1994 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1994 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1994 in baseball.

The 1994 Major League Baseball season began on April 3, but ended prematurely on August 11, 1994, with the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, canceling the remaining 669 games of the season. The season started despite the expiration of MLB's previous collective 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 an Opening Night game involving two National League teams, which did not become permanent until 1996.

1994 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 3 – August 11, 1994
Number of games	162 (scheduled) 112–117 (actual)^[1]
Number of teams	28
TV partner(s)	The Baseball Network/ABC/NBC ESPN
Draft
Top draft pick	Paul Wilson
Picked by	New York Mets
Regular season
Season MVP	NL: Jeff Bagwell (HOU) AL: Frank Thomas (CHW)
MLB seasons
← 1993 1995 →

Strike

Main article: 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike

As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ended prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason (including the World Series) was played. Over 260 players were scheduled to exceed $1 million in compensation in 1994.^[2] The Minor League Baseball season was played.

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Steve Carlton
  • Leo Durocher
  • Phil Rizzuto

Further information: 1994 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Raúl Mondesí (LA)	Bob Hamelin (KC)
Cy Young Award	Greg Maddux (ATL)	David Cone (KC)
Manager of the Year	Felipe Alou (MTL)	Buck Showalter (NYY)
Most Valuable Player	Jeff Bagwell (HOU)	Frank Thomas (CHW)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Greg Maddux (ATL)	Mark Langston (CAL)
Catcher	Tom Pagnozzi (STL)	Iván Rodríguez (TEX)
First Baseman	Jeff Bagwell (HOU)	Don Mattingly (NYY)
Second Baseman	Craig Biggio (HOU)	Roberto Alomar (TOR)
Third Baseman	Matt Williams (SF)	Wade Boggs (NYY)
Shortstop	Barry Larkin (CIN)	Omar Vizquel (CLE)
Outfielders	Barry Bonds (SF)	Kenny Lofton (CLE)
	Darren Lewis (SF)	Devon White (TOR)
	Marquis Grissom (MTL)	Ken Griffey Jr. (SEA)
Silver Slugger Awards
Pitcher/Designated Hitter	Mark Portugal (SF)	Julio Franco (CHW)
Catcher	Mike Piazza (LA)	Iván Rodríguez (TEX)
First Baseman	Jeff Bagwell (HOU)	Frank Thomas (CHW)
Second Baseman	Craig Biggio (HOU)	Carlos Baerga (CLE)
Third Baseman	Matt Williams (SF)	Wade Boggs (NYY)
Shortstop	Wil Cordero (MTL)	Cal Ripken Jr. (BAL)
Outfielders	Barry Bonds (SF)	Albert Belle (CLE)
	Moisés Alou (MTL)	Kirby Puckett (MIN)
	Tony Gwynn (SD)	Ken Griffey Jr. (SEA)

Other awards

• Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Dave Winfield (MIN).
• Rolaids Relief Man Award: Lee Smith (BAL, American); Rod Beck (SF, National).

Player of the Month

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

Pitcher of the Month

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

Statistical leaders

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 MTL 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

Standings

American League v t e AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road New York Yankees 70 43 0.619 — 33–24 37–19 Baltimore Orioles 63 49 0.562 6½ 28–27 35–22 Toronto Blue Jays 55 60 0.478 16 33–26 22–34 Boston Red Sox 54 61 0.470 17 31–33 23–28 Detroit Tigers 53 62 0.461 18 34–24 19–38 v t e AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road Chicago White Sox 67 46 0.593 — 34–19 33–27 Cleveland Indians 66 47 0.584 1 35–16 31–31 Kansas City Royals 64 51 0.557 4 35–24 29–27 Minnesota Twins 53 60 0.469 14 32–27 21–33 Milwaukee Brewers 53 62 0.461 15 24–32 29–30 v t e AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road Texas Rangers 52 62 0.456 — 31–32 21–30 Oakland Athletics 51 63 0.447 1 24–32 27–31 Seattle Mariners 49 63 0.438 2 22–22 27–41 California Angels 47 68 0.409 5½ 23–40 24–28

National League v t e NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road Montreal Expos 74 40 0.649 — 32–20 42–20 Atlanta Braves 68 46 0.596 6 31–24 37–22 New York Mets 55 58 0.487 18½ 23–30 32–28 Philadelphia Phillies 54 61 0.470 20½ 34–26 20–35 Florida Marlins 51 64 0.443 23½ 25–34 26–30 v t e NL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road Cincinnati Reds 66 48 0.579 — 37–22 29–26 Houston Astros 66 49 0.574 ½ 37–22 29–27 Pittsburgh Pirates 53 61 0.465 13 32–29 21–32 St. Louis Cardinals 53 61 0.465 13 23–33 30–28 Chicago Cubs 49 64 0.434 16½ 20–39 29–25 v t e NL West W L Pct. GB Home Road Los Angeles Dodgers 58 56 0.509 — 33–22 25–34 San Francisco Giants 55 60 0.478 3½ 29–31 26–29 Colorado Rockies 53 64 0.453 6½ 25–32 28–32 San Diego Padres 47 70 0.402 12½ 26–31 21–39

• On September 14, the remainder of the major league season was canceled by acting commissioner Bud Selig after 34 days of the players' strike.

Home Field Attendance & Payroll

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%

Television coverage

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 See also: List of ESPN Major League Baseball broadcasters

Events

• January 12 – Steve Carlton is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving almost 96% of the vote. Orlando Cepeda falls seven votes short of the 75% required for election.
• February 7 – Basketball superstar Michael Jordan signs a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He is invited to spring training with the team as a non-roster player.
• February 25 – The Veterans Committee elects Phil Rizzuto and Leo Durocher to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• April 1–3 – BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, hosted an exhibition tournament with the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Montreal Expos participating.^[31]
• April 4 – At Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs outfielder Tuffy Rhodes blasts three home runs on Opening Day, defeating New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden. Rhodes becomes the first player in major league history to hit home runs in his first three at-bats of the season. In spite of Rhodes' unexpected home run barrage, the Cubs lose the game, 12–8.
• April 8 – Kent Mercker of the Atlanta Braves pitches a 6–0 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, striking out 10 in the process. For Mercker, it is his first complete game in the Major Leagues. In the first half of the ninth inning, Chan Ho Park comes on to pitch for the Dodgers, becoming the first Korean player to appear in a Major League game.^[32]
• July 12 – Moisés Alou's walk-off double in the 10th inning gives the National League an 8–7 victory over the American League in the All-Star Game. The NL is now a perfect 9–0 in extra-inning contests. John Hudek of the Houston Astros becomes the first pitcher in major league history to appear in an All-Star Game before recording a major league victory. Fred McGriff, whose two-run home run in the 9th inning tied the score, takes MVP honors.
• July 28 – Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers throws the fourteenth perfect game in Major League history.
• August 11 – The final games of the Major League season are played on this date. The next day, the players' strike begins. Minor League Baseball games are not affected.
• September 14 – The remainder of the Major League season (along with the postseason) is canceled by acting commissioner Bud Selig after 34 days of the players' strike. There will be no World Series for the first time since 1904.

Movies

The following are baseball movies released in 1994:

• Major League II
• Little Big League
• Angels in the Outfield
• Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns (TV documentary)
• The Scout
• Cobb

Deaths

• January 8 – Harvey Haddix, 68, All-Star pitcher best remembered for a 1959 game with the Pirates in which he threw 12 perfect innings before losing in the 13th; won 20 games for 1953 Cardinals and earned three Gold Gloves. Member of 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series.
• January 9 – Johnny Temple, 66, All-Star second baseman, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds, who batted .300 three times
• January 10 – Chub Feeney, 72, National League president from 1970 to 1986; previously an executive and broadcaster with the Giants
• February 12 – Ray Dandridge, 80, Hall of Fame third baseman of the Negro leagues who often batted over .350
• March 16 – Eric Show, 37, pitcher who won 100 games for the San Diego Padres and surrendered Pete Rose's record 4,192nd hit
• May 9 – Ralph Brickner, 69, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1950s
• June 12 – Jim Brock, 57, coach at Arizona State since 1972 who led the Sun Devils to two College World Series titles (1977, 1981)
• June 23 – Marv Throneberry, 62, first baseman for the Yankees, Orioles, Mets, and Kansas City A's
• July 14 – César Tovar, 54, outfielder for the Minnesota Twins who in 1968 became the second major leaguer to play all nine positions in a game; had his team's only hit on five occasions
• September 5 – Hank Aguirre, 63, All-Star pitcher who led AL in ERA in 1962 with the Detroit Tigers
• December 26 – Allie Reynolds, 77, 6-time All-Star pitcher, mainly with the Yankees, who led AL in ERA in 1952 and in strikeouts and shutouts twice; in 1951 was first AL pitcher to throw two no-hitters in same year, and was MVP runnerup in 1952; career .630 winning percentage

References

1. Due to the strike, NBC wasn't able to broadcast their slate of games for The Baseball Network, which was supposed to begin on August 26.

1. "The 1994 Season". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
2. "Baseball's millionaires". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. August 14, 1994. p. B-5.
3. "Colorado Rockies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
4. "Toronto Blue Jays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
5. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
6. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
7. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
8. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "Florida Marlins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
27. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
28. "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. "Seattle Mariners Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
30. "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
31. "Baseball in B.C. Place: a thing of the past?". Vancouver Courier. August 18, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
32. Box Score of Kent Mercker No Hitter Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on May 18, 2015.

External links

• 1994 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference