1994 World Series

The 1994 World Series was cancelled on September 14 of that year due to an ongoing strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association, which had begun on August 12. It was only the second time in the event's history (and the first time since 1904) that the Fall Classic was not played.

Overview

When compared to other crises and disasters

Many baseball fans lamented that while two World Wars, a Great Depression, an earthquake (1989), and other crises and disasters could not cancel a World Series, financial issues and greed by some could and did.

Impact on the Montréal Expos

The Montréal Expos of the National League, at 74-40, and the New York Yankees of the American League, at 70-43, held the best records in their leagues at season's end. The Montréal Expos could have tried to win the third consecutive World Series for a Canadian team after the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. An All-Canadian World Series featuring the Expos and the Blue Jays would have been very unlikely, with the World Champion Blue Jays slumping to a third place finish and a 55-60 record at the cancellation of the season, 16 games behind the Yankees.

Some, such as the then-majority owner of the Expos, Claude Brochu, in his book "My Turn at Bat," blamed the strike for the ultimate demise and relocation of the Montréal Expos. Several sports publications have speculated Montreal would have won the Series [cite journal |quotes=no |title=Revisionist Baseball - 1994 World Series Results |journal=Revisionist Baseball |url=http://www.revisionistbaseball.com/1994/World_Series.htm] [cite journal |quotes=no |title=What If 1994 Was Played Out? |journal=What if Sports? |url=http://www.whatifsports.com/mlb94] had it been played. The team was forced to trade many of its players to deal with the loss of revenue following the strike, and never again reached the same level of success it had in 1994. After the by|2004 season, the team moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals.

Three-tier playoff system

This was to have been the first year of a regularly scheduled three-tier playoff system, as the NL and AL were divided into three divisions (East, Central, and West) at the start of the 1994 season. (An unscheduled three-tier system was used in by|1981 due to the season being shortened by a mid-season labor dispute.) The new playoff system (involving a wild card team in each league) did not go into effect until the 1995 postseason.

Impact of labor unions

Some political scientists believed the strike led to Democratic Party losses in the ensuing Congressional election because of a negative image of labor unions, historically strong supporters of the Democratic Party, caused by this strike. Fact|date=September 2007

Computer simulations

The rise of computer simulation software for the sport led to numerous simulations of what the championship would have become, and the unfinished season led to a rise in such simulations, popular in comparing players of different ages, to determine what would have happened (1) if the season had finished to the end, or (2) if the two unofficial league champions played for the title.

"Unofficial" champions

The "Associated Press" writers, at the end of the aborted season, chose to name "unofficial" champions when naming their Managers of the Year as Felipe Alou and Buck Showalter, who were leading when the season abruptly ended. Traditionally, the next season's All-Star Game managers are the league champions. Because of the strike, the leagues chose to name their unofficial champion managers to the traditional honor.

Television coverage

Had the 1994 World Series been played out, it would have aired on ABC. Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver would have, in all likelihood, served as the commentators. The 1994 season marked the first year of what would have been a six-year-long joint venture with Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC called "The Baseball Network." In even-numbered years, ABC would cover the Division Series and World Series, while NBC would cover the All-Star Game and League Championship Series. Likewise, in odd-numbered years, NBC would cover the Division Series and World Series, while ABC would cover the All-Star Game and LCS. However, following the 1995 World Series, the parties involved dissolved the network, and starting in by|1996, FOX and NBC held over-the-air rights.

Effect on home field advantage rotation

The 1994 World Series was supposed to have the NL champion open at home. Because it was canceled, the rotation was pushed back a year - which meant from 1995-2002, the NL champion had home field advantage in odd-numbered years, and AL in even-numbered years. Beginning in 2003, the league that won the All-Star Game had its champion open the World Series at home (as a consequence, since the AL has not lost the All-Star Game since 1996, the NL champ last opened at home in 2001).

This change in the rotation, denied the 1995 AL champions Cleveland Indians a chance to open the World Series at home for the first time ever (they opened previous appearances on the road), and have yet to do so (they were one win away from finally doing so in 2007 as the AL won the All-Star Game that year, but blew a 3 games to 1 lead against the Boston Red Sox).

ee also

*1994 Major League Baseball strike

References

External links

* [http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/old-wildcats/fall94/September/September15%2C1994/01_3_m.html September 15, 1994] Dead link|date=October 2008|date=October 2008
* [http://dave.henroid.net/archives/000112.html 1994: The World Series the world forgot...] Dead link|date=October 2008|date=October 2008
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1994/baseball.strike/94.baseball.mov Baseball players strike against proposed salary cap]
* [http://remarque.org/~grabiner/strikefaq.html Frequently Asked Questions About the 1994 Strike]