| 1994 New York Yankees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Yankee Stadium | |||
| City | New York City | |||
| Owners | George Steinbrenner | |||
| General managers | Gene Michael | |||
| Managers | Buck Showalter | |||
| Television | WPIX (Phil Rizzuto,Bobby Murcer,Paul Olden,Suzyn Waldman[1][2]) MSG Network (Dewayne Staats,Tony Kubek,Al Trautwig) | |||
| Radio | WABC (AM) (Michael Kay,John Sterling) | |||
| ||||
The 1994New York Yankees season was the 92nd season for the Yankees. New York was managed byBuck Showalter and played atYankee Stadium. The season was cut short by the1994 player's strike, which wiped out any postseason aspirations for their first postseason appearance since losing the1981 World Series and any postseason aspirations that their star player and captain,Don Mattingly, had for the first time in his career.[1] On the day the strike began, the team had a record of 70–43,6+1⁄2 games ahead of theBaltimore Orioles, the best record in the American League and the second-best record in Major League Baseball.[3] The Yankees were on pace to win at least 100 games for the first time since1980.[4] The Yankees' ace, 33-year-old veteranJimmy Key, was leading the majors with 17 wins and was on pace to win 24 games.[3] Right fielderPaul O'Neill was also having a career year, as he was leading the league with a .359 batting average.[3]
The strike is remembered bitterly by Yankees fans as it shook sports fans in New York City and the Yankees to the core,[5][6] and has been named among the 10 worst moments in New York City sports history, primarily because Mattingly had not played in a postseason.[7] It was also seen as the frustrating peak of the Yankees' downfall of the 1980s and early 1990s.[5]
Many fans said that the strike and the lost Yankees season was another blow to baseball backers in New York City, following the move of theDodgers and theGiants to California for the 1958 season, the demise of the Yankees during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the bad baseball atShea Stadium during the late 1970s and early 1990s.[5] The strike ruined the chance for the Yankees to follow in the footsteps of theNHLStanley Cup Champion Rangers andNBA Eastern Conference Champion Knicks by making the championship round of their respective sport.[8][1]
Because the Yankees' last postseason appearance had been in a season cut short by astrike,[9] the media often remarked on the parallels between the two Yankee teams (1981 and 1994), which included both teams having division leads taken away by strike.[10][11] Throughout October, they continued to bombard the Yankees, making speculations about what might have been if there had not been a strike.[12]
By Friday, August 12, the Yankees had compiled a 70–43 record through 113 games. They were leading theAL East Division and had scored 670 runs (5.93 per game) and allowed 534 runs (4.73 per game).[20] Yankees hitters were walked 530 times in the strike-shortened season: the most in the Majors. They also led the Majors in on-base percentage, with .374.[1] They did, however, tie theSan Diego Padres for the most double plays grounded into, with 112.[21]
TheWorld Series, for which the Yankees appeared to be destined,[22] was never played and contributed to fallouts both on and off the field. On the field,Buck Showalter did not have his contract renewed andDon Mattingly retired after the1995 season.[1] In addition, General ManagerGene Michael was fired as a result of the strike.[23] Off the field, the Yankees broadcast team onMSG Network left due to the strike; play-by-play announcerDewayne Staats didn't have his contract renewed and analystTony Kubek, himself a former Yankee, retired from broadcasting.[24] Kubek cited "I hate what the game's become—the greed, the nastiness." He hasn't seen or broadcast a baseball game since.[25]
The 1994 New York Yankees team that could have been remains a hot discussion point in both baseball and in New York City because of the team's revival and Mattingly had not played in a postseason.[1][26][27] When reacting to the strike's cancellation of the season, the first words many people on the Yankees, including OwnerGeorge Steinbrenner, Michael, and Showalter all said was that they all felt bad for Mattingly, saying that he deserved a postseason.[28][1] Mattingly led active players in both games played and at bats without ever appearing in the postseason.[29]
| 1994 Regular Season Game Log (70-43) (Home: 33-24; Road: 37-19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April (15-8) (Home: 9-4; Road: 6-4)
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May (18-7) (Home: 12-2; Road: 6-5)
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June (14-13) (Home: 4-6; Road: 10-7)
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July (17-10) (Home: 7-9; Road: 10-1)
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| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees win | Yankees loss | All-Star Game | Game postponed |
| 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 70 | 43 | .619 |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 |
| Texas Rangers | 52 | 62 | .456 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | — |
| Baltimore Orioles | 63 | 49 | .562 | 2½ |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 3 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 60 | .478 | 12 |
| Boston Red Sox | 54 | 61 | .470 | 13 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 13 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Oakland Athletics | 51 | 63 | .447 | 15½ |
| Seattle Mariners | 49 | 63 | .438 | 16½ |
| California Angels | 47 | 68 | .409 | 20 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | — | 4–2 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–4 | 4–1 | 7–3 | 4–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 7–2 |
| Boston | 2–4 | — | 7–5 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 1–8 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 1–5 | 7–3 |
| California | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 5–5 | 0–5 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–4 | 3–4 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 6–3 | 9–1 | 4–5 | 2–3 |
| Cleveland | 6–4 | 7–3 | 5–0 | 5–7 | — | 8–2 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 9–3 | 0–9 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 5–7 | 6–4 |
| Detroit | 4–3 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 4–8 | 2–8 | — | 4–8 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 5–4 |
| Kansas City | 1–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 7–3 | 4–1 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 6–4 | 4–2 | 7–3 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 6–6 |
| Milwaukee | 3–7 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 3–9 | 2–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–3 |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 8–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–9 | 3–3 | 4–6 | 6–6 | — | 4–5 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 4–8 |
| New York | 6–4 | 7–3 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 9–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–2 | 3–4 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 3–9 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 0–6 | 4–5 | 3–7 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 5–7 | — | 4–3 | 7–3 | 5–1 |
| Seattle | 4–6 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 1–9 | 2–3 | 3–6 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–4 | — | 9–1 | 1–5 |
| Texas | 3–3 | 5–1 | 4–6 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 3–7 | 1–9 | — | 4–8 |
| Toronto | 2–7 | 3–7 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 3–7 | 8–4 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 8–4 | — |
| 1994 New York Yankees | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mike Stanley | 82 | 290 | 54 | 87 | .300 | 17 | 57 |
| 1B | Don Mattingly | 97 | 372 | 62 | 113 | .304 | 6 | 51 |
| 2B | Pat Kelly | 93 | 286 | 35 | 80 | .280 | 3 | 41 |
| SS | Mike Gallego | 89 | 306 | 39 | 73 | .239 | 6 | 41 |
| 3B | Wade Boggs | 97 | 366 | 61 | 125 | .342 | 11 | 55 |
| LF | Luis Polonia | 95 | 350 | 62 | 109 | .311 | 1 | 36 |
| CF | Bernie Williams | 108 | 408 | 80 | 118 | .289 | 12 | 57 |
| RF | Paul O'Neill | 103 | 368 | 68 | 132 | .359 | 21 | 83 |
| DH | Danny Tartabull | 104 | 399 | 68 | 102 | .256 | 19 | 67 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Velarde | 77 | 280 | 47 | 78 | .279 | 9 | 34 |
| Jim Leyritz | 75 | 249 | 47 | 66 | .265 | 17 | 58 |
| Gerald Williams | 57 | 86 | 19 | 25 | .291 | 4 | 13 |
| Matt Nokes | 28 | 79 | 11 | 23 | .291 | 7 | 19 |
| Daryl Boston | 52 | 77 | 11 | 14 | .182 | 4 | 14 |
| Kevin Elster | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Silvestri | 12 | 18 | 3 | 2 | .111 | 1 | 2 |
| Russ Davis | 4 | 14 | 0 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Melvin | 9 | 14 | 2 | 4 | .286 | 1 | 3 |
| Robert Eenhoorn | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Key | 25 | 168.0 | 17 | 4 | 3.27 | 97 |
| Jim Abbott | 24 | 160.1 | 9 | 8 | 4.55 | 90 |
| Mélido Pérez | 22 | 151.1 | 9 | 4 | 4.10 | 109 |
| Terry Mulholland | 24 | 120.2 | 6 | 7 | 6.49 | 72 |
| Scott Kamieniecki | 22 | 117.1 | 8 | 6 | 3.76 | 71 |
| Bob Ojeda | 2 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 24.00 | 3 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Hitchcock | 23 | 49.1 | 4 | 1 | 4.20 | 37 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Howe | 40 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1.80 | 18 |
| Bob Wickman | 53 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3.09 | 56 |
| Xavier Hernandez | 31 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5.85 | 37 |
| Paul Gibson | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.97 | 21 |
| Donn Pall | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.60 | 21 |
| Joe Ausanio | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.17 | 15 |
| Jeff Reardon | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8.38 | 4 |
| Greg A. Harris | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 4 |
| Rob Murphy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 0 |
| Mark Hutton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 1 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tampa[35]
In 1994, she became the play-by-play person for WPIX's Yankees telecasts.
They are on a pace for a 103-victory season over 162 games. The Yankees have not won 100 games since winning 103 underDick Howser in 1980.
Those who followed the1981 New York Yankees...can't help but notice potential similarities with this year's first-place Yankee club.
In the lengthy and uncertain off-season, an unfair anointing was bestowed on the Yankees. To emphasize the sense of loss with noWorld Series, many columnists kept referring to the dates in October when the Yankees might have played a Series game. This kind of reference occurred so often, fans may have gotten the idea the Yankees were a lock for the Series. An unforeseen stumble on the way to the playoffs or in one of the newly expanded rounds of postseason play was out of the question.
It was the summer of 1994, and, on the field, baseball was thriving...The Yankees were in a revival. The Expos looked like they might make history...