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1994 New York Yankees season

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1994 New York Yankees
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkYankee Stadium
CityNew York City
OwnersGeorge Steinbrenner
General managersGene Michael
ManagersBuck Showalter
TelevisionWPIX
(Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Murcer, Paul Olden, Suzyn Waldman[1][2])
MSG Network
(Dewayne Staats, Tony Kubek, Al Trautwig)
RadioWABC (AM)
(Michael Kay, John Sterling)
← 1993 Seasons 1995 →

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 any postseason aspirations that their star player and captain, Don Mattingly, had for the first time in his career.[1] 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

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Regular season

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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 and Mattingly had not played in a postseason.[1][26][27] 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

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Game log

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1994 Regular Season Game Log (70-43) (Home: 33-24; Road: 37-19)
April (15-8) (Home: 9-4; Road: 6-4)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report
1 April 4 Rangers
2 April 7 Rangers
3 April 8 Tigers
4 April 9 Tigers
5 April 10 Tigers
6 April 12 @ White Sox
7 April 13 @ White Sox
8 April 14 @ White Sox
9 April 15 @ Tigers
10 April 16 @ Tigers
11 April 17 @ Tigers
12 April 19 Mariners
13 April 20 Mariners
14 April 21 Mariners
15 April 22 Athletics
16 April 23 Athletics
17 April 24 Athletics
18 April 25 Angels
19 April 26 Angels
20 April 27 @ Mariners
21 April 28 @ Mariners
22 April 29 @ Athletics
23 April 30 @ Athletics
May (18-7) (Home: 12-2; Road: 6-5)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report
24 May 1 @ Athletics
25 May 3 @ Angels
26 May 4 @ Angels
27 May 6 Red Sox
28 May 7 Red Sox
29 May 8 Red Sox
30 May 9 Indians
31 May 10 Indians
32 May 11 Indians
33 May 12 Indians
34 May 13 @ Brewers
35 May 14 @ Brewers
36 May 15 @ Brewers
37 May 17 @ Twins
38 May 18 @ Twins
39 May 20 Orioles
40 May 21 Orioles
41 May 22 Orioles
42 May 24 Blue Jays
43 May 25 Blue Jays
44 May 27 @ Royals
45 May 28 @ Royals
46 May 29 @ Royals
47 May 30 White Sox
48 May 31 White Sox
June (14-13) (Home: 4-6; Road: 10-7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report
49 June 1 White Sox
50 June 3 Royals
51 June 4 Royals
52 June 5 Royals
53 June 6 @ Rangers
54 June 7 @ Rangers
55 June 8 @ Rangers
56 June 9 @ Blue Jays
57 June 10 @ Blue Jays
58 June 11 @ Blue Jays
59 June 12 @ Blue Jays
60 June 13 @ Orioles
61 June 14 @ Orioles
62 June 15 @ Orioles
63 June 16 @ Orioles
64 June 17 Brewers
65 June 18 Brewers
66 June 19 Brewers
67 June 20 Twins
68 June 21 Twins
69 June 22 Twins
70 June 24 @ Indians
71 June 26 @ Indians
72 June 27 @ Red Sox
73 June 28 @ Red Sox
74 June 29 @ Red Sox
75 June 30 @ Red Sox
July (17-10) (Home: 7-9; Road: 10-1)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report
76 July 1 Mariners
77 July 2 Mariners
78 July 3 Mariners
79 July 4 Athletics
80 July 5 Athletics
81 July 6 Athletics
82 July 7 Angels
83 July 8 Angels
84 July 9 Angels
85 July 10 Angels
All-Star Break: NL def. AL at Three Rivers Stadium, 8–7 (10)
86 July 14 @ Mariners
87 July 15 @ Mariners
88 July 16 @ Mariners
89 July 17 @ Mariners
90 July 18 @ Athletics
91 July 19 @ Athletics
92 July 20 @ Athletics
93 July 21 @ Angels
94 July 22 @ Angels
95 July 23 @ Angels
96 July 24 @ Angels
97 July 26 Red Sox
98 July 27 Red Sox
99 July 28 Red Sox
100 July 29 Indians
101 July 30 Indians
102 July 31 Indians
August (6-5) (Home: 1-3; Road: 5-2)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report
103 August 1 @ Brewers
104 August 2 @ Brewers
105 August 3 @ Brewers
106 August 4 @ Twins
107 August 5 @ Twins
108 August 6 @ Twins
109 August 7 @ Twins
110 August 8 Orioles
111 August 9 Orioles
112 August 10 Orioles
113 August 11 Blue Jays
Legend
Yankees win Yankees loss All-Star Game Game postponed

Season standings

[edit]
AL East
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
Division leaders
Team W L Pct.
New York Yankees 70 43 .619
Chicago White Sox 67 46 .593
Texas Rangers 52 62 .456
Wild Card team
(Top team qualifies for postseason)
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

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1994 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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

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  • 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

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1994 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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= Indicates team leader

Batting

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Starters by position

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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

[34]

Other batters

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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

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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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
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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

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  • 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)

All-Star Game

Farm system

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See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Clippers International League Stump Merrill
AA Albany-Colonie Yankees Eastern League Bill Evers
A Tampa Yankees Florida State League Jake Gibbs
A Greensboro Bats South Atlantic League Trey Hillman
A-Short Season Oneonta Yankees New York–Penn League Ken Dominguez
Rookie GCL Yankees Gulf Coast League Héctor López

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tampa[35]

References

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Inline citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g McCarron, Anthony (August 10, 2014). "'94 The Season That Wasn't". New York Daily News. p. 70-71. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c Curry, Jack (August 26, 2002). "Lost Games, Lost Dreams". The New York Times. p. D1.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b c McShane, Larry (September 16, 1994). "Yankees Fans Left with Broken Hearts". Associated Press.
  6. ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 210–211
  7. ^ Eckstein, Bob (September 16, 1997). "New York's top ten worst moments in sports". The Village Voice. 42 (37): 142.
  8. ^ Pennington 2019, p. 188, 210
  9. ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 7, 203, 211
  10. ^ Curry, Jack (August 7, 1994). "BASEBALL; Flashback to '81: Another Lead, Another Strike". The New York Times. p. A1.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Andy Stankiewicz page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ "Spike Owen Statistics and History". Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  15. ^ Luis Polonia page at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ a b Sam Horn page at Baseball Reference
  17. ^ a b Bob Ojeda page at Baseball Reference
  18. ^ Terry Mulholland page at Baseball Reference
  19. ^ a b Jeff Reardon page at Baseball Reference
  20. ^ "1994 American League Team Statistics and Standings". baseball-reference.com.
  21. ^ "1994 MLB Team Statistics". baseball-reference.com.
  22. ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 208–2011, 221
  23. ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 271–274, 280, 311
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ Araton, Harvey (July 22, 2008). "Kubek's New Life". The New York Times.
  26. ^ Pennington 2019, p. 211
  27. ^ 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...
  28. ^ Pennington 2019, p. 209
  29. ^ Pennington 2019, pp. 187, 204, 209
  30. ^ Paul Assenmacher page on Baseball Reference
  31. ^ Kevin Maas page at Baseball Reference
  32. ^ "Kevin Elster Stats".
  33. ^ a b "Greg Harris Stats".
  34. ^ "1994 New York Yankees Statistics".
  35. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007) [1997]. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd and 3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.

Bibliography

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