This Day in Baseball History: The Loma Prieta Earthquake disrupts Game 3 of the 1989 Bay Bridge World Series
Exactly 33 years ago to the day, a World Series game was disrupted by perhaps the most peculiar and dangerous incident in MLB history.
On October 17, 1989, Bay Area rivals, the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, were set to compete in Game 3 of the World Series. The game was scheduled to commence at Candlestick Park in San Francisco at 5:35 p.m. PDT.
However, at around 5:04 p.m. EDT, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck around 10 miles northeast of Santa Cruz, California. It rocked a section of the San Andreas Fault in the nearby Loma Prieta peaks.
The shockwaves of the earthquake were so strong, given that it was a section of the fault that moved, it reverberated as far as the Bay Area up north.
On Oct. 17 1989, just before Game 3 of the World Series between the A's and the Giants, a M6.9 earthquake shook Candlestick Park and the entire Bay Area. Known as the Loma Prieta earthquake, it was the largest EQ in the Bay Area since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. https://t.co/SV1EyxrtfX
"On Oct. 17 1989, just before Game 3 of the World Series between the A's and the Giants, a M6.9 earthquake shook Candlestick Park and the entire Bay Area. Known as the Loma Prieta earthquake, it was the largest EQ in the Bay Area since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake." - Southern California Earthquake Center
Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were assigned to man the booth for the ABC World Series coverage. McCarver was discussing highlights from Game 2 during the pre-show when the earthquake struck.
The commentator was noticeably shaken as he repeated his words while the tremor was occurring. Michaels tried to explain what was going on but was cut off due to the signal being lost.
The natural disaster claimed 63 lives with 3,757 left injured. The earthquake also caused damage amounting to as high as $6 billion dollars at the time.
It was theorized, however, that the baseball series saved thousands of lives. This was because motorists who were supposed to be on the freeways and more specifically, the Cypress Structure, were already at home and tuned in for the game.
Had it been a regular day and rush hour in the area, more lives may have been lost.
Longest delay in World Series history
Due to significant structural collapses in the Bay Area, the Fall Classic was postponed for 10 days and wasn't played until October 27, 1989.
The series resumed with a double-header. Tony La Russa's A's came hot right out of the gate, peppering the Giants 13-7 in Game 3. They then closed them out 9-6 in Game 4 later in the night for the series sweep and the ninth Athletics World Series title in franchise history.