1987-1990
In 1987 he won 20 games while posting a 3.68 ERA and striking out 205 batters. His new-found stardom would not be short-lived as he won 20 or more games in each of the next three seasons (1988–1990). Remarkably, he pitched over 250 innings in each of those four seasons, frequently posting complete games and led a powerful Athletics club to the World Series each of those years. In 1988 he went 21-12, 3.23 ERA while leading the AL with 14 complete games and 275 2/3 innings pitched. In 1989 he went 21-9 with a 3.32 ERA, and in 1990 he went 22-11, finshing 3rd in the AL with a 2.56 ERA and led the league in innings pitched (267), complete games (11) and shutouts (4)
In 1989, the Athletics won the World Series championship, with Stewart, who won two of the four games while giving up just three runs (2-0 1.69 ERA including a complete game shutout in the opener), being named World Series MVP. In 1990, the A's won their third straight pennant, beating the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, and Stewart was named the ALCS MVP going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA. However, Oakland was upset in the World Series with a sweep by a decidedly underdog Cincinnati Reds squad. Despite going 0-2 in the series Stewart still posted a very respectable 2.77 ERA.
On June 29, 1990, Stewart no-hit his future team, the Toronto Blue Jays, at SkyDome, the first no-hitter by an African American since Jim Bibby in 1973 and, the last thrown by an Athletic before Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game on May 9, 2010. In a game that started minutes after Stewart's no-hitter finished, Dodger Fernando Valenzuela no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium – the first time in Major League history that no-hitters had been thrown in both leagues on the same day. Coincidentally, ESPN broadcast both games back-to-back that night.
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