OTD in 1986, Tony La Russa & Dave Stewart Began the Rebirth of the Athletics Franchise

In his first game managing the A's on July 7, 1986, Tony La Russa dipped into the bottom of the A's bullpen for a starting pitcher. He and pitching coach Dave Duncan settled on Dave Stewart, who promptly went out and beat Rogers Clemens, 14-1 at that point, on national TV. From that point the A's would need less than two seasons to field a World Series team.

Once Tony La Russa was fired by the Chicago White Sox in the waning days of June, 1986, he thought it was time for a break from baseball.

La Russa had spent every summer managing since 1979, and he told his wife and two daughters that it was time for a family vacation. A long one. And then Sandy Alderson called.

The Oakland general manager had liked what he’d seen from the way La Russa handled games and players, and the GM had thought at some point that he’d be the kind of manager Alderson would like working with. But there was this vacation. La Russa wasn’t about to go back on a promise to his family.

At the same time, he liked the opportunity and the challenge that Oakland presented. So, Team La Russa went on vacation, but instead of taking all summer to do a grand tour, the time off was shortened to about two weeks before the jump to Oakland. And that jump would be the seed that led to the A’s blooming into perhaps the best team in baseball in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Jackie Moore, who had been managing the A’s, had been replaced by coach Jeff Newman on June 28, nine days after the White Sox had parted ways with La Russa. Newman felt so strongly that he was just filling in during his 10-game (2-8) stint that he refused to sit behind the manager’s desk. He would talk to the media postgame while leaning on the front of the manager’s desk.

It was on this day, July 7, that La Russa finally made his debut, although it wasn’t in Oakland. The A’s were in Boston for the opening of a series with the Red Sox. More than that, they were facing Roger Clemens, who was 14-1 and in the middle of one of several monster seasons he’d have with the Sox.

La Russa wanted to send a message that it was a new day in Oakland, so he pulled a Dave Stewart out of his middle relief role. Stewart, an Oakland native who’d started the season with Philadelphia. The Phillies released him on May 9. The A’s picked him up mostly as an afterthought on May 23.

Stewart went to Triple-A Tacoma for one game, then joined the A’s and pitched in 10 games between May 29-June 1. The A’s were 0-10 in those games, although Stewart got no decision in the one game he started. And he had a blown save.

Going to Stewart was something of a gamble, but La Russa and his pitching coach, Dave Duncan, wanted more from the Oakland pitching staff than had been seen in the first half of the season, and they rationalized Stewart would give them that.

Stewart, six years older than Clemens and just glad to be getting a chance, didn’t feel the pressure of a national television audience. And he made the gamble pay off.

On July 7, 1986, with the baseball world watching, Stewart found himself pitching on the road in front of a hostile, howling Boston crowd. More than that, he found himself.

Stewart allowed one run in the first five innings as the A’s offense, led by Jose Canseco’s 20 homer, a two-run shot in the top of the sixth, pushed the A’s to a 6-1 lead. The six runs would be the most Clemens would allow all season, and his five innings pitched was his shortest stint of the season to date. The A’s won 6-4, and Oakland would go 45-34 the rest of the way.

Stewart would get 16 starts beginning with that beating of Clemens and was transformed into the A’s ace. He’d go 9-5 the rest of the way. That would lay the groundwork for the A’s powerhouse teams that would land in the World Series three consecutive seasons 1988-90.

For all that time, Stewart and La Russa were linked. In a five-year period, the A’s played in seven different post-season series, and Stewart was La Russa’s choice to start all seven. He was 3-1 with a 2.47 ERA in those Game 1s.

Beyond that, Stewart became Clemens’ personal nemesis. They would meet eight times in all, and Stewart would go 8-0 in those games with a 1.80 ERA. From that first meeting, Stewart had gotten into Clemens’ head.

Clemens would win seven Cy Young Awards, including in 1986, but he was just another guy when facing Stewart, who never won a Cy Young, but had four consecutive 20-win seasons for the A’s from 1987-90. He felt Cy Young-worthy. He never got it, and Clemens would pay the price.

The most impactful of those Clemens-Stewart battles came in Game 5 of the 1990 American League Championship Series. Stewart had beaten Clemens in Game 1, although the A’s nine runs in a 9-1 win didn’t come until Clemens was out of the game, having pitched six shutout innings. Stewart allowed one run in eight innings and the A’s got off to a quick start.

Come Game 4, Clemens found himself down 1-0 in the second inning. He started yelling at home plate umpire Terry Cooney. In a game the Red Sox absolutely, positively had to win, Clemens got himself ejected from the game. Stewart, who would later say Clemens seemed “unhinged,” threw eight scoreless innings, gave up a run in the ninth and left it to Rick Honeycutt to close out a 3-1 win and the sweep.

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Inside the Athletics on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.