Reliving The 1994 MLB Strike 28 Years Later

As the MLBPA and MLB owners negotiate a new CBA, we look back at the last work stoppage nearly three decades ago.

With a high of 54 degrees on April 4, Jacobs Field officially unlocked its gates to the city of Cleveland for Opening Day in 1994. The inaugural season for the new ballpark meant a new start, and hope, for a team that hadn’t been north of .500 since 1986.

Around the horn the names on the backs of the jerseys would go on to be talked about for decades, but for moments that were yet to come. Thome, Ramírez, Alomar, Vizquel, Lofton, Baerga — the list goes on. The 1994 Cleveland Indians season was nothing more than a start of an era at a brand new $175 million ballpark, but the mood of the 41,000+ in attendance quickly changed its tune after a thrilling Wayne Kirby walk-off winner — and the start of the magical ‘90s teams was officially underway at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

The season was riddled with winning streaks — including a season-high of 10 in-a-row and an 18-game home streak. The club hadn’t made it to the playoffs in the modern era, and its last appearance was the 1954 World Series in which they were defeated by the New York Giants.

With the way the campaign was shaping up to be, it seemed the team finally found something under manager Mike Hargrove who was in his third season, and a legitimate shot at the pennant was on the line. The hitting. The pitching. It was all coming together — except there was one major issue. 

Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement ended on December 31, 1993, with no new agreement yet in place.

Tensions as High as Heat in July

Before there was even a ticket taken at Jacobs field in 1994, Major League Baseball owners and the players had tensions running high as lingering financial situations began to come to a head. The owners believed a revenue-sharing plan in tangent with a salary cap was necessary to keep small market teams — like Cleveland — in the mix. While this was being discussed in the offseason, nothing was officially proposed or resolved then.

On June 14 — in the midst of the season — and coincidentally the 10-game winning streak — the owners put forth their offer. Things like guaranteeing salary and benefits upwards of $1 billion was involved — but in return clubs would have to fit payroll, arbitration would go out the window, free agency would begin two years earlier, and teams could retain players once in the fourth or fifth year by matching the top offer.

At this time, ownership also withheld promised and required pay that goes into players’ benefits and pension. The Senate Judiciary Committee even got involved and couldn’t approve the antitrust legislation. The following month, executive director of the MLBPA, Donald Fehr, rejected the offer and warned that players could go on strike.

Later in July, the Players Association met and set a date. When August rolled around and no ground was made, the reality of the situation was apparent. August 11 would be the last game played, and the players went on strike the next day.

Despite negotiations picking back up on August 31 — this time including federal mediators in company — nothing changed. The MLBPA presented a counterproposal on September 8 — which would tax the 16 franchises with highest payrolls, distribute the rest, and included gate receipt sharing for all teams, but the owners didn’t flinch.

A few days later on September 14 acting commissioner Bud Selig canceled the remainder of the season. There would be no more games, no postseason, and most importantly, no World Series for the first time since 1904. The second place Indians, sitting at 66-47, saw its season come to an unrewarding ending.

Despite the ‘94 season officially being called in September, the start of the 1995 season was in jeopardy once January rolled around. Baseball’s executive council even went as far as approving replacement players so the season would begin without a hitch. Still at odds with one another, at the end of March, the league announced the season would be abbreviated to 144 games, down from the usual 162.

The strike as we know would end, but not without much more deliberation and outside help from the government. On April 2, 1995, just a day before the replacement players were set to take the field, the strike ended after 232 days. The MLB would continue to operate under the expired CBA until a new deal was reached years later, and baseball as we knew it was saved at least for the foreseeable future. But, it didn’t come without strife from all sides — including the fans.

The Strike Ends and the ‘90s Reign Begins

While Opening Day didn’t come to Cleveland until May 5, it did happen, and the 1995 team went on an absolute tear — making it to the World Series for the first time since 1954. The 100-win club marked the most wins in a season since, you guessed it, '54. The '95 team would ultimately fall to the Atlanta Braves in six games, but the pride for the Tribe was alive — capping the end of the run with a parade in the city of Cleveland.

The team would captivate the city even while competing with its new neighbors, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were now playing at the Gund Arena — and among the departure of the Browns in ‘96. Baseball in Cleveland had slid its way back into the hearts of the Forrest City faithfuls — and it was apparent. Following the 1995 season, the club would go on and make the playoffs again in 1996 (lost ALDS), 1997 (lost WS), 1998 (lost ALCS), 1999 (lost ALDS) and 2001 (lost ALDS).

During that span, Jacobs Field set a then MLB record for 455 consecutive sellouts between June 12, 1995 and April 4, 2001. But, the Tribe’s arguably most beloved era came and went with two World Series appearances and no Commissioner's Trophy.

In 2007, they would make it back to the ALCS, but ultimately fell one game shy of another trip to the Fall Classic. Now, under the current Terry Francona era, the team toyed with another window including — two trips to the wild card (2013, 2020), two losses in the ALDS (2017, 2018), and one heartbreaking loss in the 2016 World Series.

Despite being a small market team, the club found ways to compete as prospects turned into top players, and timely trades and spectacular pitching propelled them forward. But, it seems as if those days are all but distant memories as we reach the current situation — the lockout.

Parallels to ‘94 — the ‘21 Lockout is Untimely for Cleveland

Much like the end of 1993, the CBA expired in December of 2021, but this time the owners instituted a lockout. As strikes became widely unpopular, mainly due to MLB’s in ‘94, parties would prefer a lockout instead. But, for the team in Cleveland, the timing could not have been worse.

The Cleveland Indians announced its name change on July 23, 2021 and would resume operations — post lawsuit — under the name of the Guardians with the start of the 2022 season. Not only that, but the team’s lease was set to expire and an extension, along with a proposal to renovate the ballpark, was up in the air.

Following an 80-82 season with Francona sidelined due to his health, and after a pandemic-shortened 60-game season, a small market team that’s bridging the end of a window with a hopeful start to a new one would feel it the most. Especially, a team that slashed its payroll down to nearly $40 million for the 2021 campaign.

As of February 21, 2022, there’s no deal in place — and it's been reported that the sides are still far apart on core economic issues, although making small strides in areas like the universal DH and the draft. Despite the owners request, the MLBPA wants no part of a mediator. With pitchers and catchers not reporting on time to Spring Training and the first several spring games having been canceled, we are quickly approaching a breaking point for the regular season to begin as planned. The players' union and the owners are meeting this week in Jupiter, Florida as they continue to try and hash out their differences.

It seems the day of hearing, “Cleveland, you will have an October to remember,” could be further away than one would hope. But, if history repeats itself, you never know what good fortune could follow a labor negotiation for the city of Cleveland in years to come — except this time marked with the start of the Guardians era, and maybe will one day end with the team hoisting the trophy. 

For now, October dreams can wait, but the start of baseball season can’t come soon enough.

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