| 1994 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 3 – August 11, 1994 |
| Games | 162 (scheduled) 112–117 (actual)[1] |
| Teams | 28 |
| TV partners | |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Paul Wilson |
| Picked by | New York Mets |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | NL:Jeff Bagwell (HOU) AL:Frank Thomas (CWS) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1994 Major League Baseball season began on April 3, but ended prematurely on August 11, 1994, with the1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. The season started despite the expiration of MLB's previouscollective bargaining agreement at the end of 1993. It was the first season played under the current three-division format in each league. It was also the first with anOpening Night game involving twoNational League teams, which did not become permanent until 1996.
As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ended prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason (including theWorld Series) was played. Over 260 players were scheduled to exceed $1 million in compensation in 1994.[2] TheMinor League Baseball season was played in its entirety.
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Joe Carter | Ellis Burks |
| May | Frank Thomas | Lenny Dykstra Mike Piazza |
| June | Albert Belle | Jeff Bagwell |
| July | Frank Thomas | Jeff Bagwell |
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Ben McDonald | Bob Tewksbury |
| May | David Cone | Doug Drabek |
| June | Cal Eldred | Bobby Muñoz |
| July | Alex Fernandez | Bret Saberhagen |
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Paul O'Neill NYY | .359 | Tony Gwynn SD | .394 |
| HR | Ken Griffey Jr. SEA | 40 | Matt Williams SF | 43 |
| RBI | Kirby Puckett MIN | 112 | Jeff Bagwell HOU | 116 |
| Wins | Jimmy Key NYY | 17 | Ken Hill MON Greg Maddux ATL | 16 |
| ERA | Steve Ontiveros OAK | 2.65 | Greg Maddux ATL | 1.56 |
| SO | Randy Johnson SEA | 204 | Andy Benes SD | 189 |
| SV | Lee Smith BAL | 33 | John Franco NYM | 30 |
| SB | Kenny Lofton CLE | 60 | Craig Biggio HOU | 39 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 70 | 43 | .619 | — | 33–24 | 37–19 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 63 | 49 | .562 | 6½ | 28–27 | 35–22 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 60 | .478 | 16 | 33–26 | 22–34 |
| Boston Red Sox | 54 | 61 | .470 | 17 | 31–33 | 23–28 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 18 | 34–24 | 19–38 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 | — | 34–19 | 33–27 |
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | 1 | 35–16 | 31–31 |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 4 | 35–24 | 29–27 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 14 | 32–27 | 21–33 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 15 | 24–32 | 29–30 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | 52 | 62 | .456 | — | 31–32 | 21–30 |
| Oakland Athletics | 51 | 63 | .447 | 1 | 24–32 | 27–31 |
| Seattle Mariners | 49 | 63 | .438 | 2 | 22–22 | 27–41 |
| California Angels | 47 | 68 | .409 | 5½ | 23–40 | 24–28 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Expos | 74 | 40 | .649 | — | 32–20 | 42–20 |
| Atlanta Braves | 68 | 46 | .596 | 6 | 31–24 | 37–22 |
| New York Mets | 55 | 58 | .487 | 18½ | 23–30 | 32–28 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 54 | 61 | .470 | 20½ | 34–26 | 20–35 |
| Florida Marlins | 51 | 64 | .443 | 23½ | 25–34 | 26–30 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 48 | .579 | — | 37–22 | 29–26 |
| Houston Astros | 66 | 49 | .574 | ½ | 37–22 | 29–27 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 53 | 61 | .465 | 13 | 32–29 | 21–32 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 53 | 61 | .465 | 13 | 23–33 | 30–28 |
| Chicago Cubs | 49 | 64 | .434 | 16½ | 20–39 | 29–25 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 58 | 56 | .509 | — | 33–22 | 25–34 |
| San Francisco Giants | 55 | 60 | .478 | 3½ | 29–31 | 26–29 |
| Colorado Rockies | 53 | 64 | .453 | 6½ | 25–32 | 28–32 |
| San Diego Padres | 47 | 70 | .402 | 12½ | 26–31 | 21–39 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game | Est. payroll | %± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Rockies[3] | 53 | −20.9% | 3,281,511 | −26.8% | 57,570 | $23,887,333 | 130.7% |
| Toronto Blue Jays[4] | 55 | −42.1% | 2,907,933 | −28.3% | 49,287 | $43,433,668 | −8.1% |
| Atlanta Braves[5] | 68 | −34.6% | 2,539,240 | −34.6% | 46,168 | $49,383,513 | 18.6% |
| Baltimore Orioles[6] | 63 | −25.9% | 2,535,359 | −30.4% | 46,097 | $38,849,769 | 33.5% |
| Texas Rangers[7] | 52 | −39.5% | 2,503,198 | 11.5% | 39,733 | $32,973,597 | −9.4% |
| Philadelphia Phillies[8] | 54 | −44.3% | 2,290,971 | −27.0% | 38,183 | $31,599,000 | 10.7% |
| Los Angeles Dodgers[9] | 58 | −28.4% | 2,279,355 | −28.1% | 41,443 | $38,000,001 | −3.7% |
| Cleveland Indians[10] | 66 | −13.2% | 1,995,174 | −8.4% | 39,121 | $30,490,500 | 64.3% |
| Florida Marlins[11] | 51 | −20.3% | 1,937,467 | −36.8% | 32,838 | $21,633,000 | 11.9% |
| Cincinnati Reds[12] | 66 | −9.6% | 1,897,681 | −22.6% | 31,628 | $41,073,833 | −8.5% |
| St. Louis Cardinals[13] | 53 | −39.1% | 1,866,544 | −34.4% | 33,331 | $29,275,601 | 25.3% |
| Chicago Cubs[14] | 49 | −41.7% | 1,845,208 | −30.5% | 31,275 | $36,287,333 | −7.9% |
| Boston Red Sox[15] | 54 | −32.5% | 1,775,818 | −26.7% | 27,747 | $37,859,084 | 2.0% |
| San Francisco Giants[16] | 55 | −46.6% | 1,704,608 | −34.6% | 28,410 | $42,638,666 | 21.3% |
| Chicago White Sox[17] | 67 | −28.7% | 1,697,398 | −34.2% | 32,026 | $39,183,836 | −1.3% |
| New York Yankees[18] | 70 | −20.5% | 1,675,556 | −30.7% | 29,396 | $46,040,334 | 7.8% |
| Houston Astros[19] | 66 | −22.4% | 1,561,136 | −25.1% | 26,460 | $33,126,000 | 9.7% |
| California Angels[20] | 47 | −33.8% | 1,512,622 | −26.5% | 24,010 | $25,156,218 | −12.0% |
| Kansas City Royals[21] | 64 | −23.8% | 1,400,494 | −27.6% | 23,737 | $40,541,334 | −2.2% |
| Minnesota Twins[22] | 53 | −25.4% | 1,398,565 | −31.7% | 23,704 | $28,438,500 | 0.8% |
| Montreal Expos[23] | 74 | −21.3% | 1,276,250 | −22.2% | 24,543 | $19,098,000 | 1.1% |
| Milwaukee Brewers[24] | 53 | −23.2% | 1,268,399 | −24.9% | 22,650 | $24,350,500 | 2.3% |
| Oakland Athletics[25] | 51 | −25.0% | 1,242,692 | −38.9% | 22,191 | $34,172,500 | −9.6% |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[26] | 53 | −29.3% | 1,222,520 | −25.9% | 20,041 | $24,217,250 | −2.4% |
| Detroit Tigers[27] | 53 | −37.6% | 1,184,783 | −39.9% | 20,427 | $41,446,501 | 8.6% |
| New York Mets[28] | 55 | −6.8% | 1,151,471 | −38.5% | 21,726 | $30,956,583 | −20.7% |
| Seattle Mariners[29] | 49 | −40.2% | 1,104,206 | −46.2% | 25,096 | $29,228,500 | −13.1% |
| San Diego Padres[30] | 47 | −23.0% | 953,857 | −30.7% | 16,734 | $14,916,333 | −41.5% |
This was the first season ofThe Baseball Network, thejoint venture between MLB,ABC, andNBC. Meanwhile,ESPN renewed its contract forSunday Night Baseball andWednesday Night Baseball.
Under The Baseball Network's original plan, theAll-Star Game would alternate between NBC in even-numbered years and ABC in odd-numbered years. After the All-Star Game was complete,[31] ABC took over coverage with what was to be their weekly slate of games under theBaseball Night in America banner.[32] ABC was scheduled to televise six[33] regular season games on Saturdays[34] or Mondays[35] inprime time. NBC[36][37] would then pick up where ABC left off by televising six more regular season Friday night[38][39][40] games. EveryBaseball Night in America game was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.Eastern Time (or 8 p.m.Pacific Time if the game occurred on theWest Coast[41]). A single starting time gave the networks the opportunity to broadcast one game and then, simultaneously, cut to another game when there was a break in action.
The networks had exclusive rights for the twelve regular season dates, in that no regional or national cable service (such asESPN orsuperstations likeChicago'sWGN-TV[42] orAtlanta'sWTBS) or over-the-air[43] broadcaster was allowed[44] to telecast a Major League Baseball game on those dates.Baseball Night in America[45] (which premiered[46] on July 16, 1994) usually aired up to fourteen games[47] based on the viewers' region (affiliates chose games of local interest to carry) as opposed to a traditional coast-to-coast format.[48] Normally, announcers who represented each of the teams playing in the respective games were paired with each other. More specifically, on regional Saturday night broadcasts and all non-"national" broadcasts, TBN let the two lead announcers from the opposing teams call the games involving their teams together.
Postseason coverage would have also alternated between the two networks. In even-numbered years, NBC would have the rights to theAll-Star Game and bothLeague Championship Series while ABC would have theWorld Series[49] and newly createdDivision Series.[50][51]
When theplayer's strike began on August 12, ABC had only aired games on four of its six scheduled dates,[52][53] while NBC's slate was supposed to begin on August 26.[54][55][56]
| Network | Day of week | Announcers |
|---|---|---|
| ABC | Saturday nights Monday nights | Al Michaels,Jim Palmer,Tim McCarver See also:The Baseball Network announcers |
| NBC | Friday nights[n1 1] | Bob Costas,Joe Morgan,Bob Uecker |
| ESPN | Sunday nights Wednesday nights | Jon Miller,Joe Morgan |
The following are baseball movies released in 1994:
ABC lost the 1994 World Series; this was supposed to be NBC's year. Instead, they split the spoils. Who got the better of the deal? Let's see. The networks each get 6 percent of the advertising revenues; baseball gets 88 percent. Call it a draw.
