodgers, joined JR Richard in the rotation. However this move didn’t do much for the Giants either as they played under .500 once again.

It was the Reds’ resigning of Nolan Ryan that made the biggest impact, perhaps, as Cincinnati rose to the top of the NL West, competing with the Astros for first place. In the NL East it was the Cubs, behind Steve Sax and George Brett, leading the way. In the American League, the Indians surprised a lot of people, leading the East at the break with 48 wins. Don Mattingly continued to dominate AL pitching, and had 29 home runs going into July and coupled it with an equally impressive .394 batting average. Their potent offense was the best in the league, leading nearly all major offensive categories, but their pitching was near the worst in the league. Most felt their run could not last, and that the surging Brewers or the seasoned Red Sox would come on strong, but the Tribe held their ground and while Mattingly scuffled in the second half, rookie Mike Greenwell stepped up, finishing with a .364 batting average, 43 homers and 159 RBI, good for the AL MVP. They faced the Athletics in the ALCS and won in 5 games. However they ran into the 101-win Chicago Cubs in the World Series. The Cubs had beaten the Reds in the NLCS in five games and did the same with Cleveland in the World Series. George Brett led the way for the Cubs hitting .409 with 14 RBI in the postseason.

1987

Cleveland’s pitching staff was their weakness in 1986 so in the offseason they attempted to bolster their rotation by signing free agent JR Richard from the Giants. The 37-year old strikeout artist won 49 games in three years with the Giants, and signed a 2-year deal with the Indians. The Giants dramatically retooled their squad in advance of Richard’s departure, trading last year’s free agent prize Mike Scott back to the Dodgers in exchange for all-star outfielder Tony Gwynn. Scott was a major disappointment for the Giants, going 7-19 with a 4.19 ERA.

The first half belonged to the Chicago White Sox and California Angels, who won 50 and 49 games, respectively. Cleveland remained a contender in the East with Boston and Baltimore also in the hunt. In the National League, the Cubs’ Kirby Puckett flirted with .400 into early July and they led the NL East. In the West, Dan Diego emerged as a top team, with the Astros and Giants lurking.

The Indians and White Sox played tremendous baseball in the second half, and the ALCS pitted the 105-57 Indians against the 107-55 White Sox. The Indians were winners of 24 of their last 29 games, but lost in 5 games to Chicago. The Cubs looked to set up a crosstown World Series with the Sox, but were beaten back by the Astros in 6 games. The heavily favored White Sox needed seven games in the World Series, but in the deciding game they scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win the Game 4-3, for their first championship in 11 years.

Cleveland’s Mike Greenwell won his second MVP award in the American League, while rookie Fred McGriff hit 50 homers for Houston to take the trophy in the NL.

1988

The Cubs were not content with their NL West title and in the offseason went out and got Wade Boggs, the American League’s batting champion who hit .387 in 1987. Boggs was penciled into the third spot in the lineup and along with Kirby Puckett, George Brett and Cal Ripken, made the Cubs preseason favorites to win the NL pennant.

Cleveland plummeted to the bottom of the AL East as the Toronto Blue Jays surprised people by holding first place at the all-star break. The Brewers and Red Sox were also in contention. The Angels and Athletics led the West, as the defending champion White Sox struggled mightily. In the National League, the Cubs continued to shine, with Boggs leading the NL in hitting. But it was the Padres pacing the majors with 49 wins at the break on the strength of an overachieving pitching staff anchored by a dominant bullpen which posted a 1.93 ERA before the break.

The Padres faltered in July and August, however, and Atlanta too control of the West. Chicago dominated the hapless NL East while California stole the AL West from Chicago with a 20-7 September and Toronto took the AL East title with 101 wins.

California won the ALCS in 7 games over Toronto, but then lost in 5 in the World Series to Frank Viola and the Atlanta Braves, who knocked off the Cubs in six in the NLCS. Viola had a career year, going 22-4 with a 3.01 ERA and was 3-0 in the postseason with a 2.94 ERA. He won the Cy Young award in the NL while Bob Ojeda of the Angels won the honor in the AL. California’s Ken Phelps did not have his best year but apparently .235-35-96 was good enough for the AL MVP. Don Mattingly (.321-24-83) arguably had a better year but his Indians finished in last place.

1989

In the offseason, Don Mattingly left the Indians for Boston, signing a 5-year contract with the Red Sox. The Pittsburgh Pirates, a once-proud franchise that had seen only 2 playoff appearances since 1951, signed the reigning Cy Young holder Frank Viola to a 5-year deal. Finally, the Angels, in contention nearly every year since 1982 but never able to win the World Series, brought in free agent Tony Gwynn. The four-time all star selection had spent his first seven seasons on the west coast in the NL with the Dodgers and Giants, and he decided to stay near home but switch leagues.

The Chicago Cubs continued to own the NL East, with Wade Boggs again leading the way. The Dodgers returned to the top of the NL West with young Will Clark leading the way. In the American League, the Chicago White Sox were again strong, while the Detroit Tigers came from out of nowhere and led the AL East halfway through the season. All four division leaders at the break finished at the top at the end of the season, with the Cubs winning 105 games. They beat the Dodgers in seven games and the White Sox took care of Detroit, setting up a Cubs-White Sox World Series. It was an epic clash and went the full seven games. The Cubs’ Terry Mulholland won all 4 starts during the postseason and gave up 1 run on 5 hits in Game 7 to win another World Series.

Frank Viola won his second straight Cy Young with 21 wins and a 2.38 ERA in his first year with the Pirates. Roger Clemens of Minnesota won his first Cy Young in the American League.