AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : THE MATCHUPS

FIRST BASE

Mark McGwire, Athletics: Hit 33 homers with 95 runs batted in. Batted only .205 against Toronto this year, but hit three homers with 10 RBIs in 39 at-bats. Bats .184 on artificial turf. Hit .333 in 1988 playoffs, was one for 17 in World Series.

Fred McGriff, Blue Jays: Led league with 36 home runs after hitting 34 last year in first full season. Did not hit a home run after Sept. 4, a span of 24 games. Drew 119 walks. Batted .217 against Oakland with three homers and eight RBIs in 46 at-bats.

McGriff is a better fielder.

Edge to Toronto.

SECOND BASE

Tony Phillips, Athletics: Batted .262 with 47 RBIs. Was just three for 11 in steal attempts. Hit .182 with 10 strikeouts in 33 at-bats against Toronto.

Nelson Liriano or Manny Lee, Blue Jays: Both are switch-hitters, but Liriano is likely to start more often because he hits better left-handed and is smoother on double plays. Liriano drew eight walks in 54 plate appearances against Oakland. Lee hit 100 points higher on grass than turf.

Probably the weakest spot for both teams. No edge.

THIRD BASE

Carney Lansford, Athletics: Batted .336, second in the league. Hit .392 against left-handers and was 50 points higher on the road than at home. Safe on 37 of 52 steal tries. Had .440 on-base percentage against Toronto. Batted .294 in each of two previous playoffs.

Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays: Hit career-high 18 home runs. Made 22 errors, nine more than Lansford. Batted .316 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 38 at-bats against Oakland.

Lansford is a proven, steady player. Gruber might produce big things, but he might not.

Lansford gets a slight edge.

SHORTSTOP

Mike Gallego or Walt Weiss, Athletics: Gallego took over when Walt Weiss was injured and did well enough to keep the job. He hit .323 with five RBIs against Toronto. Weiss, rookie of the year in 1988, was 0 for 11 against Toronto this season. If Weiss starts, Gallego will probably start at second base.

Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays: Made just six errors, one better than league record for shortstops set by Detroit’s Eddie Brinkman in 1972. Hit career-high 11 home runs and batted nearly .300 after he was moved down to the sixth spot on Aug. 12. Batted .310 against Oakland. Hit .333 in the 1985 playoffs.

Big edge to the Blue Jays.

CATCHER

Terry Steinbach or Ron Hassey, Athletics: Steinbach plays against left-handers, Hassey goes against righties. Steinbach slumped after an All-Star first half. Batted .364 against Toronto. Hassey went four for eight in last year’s playoffs.

Ernie Whitt or Pat Borders, Blue Jays: Whitt, the last remaining original Blue Jay, starts against right-handers and Borders plays against lefties. Whitt ended the season in a nine-for-57 slump. Borders hit .290 at night, 100 points higher than during the day.

Oakland’s platoon has more potential and has the edge.

LEFT FIELD

Rickey Henderson, Athletics: Led majors with 77 stolen bases (was caught 14 times). Batted .274 and led league with 126 walks. A right-handed hitter, yet batted 40 points higher against righties. Has improved in the outfield and gave Oakland the leadoff hitter it needed in trade from New York Yankees.

George Bell, Blue Jays: Got 104 RBIs, his third time in four seasons with at least 100. Started at designated hitter 19 times, including the last eight because of an inflamed right elbow, without any arguments. Was suspended twice for disputes with umpires. Hit .321 in the 1985 playoffs.

Two completely different players, each the key to their team’s offense.

No edge.

CENTER FIELD

Dave Henderson, Athletics: In the postseason, he’s career .329 hitter with four home runs. Loves big games. Hit 60 points higher at home, .250 overall.

Lloyd Moseby, Blue Jays: Hit .440 during first week of September, but is in 11-for-58 slump. Has batted leadoff for most of the last month. Hit .221 overall and just .180 at home.

Edge to Oakland.

RIGHT FIELD

Jose Canseco, Athletics: Hit 17 home runs after not playing until after the All-Star break because of a wrist injury. Homered twice in 14 at-bats against Toronto. Batted .170 on turf. Hit .313 with three home runs in four games in last year’s playoffs and hit a grand slam in his first at-bat in the World Series, but finished in an 0-for-18 rut.

Mookie Wilson, Blue Jays: Canada’s newest hero. Acquired from New York Mets on Aug. 1 and credited with sparking Blue Jays to championship. Batted .298 and has stolen 12 consecutive bases.

Wilson’s hustle gets Toronto going, but if Canseco swings a big bat, Oakland will win.

Edge to Oakland.

PITCHING

STARTERS: Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, Bob Welch and Storm Davis, Athletics: Stewart (21-9) is first pitcher to win 20 games in three consecutive seasons since Jim Palmer in 1975-77. Had 2.77 earned-run average at home, 3.91 on road. Is 8-5 lifetime against Toronto. Moore (19-11) held opponents to a .219 batting average, but is 4-12 career vs. Toronto. Davis (19-7) went 2-0 against Blue Jays this season and pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings in 1988 playoffs. Welch (17-8) became famous for striking out Reggie Jackson in the World Series, but has allowed 19 earned runs in 22 postseason innings.

STARTERS: Dave Stieb, Todd Stottlemyre, Jimmy Key and Mike Flanagan, Blue Jays: Stieb (17-8) is the only one with a winning record. Opponents hit .219 against him. Lost Game 7 of the 1985 playoffs. Stottlemyre (7-7) is better at home, but will start Game 2 in Oakland. Key (13-15) gave up four home runs in 17 2/3 innings to Oakland this season and was 0-2. Flanagan (8-10) will go 12 days without pitching, but is 18-7 lifetime against the Athletics.

The numbers all favor the Athletics, but are they big-game pitchers? Maybe, although Oakland’s edge is not as big as the statistics might seem to show.

BULLPEN: Dennis Eckersley, Gene Nelson, Rick Honeycutt and Todd Burns, Athletics: Eckersley saved 33 games and right-handers hit just .121 against him. Nelson allowed one run in 10 innings in last year’s postseason. Honeycutt held lefties to a .156 average.

BULLPEN: Tom Henke, Jim Acker, Dave Wells, Duane Ward and John Cerutti, Blue Jays: Henke struck out 116 batters in 89 innings with 20 saves. Had an 0.93 ERA after Toronto’s 12-24 start. Acker had 1.59 ERA after being traded by Atlanta in late August. Wells was 7-4 in middle relief. Cerutti was 11-11 in 31 starts, but is 0-6 lifetime against Oakland and more adaptable to a relief role.

Both teams rely heavily on their bullpens. Each club has several middle relievers, a left-handed specialist and an excellent closer.

Slight edge to Oakland.

DESIGNATED HITTERS

Dave Parker, Athletics: Hit 22 home runs with 97 RBIs. Grounded into 21 double plays, tied with Lansford and two behind McGwire. Got the only three hits off Orel Hershiser in Game 2 of the World Series last year.

Lee Mazzilli, Blue Jays: Joined Toronto a day after Wilson arrived from Mets. Batted .227 but is good at drawing walks.

Sizable edge to Oakland, particularly because adjusting to the DH role on short notice can be tricky for former National Leaguers.

BENCH

Ken Phelps, Stan Javier, Athletics: Phelps was 11 for 38 with three homers and 13 RBIs as a pinch-hitter. Oakland got him in late August from the Yankees. Javier was four for eight in last year’s postseason.

Junior Felix, Tom Lawless, Rance Mulliniks, Blue Jays: Felix helped Toronto early in the season, but the rookie slumped when the league got a better look at him. Still, he hit nine homers with 46 RBIs. Lawless is 12 for 13 in steal attempts. Mulliniks was three for 18 as a pinch-hitter this year.

Even.

MANAGERS

Tony La Russa, Athletics: Prepares himself and his team for each game as well as anyone in baseball. One of five managers in major league history to hold a law degree.

Cito Gaston, Blue Jays: Took over when Toronto was 12-24; Blue Jays went 77-49 after that, best in the majors in that time. Is not flashy, but is liked and respected by his players.

Neither manager relies on Tom Lasorda-like emotion. Experience will help La Russa, so he gets the edge.