Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake that shook the Bay Area and postponed the World Series for 10 days.
It will bring back memories for Oakland`s Game 2 starter, Bob Welch, who was to pitch that evening against the San Francisco Giants. Welch was in the clubhouse when Candlestick Park began rocking in the 7.1 quake, the area`s largest since the beginning of the century.
Welch was among the thousands of San Francisco homeowners affected by the quake, though his townhouse in the hard-hit Marina District was spared.
But he can look back with a sense of humor.
”Yeah, I`m going to be terrified about warming up and having an earthquake hit Cincinnati,” said Welch, who otherwise didn`t want to talk about the quake.
Most of the A`s don`t seem to be thinking about the anniversary until reporters ask them about it, but all remember that the tragedy threw a damper on their annihilation of their cross-bay rivals.
”We didn`t get a chance to celebrate last year because of the earthquake,” reliever Rick Honeycutt said. ”We`d like to get a chance to this year.”
The last president to attend a Series game was Ronald Reagan, in 1983 in Baltimore.
– The A`s are in their third straight Series but only their first outside of California. They played Los Angeles in 1988 and San Francisco a year ago.
”This one might seem more like a real World Series,” Mark McGwire said.
– Piniella relishes the underdog role. ”I think there`s definitely more pressure on Oakland,” he said. ”They`re talking about dynasties over there. They are a great club and they are expected to win.”
– The sign on one of the streets outside Riverfront Stadium says, ”Pete Rose Way,” but otherwise there have been few indications of Cincinnati`s famed son this week. Reds President Marge Schott was asked if it hurts not to have Rose around.
”Sure it does,” she said. ”Pete and I came into this thing together, and we finished second three (actually, four) times. It`s one of those things that you hate to see happen. But people have to pay for their mistakes.”
– Cincinnati outfielder Glenn Braggs became an instant hero with his game-saving catch in Game 6 of the playoffs, but he figures to have a bit part against the predominantly right-handed throwing A`s. Braggs hit just .244 against righties this year, .339 against lefties.
– The only holdovers from the classic 1972 World Series meeting between the Reds and the A`s (Oakland won the seventh game, 3-2, to clinch the first of three straight titles) are Reds batting coach Tony Perez and A`s pitching coach Dave Duncan.
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– If history repeats itself, this will be a big Series for the visitors. In 1972, the visiting team won five of the seven games, including Oakland`s Game 7 victory in Riverfront.
– The players wore American flag patches on their uniforms to demonstrate their support for the U.S. military personnel stationed in the Persian Gulf. The patches were worn in response to a request by the United Services Organization.