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) | |
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The 1994 New York Yankees season was the 92nd season for the Yankees. New York was managed by Buck Showalter and played at Yankee Stadium. The season was cut short by the 1994 player's strike, which wiped out any postseason aspirations for their first postseason appearance since losing the 1981 World Series and that their star player and captain, Don Mattingly, had. On the day the strike began, the team had a record of 70–43, 6+1⁄2 games ahead of the Baltimore 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 since 1980. [4] The Yankees' ace, 33-year-old veteran Jimmy Key, was leading the majors with 17 wins and was on pace to win 24 games. [3] Right fielder Paul 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 the Dodgers and the Giants to California for the 1958 season, the demise of the Yankees during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the bad baseball at Shea Stadium during the late 1970s and early 1990s. [5] The strike ruined the chance for the Yankees to follow in the footsteps of the NHL Stanley Cup Champion Rangers and NBA 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 a strike, [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 the AL 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 the San Diego Padres for the most double plays grounded into, with 112. [21]
The World 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 and Don Mattingly retired after the 1995 season. [1] In addition, General Manager Gene Michael was fired as a result of the strike. [23] Off the field, the Yankees broadcast team on MSG Network left due to the strike; play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats didn't have his contract renewed and analyst Tony 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 [26] [27] and Mattingly had not played in a postseason. [1] When reacting to the strike's cancellation of the season, the first words many people on the Yankees, including Owner George 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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August (6-5) (Home: 1-3; Road: 5-2) |
Legend | |||
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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 |
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | |||||||||
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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]
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They are on a pace for a 103-victory season over 162 games. The Yankees have not won 100 games since winning 103 under Dick Howser in 1980.
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In the lengthy and uncertain off-season, an unfair anointing was bestowed on the Yankees. To emphasize the sense of loss with no World 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...