The 1994

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

season was the 92nd season for the Yankees. New York was managed by

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees ( 1992–1995), Arizona Diamon ...

and played at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. 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 The 1981 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Nati ...

and that their star player and captain,

Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...

, had. On the day the strike began, the team had a record of 70-43, games ahead of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, the best record in the American League and the second-best record in Major League Baseball. The Yankees were on pace to win at least 100 games for the first time since 1980. The Yankees' ace, 33-year-old veteran

Jimmy Key James Edward Key (born April 22, 1961) is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1984–1992), New York Yankees (1993–1996), and Baltimore Orioles (1997–1998). His best personal y ...

, was leading the majors with 17 wins and was on pace to win 24 games. Right fielder Paul O'Neill was also having a career year, as he was leading the league with a .359 batting average. The strike is remembered bitterly by Yankees fans as it shook sports fans in New York City and the Yankees to the core, and has been named among the 10 worst moments in New York City sports history, primarily because Mattingly had not played in a postseason. It was also seen as the frustrating peak of the Yankees' downfall of the 1980s and early 1990s. 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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

to California for the 1958 season, the demise of the Yankees during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the bad baseball at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

during the late 1970s and early 1990s. The strike ruined the chance for the Yankees to follow in the footsteps of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Stanley Cup Champion Rangers and

NBA Eastern Conference The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The current divisional align ...

Champion Knicks by making the championship round of their respective sport. Because the Yankees' last postseason appearance had been in a season cut short by a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

, 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. Throughout October, they continued to bombard the Yankees, making speculations about what might have been if there had not been a strike.

Offseason

*November 27, 1993: Andy Stankiewicz and Domingo Jean were traded by the Yankees to the Houston Astros for Xavier Hernandez. *December 9, 1993: Spike Owen was traded by the Yankees with cash to the California Angels for Jose Musset (minors). *December 20, 1993:

Luis Polonia Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte (born December 10, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He currently resides in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, his hometown. Signed by the Oakland Athletics as an amateur f ...

was signed as a free agent by the Yankees. *December 22, 1993:

Sam Horn Samuel Lee Horn (born November 2, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player who spent parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) and was an anchor for New England Sports Network, the flagship station of Boston sports team ...

was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.Sam Horn page at Baseball Reference
/ref> *January 28, 1994:

Bob Ojeda Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member ...

signed as a free agent by the Yankees.Bob Ojeda page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * February 9, 1994: Bobby Muñoz, Ryan Karp, and Kevin Jordan were traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for

Terry Mulholland Terence John Mulholland (born March 9, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. His Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned 20 seasons, and to . He threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Early life and education Mulhol ...

and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Jeff Patterson to the New York Yankees on November 8. *February 15, 1994:

Jeff Reardon Jeffrey James Reardon (born October 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1979–1994 with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta B ...

was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.Jeff Reardon page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Regular season

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). 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. They did, however, tie the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

for the most double plays grounded into, with 112. The

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, for which the Yankees appeared to be destined, was never played and contributed to

not having his contract renewed and

retiring after the 1995 season. In addition, General Manager

Gene Michael Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...

was fired as a result of the strike. The 1994 New York Yankees team that could have been remains a hot discussion point in both baseball and in New York City because Mattingly had not played in a postseason. When reacting to the strike's cancellation of the season, the first words many people on the Yankees, including Owner

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

, Michael, and Showalter all said was that they all felt bad for Mattingly, saying that he deserved a postseason. Mattingly led active players in both games played and at bats without ever appearing in the postseason.

Opening Day lineup

Game log

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Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

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White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

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Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

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Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 27 , , May 6 , ,

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 30 , , May 9 , , Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 31 , , May 10 , , Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 32 , , May 11 , , Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 33 , , May 12 , , Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 34 , , May 13 , , @ Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 35 , , May 14 , , @ Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 36 , , May 15 , , @ Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 37 , , May 17 , , @

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

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Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 41 , , May 22 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 42 , , May 24 , , Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 43 , , May 25 , , Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 44 , , May 27 , , @ Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 45 , , May 28 , , @ Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 46 , , May 29 , , @ Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 47 , , May 30 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 48 , , May 31 , ,

, - , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 49 , , June 1 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 50 , , June 3 , , Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 51 , , June 4 , , Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 52 , , June 5 , , Royals , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 53 , , June 6 , , @ Rangers , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 54 , , June 7 , , @ Rangers , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 55 , , June 8 , , @ Rangers , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 56 , , June 9 , , @ Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 57 , , June 10 , , @ Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 58 , , June 11 , , @ Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 59 , , June 12 , , @ Blue Jays , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 60 , , June 13 , , @

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 64 , , June 17 , , Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 65 , , June 18 , , Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 66 , , June 19 , , Brewers , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 67 , , June 20 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 68 , , June 21 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 69 , , June 22 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 70 , , June 24 , , @ Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 71 , , June 26 , , @ Indians , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 72 , , June 27 , , @

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 74 , , June 29 , , @

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, - , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 76 , , July 1 , , Mariners , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 77 , , July 2 , , Mariners , - style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" , 78 , , July 3 , , Mariners , - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 79 , , July 4 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 80 , , July 5 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 81 , , July 6 , ,

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 85 , , July 10 , ,

, - style="text-align:center; background:#bbcaff;" , align="center" colspan="10", All-Star Break: NL def. AL at

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

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, - style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" , 113 , , August 11 , , Blue Jays , -

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

*March 21, 1994:

Paul Assenmacher Paul Andre Assenmacher (born December 10, 1960) is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for fourteen seasons. Assenmacher pitched for the Atlanta Braves (1986–1989), Chicago Cubs (1989–1993), New York Yankees ...

was traded by the Yankees to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for

Brian Boehringer Brian Edward Boehringer (born January 8, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He won the 1996 World Series with the New York Yankees over the Atlanta Braves. Early life and career He is a 1987 graduate of Northwest High School in Hou ...

. *March 29, 1994:

Kevin Maas Kevin Christian Maas (born January 20, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player. Originally viewed as a top prospect for the New York Yankees he was unable to replicate the success of his rookie year and played for two major league ballclu ...

was released by the Yankees. *May 1, 1994: Kevin Elster was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees. *May 5, 1994: Bob Ojeda was released by the New York Yankees. *May 6, 1994: Jeff Reardon was released by the New York Yankees. *June 23, 1994: Sam Horn was released by the New York Yankees. *July 3, 1994: Greg A. Harris was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees. *July 13, 1994: Greg A. Harris was released by the New York Yankees.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

=Relief pitchers

= ''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

* Paul O'Neill – American League Batting Champion (.359)

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

* Paul O'Neill, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tampa

References

Inline citations

Bibliography

External links

1994 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference1994 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{New York Yankees New York Yankees seasons

1990s in the Bronx