Steinbach recalls the quake, 25 years later

Terry Steinbach won one World Series during his 14-year major-league playing career, and while that remains the pinnacle of his ball-playing days, he admits that the circumstances of that championship leave him with conflicting feelings about it.

"The best way for me to describe it is, it's a package deal. It was celebratory for us, for having achieved something that we worked, all of us as a group, literally years for," the Twins' bench coach said. "But at the same time, the humanitarian in you remembers that a lot of people lost their lives, their property, all the damage, so it was hard to feel that a game, a series, was important, with all that was going on around us."

That's because, 25 years ago today, Steinbach and the Oakland A's were at Candlestick Park, getting ready for Game 3 of the Bay Bridge Series, when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. "It seems like it was a just a couple years ago," Steinbach said. "I remember it like it was."

The A's were a determined bunch that fall, intent upon not letting the previous year's disappointment against Kirk Gibson and the Dodgers repeat itself. Steinbach had been the hero of Game 2, belting a three-run homer off Rick Reuschel, but with Bob Welch scheduled to pitch Game 3 for the A's, Steinbach was told by manager Tony La Russa that he wouldn't be in the lineup that day.

"It was kind of a nice break, because when you're catching, you're always grinding. You're mind's constantly going," he said. "So this was a chance for me to relax for a little while. I thought, 'Yeah, I'll see what this World Series stuff is all about.' "

He was in the A's dugout, chatting with Oakland reliever Todd Burns, about a half-hour before first pitch, when a huge roar interrupted them. Steinbach figured it was a jet, perhaps part of the pregame ceremonies, "but I didn't think they would let planes fly so low. It was really loud," he said. "I looked up for the plane, and noticed that the concrete overhang above the upper deck was shaking, almost pulsating, like it was made of tin. But I knew, hey, that's concrete, and it's moving like you were flipping a jump rope."

By then, the bench he was sitting on had begun jerking violently, and it kept getting worse, "for a good 8 to 10 seconds," Steinbach remembered. Burns, a southern Californian who had felt quakes before, jumped up and shouted, "Earthquake!" He and Steinbach hurried up the stairs to the field as the shaking subsided, and the crowd cheered. "He said, 'Wow, that was a good one,' " Steinbach said. "I think everyone felt like, 'Hey, we survived, no damage. That was really memorable. Now let's go play ball."

It became apparent within about 20 minutes that the game would not be played, and players began signaling for their relatives to come out of the stands so they could leave. That's when a TV station recorded a famous video of Steinbach comforting his wife Mary, who was sobbing on his shoulder.

The moment is often interpreted as being overwhelmed by the danger of being in an earthquake, but Steinbach said that's not correct. "The reason she was upset was, our daughter Jill was 2 years old, and she was across the bay in our apartment in Oakland, with a nanny," he said. "Well, all the phones were out and we had no way to call and find out if she was safe. Today, you could just call and you'd know in a minute, but then -- you start to hear about buildings falling and people getting killed, and just not knowing was kind of frightening."

The fear wouldn't dissipate for four more hours, either; traffic was at a standstill on most Bay Area freeways, virtually every bridge had been closed until they could be inspected, and the A's team bus had to drive down the San Francisco peninsula to San Jose, then back north to Oakland, an excruciating journey, Steinbach said. "But Jill was safe, everyone was fine," Steinbach said. "And that's when you really start to understand how many people weren't so lucky."