Answer the following Q with stream of consciousness. Passage: The 1990 World Series was the 87th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series and the conclusion of the 1990 Major League Baseball season. The Series featured the defending champions and heavily favored American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics against the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Athletics in a four-game sweep. It was the fifth 4-game sweep by the National League and second by the Reds after they did it in 1976, as well as the second consecutive World Series to end in a sweep, after the A's themselves did it to the San Francisco Giants in 1989. It is remembered for Billy Hatcher's seven consecutive hits. The sweep extended the Reds' World Series winning streak to nine games, dating back to 1975. This also was the second World Series meeting between the two clubs (Oakland won four games to three in 1972). As of 2017, this remains both teams' most recent appearance in the World Series.

Question: Based on this passage, who did the reds beat in the 1990 world series?
The relevant information is: The Reds defeated the Athletics in a four-game sweep. Therefore, the final answer is the Athletics.