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1994 mlb strike newspaper8/29/2023 ![]() Many minor leaguers, though, seeking glory or decent compensation, did cross, and major leaguers held grudges for years. Amid pressure from both sides, he stepped away from the sport in March. Michael Jordan, taking a hiatus from being the world’s greatest basketball player, said in February 1995 that he’d like to reach the majors and play for a couple of seasons.īut the White Sox management wanted Jordan to cross. ![]() Recently: Iconic Louisville Slugger maker is in a coronavirus slumpĪmong the many faceless minor leaguers who refused to cross the picket line was one White Sox outfielder who spent the 1994 season at Double-A. ![]() MLB players threatened the minor leaguers that they’d be ostracized forever if they broke the labor strike. The poorly paid minor leaguers received extreme pressure from the owners to play, and extreme pressure from the players to stay put. And then he went and hugged his girlfriend as soon as it was over because he was so excited about making a throw on a major league field like that.”īuck Showalter, managing the New York Yankees, would tell Kurkjian that it was one of the worst experiences of his baseball life.įor the replacement players - “scabs” as they were ungraciously known - it was one of the most pivotal experiences of their baseball lives. “He threw it like 100 feet in the air and it went in the air to third base,” Kurkjian said. Kurkjian remembers one outfield throw, in particular, that left him dismayed at the product he was watching. News broadcasts highlighted the bloopers and blunders of the replacements. There was 46-year old Lenny Randle, and a slew of former amateur or minor league players who left their jobs as truck drivers and teachers to earn a crack at a big league roster. Pedro Borbón, who played in the majors from 1969-1980, joined the Reds replacement team as a 48-year old. That meant a spring training loaded with players wearing MLB uniforms for the first time ever, or the first time in many years. That much was evident.Īs the strike continued, MLB was determined to go on with the “best players willing,” according to acting commissioner Bud Selig. The replacement players weren’t big leaguers. ![]() “But also to recapture the hearts of their fans after the strike.”īaseball was back, but not all of its fans were.Ĭlose to home: These top Reds prospects could play for Louisville Bats this season 'Scabs' at spring training “The players are trying not only to win the World Series,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote of the Braves, the eventual world champions. Three Mets fans ran onto the field and mockingly threw dollar bills at Bobby Bonilla.Īttendance was down: “Fans play keep away,” read one headline. In Pittsburgh, fans turned souvenir picket Pirate flags into debris, hurling the sticks onto the field and delaying the game for 15 minutes. But when Opening Day came, the response was tepid.Ītlanta’s star pitcher, Tom Glavine, was booed. It had been more than eight months since the highest level of baseball had been played. Reclaimed worth: Standout baseball player's journey from desperation to recoveryįinally, on April 2, a judgment from now-Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor against the MLB owners ended the strike, and on April 25, 1995, 25 years ago, baseball came back. Many fans saw it, on both sides, as the pot calling the kettle greedy - millionaires whining to millionaires about a few bucks. Owners wanted changes, including a salary cap players felt mistreated. Hostilities between MLB owners and players reached a deadlock in 1994. In February and March, MLBers stayed home, waiting, while replacement players - low-level minor leaguers and retired players - filled out big-league rosters. The work stoppage, which began in August of 1994, dragged past the new year and past the time players typically reported to spring training. “It seemed like a lot longer than it actually was,” ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian said this month in a phone interview. The hot stove was colder than usual, as discussions centered not on the previous Fall Classic or the upcoming season, but on a larger, gloomier question: When would baseball return? It was a long winter for baseball fans in 1995. ![]() For the first time in the history of major American sports, an entire postseason - the 1994 MLB playoffs and World Series - was lost due to a labor dispute. There had been no Major League Baseball for 232 days. Watch Video: MLB’s new plan for the season ![]()
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