1994 New York Yankees | ||
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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]
Offseason
[edit]- November 27, 1993: Andy Stankiewicz and Domingo Jean were traded by the Yankees to the Houston Astros for Xavier Hernandez.[13]
- December 9, 1993: Spike Owen was traded by the Yankees with cash to the California Angels for Jose Musset (minors).[14]
- December 20, 1993: Luis Polonia was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[15]
- December 22, 1993: Sam Horn was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[16]
- January 28, 1994: Bob Ojeda signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[17]
- February 9, 1994: Bobby Muñoz, Ryan Karp, and Kevin Jordan were traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Terry Mulholland and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Jeff Patterson to the New York Yankees on November 8.[18]
- February 15, 1994: Jeff Reardon was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[19]
Regular season
[edit]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]
Opening Day lineup
[edit]Game log
[edit]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)
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Legend | |||
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Yankees win | Yankees loss | All-Star Game | Game postponed |
Season standings
[edit]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 |
Record vs. opponents
[edit]Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
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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 | — |
Notable transactions
[edit]- March 21, 1994: Paul Assenmacher was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Brian Boehringer.[30]
- March 29, 1994: Kevin Maas was released by the Yankees.[31]
- May 1, 1994: Kevin Elster was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.[32]
- May 5, 1994: Bob Ojeda was released by the New York Yankees.[17]
- May 6, 1994: Jeff Reardon was released by the New York Yankees.[19]
- June 23, 1994: Sam Horn was released by the New York Yankees.[16]
- July 3, 1994: Greg A. Harris was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.[33]
- July 13, 1994: Greg A. Harris was released by the New York Yankees.[33]
Roster
[edit]1994 New York Yankees | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
[edit]= Indicates team leader |
Batting
[edit]Starters by position
[edit]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 |
Other batters
[edit]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 |
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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 |
Pitching
[edit]Starting pitchers
[edit]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 |
Other pitchers
[edit]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 |
Relief pitchers
[edit]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 |
Awards and honors
[edit]- Buck Showalter – American League Manager of the Year, 1995 American League All Star Manager (In honor of best record in American League in 1994)
- Paul O'Neill – American League Batting Champion (.359)
- Paul O'Neill, reserve
- Wade Boggs, third base
- Jimmy Key, pitcher
Farm system
[edit]LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tampa[35]
References
[edit]Inline citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f McCarron, Anthony (August 10, 2014). "'94 The Season That Wasn't". New York Daily News. p. 70-71. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Albanese, Laura (March 31, 2019). "'I'M TOLERATED, NOT ACCEPTED': Waldman's road to radio booth has been rough". Newsday. p. 68.
In 1994, she became the play-by-play person for WPIX's Yankees telecasts.
- ^ a b c Curry, Jack (August 26, 2002). "Lost Games, Lost Dreams". The New York Times. p. D1.
- ^ O'Connell, Jack (August 3, 1994). "In the End, a Big Finish for Yankees". The Hartford Courant. p. G1.
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.
- ^ a b c McShane, Larry (September 16, 1994). "Yankees Fans Left with Broken Hearts". Associated Press.
- ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 210–211
- ^ Eckstein, Bob (September 16, 1997). "New York's top ten worst moments in sports". The Village Voice. 42 (37): 142.
- ^ Pennington 2019, p. 188, 210
- ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 7, 203, 211
- ^ Curry, Jack (August 7, 1994). "BASEBALL; Flashback to '81: Another Lead, Another Strike". The New York Times. p. A1.
- ^ Kawakami, Tim (August 10, 1994). "'81, '94 Yankees Both Winners but Worlds Apart in Personality". The Los Angeles Times. p. C2.
Those who followed the 1981 New York Yankees...can't help but notice potential similarities with this year's first-place Yankee club.
- ^ O'Connell, Jack (April 25, 1995). "Finishing What They Started". The Hartford Courant. p. G2.
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.
- ^ Andy Stankiewicz page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Spike Owen Statistics and History". Retrieved December 6, 2013.
- ^ Luis Polonia page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Sam Horn page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Bob Ojeda page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Terry Mulholland page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Jeff Reardon page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "1994 American League Team Statistics and Standings". baseball-reference.com.
- ^ "1994 MLB Team Statistics". baseball-reference.com.
- ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 208–2011, 221
- ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 271–274, 280, 311
- ^ Staats, Dewayne; Scheiber, Dave (2015). Position to Win: A Look at Baseball and Life From the Best Seat in the House. Advance Ink Publishing. ISBN 978-0692487969.
- ^ Araton, Harvey (July 22, 2008). "Kubek's New Life". The New York Times.
- ^ Pennington 2019, p. 211
- ^ Kurkjian, Tim (August 12, 2019). "'Oh my God, how can we do this?': An oral history of the 1994 MLB strike". ESPN. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
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...
- ^ Pennington 2019, p. 209
- ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 187, 204, 209
- ^ Paul Assenmacher page on Baseball Reference
- ^ Kevin Maas page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Kevin Elster Stats".
- ^ a b "Greg Harris Stats".
- ^ "1994 New York Yankees Statistics".
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007) [1997]. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd and 3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.
Bibliography
[edit]- Pennington, Bill (2019). Chumps to Champs: How the Worst Teams in Yankees History Led to the '90s Dynasty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9781328849854.