They set an NL record by staying in first place in the division for the entire season or "wire-to-wire", which had been done only one other time, by the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
The Reds' bullpen had three primary members—Norm Charlton, Randy Myers, and Rob Dibble—collectively they were known as the "Nasty Boys", who wouldn't let the A's score against them in nearly nine innings of work.
In order to make up the postponed games, the regular season was extended by three days, causing the postseason to begin on a Thursday rather than a Tuesday, as had been the practice for many years.
When Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart entered to pitch Game 1, he had a six-game postseason winning streak going, which ended after four innings of work.
The Reds got out of the gate quickly with a two-run home run (that nearly hit the CBS television studio where anchor Pat O'Brien was sitting in left-center) from Eric Davis in the bottom of the first inning off A's ace Dave Stewart.
Billy Hatcher helped out offensively in a big way by starting his streak of seven straight hits in the series after a walk in the first inning.
Two "Nasty Boys," Rob Dibble and Randy Myers pitched the eighth and ninth innings and Cincinnati cruised to a surprise victory.
[6] Eventual Cy Young Award winner Bob Welch opposed postseason veteran Danny Jackson in Game 2.
Rickey Henderson manufactured a run for the A's in the first by getting a hit, stealing second, getting sacrificed to third by Carney Lansford, and scoring on a groundout by José Canseco.
A base hit by Mark McGwire and two walks to Dave Henderson and Willie Randolph followed, knocking the ineffective Jackson out of the game.
The A's, however, would not score any more runs thanks to the relief pitching of Scudder, All-Star game starter Jack Armstrong, and the threesome nicknamed the "Nasty Boys": Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers.
The Reds tied it in the eighth when Hatcher tripled over the crippled Canseco (who was suffering from back spasms throughout the playoffs) and scored on pinch-hitter Glenn Braggs's force play (after O'Neill was walked to set it up).
Debbie left her seat in the fifth inning to drive herself to the hospital, and Browning, thinking he wouldn't be asked to pitch as he was scheduled to start Game 3, followed her soon after.
As of 2023[update], Great American Ball Park, the Reds current home field, has yet to host a World Series.
Tom Browning (two days after becoming a father) started for the Reds while Mike Moore, who had two wins in the 1989 World Series (alongside Dave Stewart), got the assignment for Oakland despite struggling throughout the regular season.
Eric Davis drilled a sharp single to center scoring Hatcher to tie the game and advancing O'Neill to third.
Mariano Duncan drove Oliver home with a single, stole second, and scored himself when Barry Larkin hit a gapper.
Chasing a fly ball, he fell hard on his elbow jammed into his side, and sustained both a rib cage injury and a kidney laceration.
Glenn Braggs' groundout and Hal Morris's sacrifice fly gave the Reds a 2–1 edge, which was preserved by both Rijo, who at one point retired 20 straight batters, and Randy Myers who got the final two outs.
Cincinnati Reds' pitcher José Rijo became the second Dominican born player to earn World Series MVP honors.
Pedro Guerrero of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981, along with his co-MVP teammates Ron Cey and Steve Yeager was the first Dominican born to earn World Series MVP.
Jim Kaat and Lesley Visser served as field reporters, while Pat O'Brien hosted the pregame and postgame shows.
The World Series was the third major sporting event to be broadcast by CBS in 1990; the network aired Super Bowl XXIV in January of 1990 and carried its last NBA Finals in the spring.
[9][10][11] The twelve game differential between the teams' regular season records made this one of only two times in World Series history that a team swept an opponent whose regular season record bested theirs by ten games or more, the other being the 1954 New York Giants, who swept the 14-games-better Cleveland Indians.
1990 Cy Young Award winner Bob Welch fared almost as poorly; his earned run average swelled from 2.95 (1990) to 4.58 (1991).
As it turned out, the Nasty Boys bullpen trio of Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers would only play together for two seasons.
As a result, this would prove to be the Athletics' final World Series appearance while the team was based in Oakland, as they will temporarily move to Sacramento in 2025 while a new ballpark in Las Vegas is constructed with the expectation it will open in time for the 2028 season.