| 1988 Oakland Athletics | ||
|---|---|---|
| American League Champions American League West Champions | ||
| League | American League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | |
| City | Oakland, California | |
| Record | 104–58 (.642) | |
| Divisional place | 1st | |
| Owners | Walter A. Haas Jr. | |
| General managers | Sandy Alderson | |
| Managers | Tony La Russa | |
| Television | KPIX/KICU-TV (Monte Moore, Ray Fosse) | |
| Radio | KSFO (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse) KNTA (Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, Evilio Mendoza) | |
| ||
The Oakland Athletics' 1988 season involved the A's winning their first American League West title since 1981, with a record of 104 wins and 58 losses (the best record in the La Russa era). In 1988, the elephant was restored as the symbol of the Athletics and currently adorns the left sleeve of home and road uniforms. The elephant was retired as team mascot in 1963 by then-owner Charles O. Finley in favor of a Missouri mule. The A's defeated the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games, including a dramatic, classic walk-off home run by the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson in game one.
1988 was the first of three straight years the A's would represent the AL in the World Series.