<P> When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics . Oakland won the first two games at home, and the two teams crossed the bridge to San Francisco to play Game 3 on Tuesday, October 17 . ABC's broadcast of Game 3 began at 5 pm local time, approximately 30 minutes before the first pitch was scheduled . At 5: 04, while broadcasters Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were narrating highlights and the teams were warming up, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred (having a surface - wave magnitude of 7.1 with an epicenter ten miles (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz, California). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in the Bay Area and killed 63 people . Television viewers saw the video signal deteriorate and heard Michaels say "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth --" before the feed from Candlestick Park was lost . Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake . Television coverage later resumed, using backup generators, with Michaels becoming a news reporter on the unfolding disaster . Approximately 30 minutes after the earthquake, Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed . Fans, workers, and the teams evacuated a blacked out (although still sunlit) Candlestick . Game 3 was finally played on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four - game sweep . </P> <P> World Series games were contested outside of the United States for the first time in 1992, with the Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games . The World Series returned to Canada in 1993, with the Blue Jays victorious again, this time against the Philadelphia Phillies in six games . No other Series has featured a team from outside of the United States . Toronto is the only expansion team to win successive World Series titles . The 1993 World Series was also notable for being only the second championship concluded by a home run and the first concluded by a come - from - behind homer, after Joe Carter's three - run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning sealed an 8--6 Toronto win in Game 6 . The first Series to end with a homer was the 1960 World Series, when Bill Mazeroski hit a ninth - inning solo shot in Game 7 to win the championship for the Pittsburgh Pirates . </P> <P> In 1994, each league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and the newly introduced wild card winner advancing to a best - of - five playoff round (the "division series"), the National League Division Series (NLDS) and American League Division Series (ALDS). The team with the best league record is matched against the wild card team, unless they are in the same division, in which case, the team with the second - best record plays against the wild card winner . The remaining two division winners are pitted against each other . The winners of the series in the first round advance to the best - of - seven NLCS and ALCS . Due to a players' strike, however, the NLDS and ALDS were not played until 1995 . Beginning in 1998, home field advantage was given to the team with the better regular season record, with the exception that the Wild Card team cannot get home - field advantage . </P> <P> After the boycott of 1904, the World Series was played every year until 1994 despite World War I, the global influenza pandemic of 1918--1919, the Great Depression of the 1930s, America's involvement in World War II, and even an earthquake in the host cities of the 1989 World Series . A breakdown in collective bargaining led to a strike in August 1994 and the eventual cancellation of the rest of the season, including the playoffs . </P>

Who has home field advantage in world series