<Table> <Tr> <Td> ← 1988 </Td> <Td> World Series </Td> <Td> 1990 → </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> ← 1988 </Td> <Td> World Series </Td> <Td> 1990 → </Td> </Tr> <P> The 1989 World Series was the 86th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, and the conclusion of the 1989 Major League Baseball season . A best - of - seven playoff, it was played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants . The Series ran from October 14 through October 28, with the Athletics sweeping the Giants in four games . It was the first World Series sweep since 1976 . The four game sweep by the Athletics at the time would mark only the third time in World Series history that a team never trailed in any game (1963, 1966, and 2004 World Series being the only other times this occurred), and the first in the playoff era (post-1968). </P> <P> This marked the fourth World Series matchup, and first since 1913, between the two franchises . The previous three matchups occurred when the Giants were in New York and the Athletics resided in Philadelphia . The then New York Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series four games to one, the Athletics defeating the Giants in the 1911 World Series four games to two, and then again in the 1913 Fall Classic four games to one . The series would be historic in other ways as well: the 76 - year gap between matchups is the longest in World Series history, and marked the first time two franchises had faced off in the World Series after having once played each other when both were based in a different city . </P>

Who played in the world series in 1989