1994 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON
MLB's 125th ANNIVERSARY
Fans called June 13, 1994, the day that baseball was finally back, Liberation Day. To Chicago White Sox fans, it was the first time they saw His Airness in a baseball uniform. Yes, Michael Jordan was in the Majors.
And he didn't do so good.
The hype was led with backlash. Jordan hit .207, 6 HR's, 28 RBI's, and struck out 63 times. His Airness was looking more like His Crappyness.
In the NL East, the Phillies, Expos and Braves waged a war for division supremacy, both figuratively and literally. After a Expos-Phillies game on a hot July night in Philly, the Expos decided to stop by a local bar on the way to their hotel. Unfortunately, the Phillies had the same idea. It didn't take long for the trash-talk to escalate and soon enough both teams found themselves brawling right there in the bar. Several Philadelphia fans joined in before police showed up and ordered the Montreal players to get out or spend the night in jail. Expo youngsters Larry Walker and Pedro Martinez refused to leave unless the Phillie players were bounced as well. As Walker and Martinez were taken away, word got back to commissioner George W Bush about the incident. Before he could even decide what to do about the next game in the three-game set between the two, Expos ownership was already on their way to Philadelphia to bail out their players. The following night, Martinez pitched a four-hitter and Walker hit a home run in a 4-1 Montreal win. Ultimately, the Expos took the division by just 2 games as the Phillies came in second, having to settle for the first ever NL Wild Card.
The NL Central race was also very close, but the Houston Astros took it over the Cincinnati Reds by just 3 games with Jeff Bagwell having a sensational season, winning NL MVP with 42 home runs, hitting .386 and having a .752 slugging percentage.
Not to be outdone, the NL west race was close to as the Dodgers, Giants and surprising Rockies had shots at the division. Colorado would fade late in the season, thanks to an injury to Andres Galarraga. In the Final series of the season, the Dodgers lead the Giants by a game going in. The Giants swept the Padres, while the Dodgers lost 2 out of 3 to the Rockies to give San Fran their first division title since 1989.
In the AL, the evil empire is back as the Yankees spent the summer beating up on the AL East. Cal Ripken Jr continues to come close to breaking Lou Gehrig's Iron Man record for most consecutive games played but his O's are powerless against a soon-to-be dominant Yankee team. The Central would be won by the White Sox as expected but the Cleveland Indians broke out onto the scene, led by Albert Belle and Jim Thome, the ladder winning AL MVP with 37 home runs and 76 RBI's. Out in the AL West, the teams in there were so bad it seemed like nobody wanted to win it. But in the End, thanks to a late season collapse by the Rangers (who went 2-8 in their final 10) the California Angels won the division with a 50-50 record. Many baseball fans were calling for a flex rule to be imposed, which would send a team with a better record to the playoffs instead of a division winner (In this case, both the Orioles and Blue Jays had better records than the Angels).
But over all, the 125th anniversary for professional baseball was a very interesting affair.
AMERCIAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST:
New York Yankees (64-36)
Baltimore Orioles (57-43)
Toronto Blue Jays (51-49)
Boston Red Sox (41-59)
Detroit Tigers (35-65)
CENTRAL:
Chicago White Sox (65-35)
Cleveland Indians (61-39) (WC)
Kansas City Royals (49-51)
Milwaukee Brewers (42-58)
Minnesota Twins (42-58)
WEST:
California Angels (50-50)
Texas Rangers (48-52)
Seattle Mariners (46-54)
Oakland Athletics (38-62)
National League Standings
EAST:
Montreal Expos (68-32)
Philadelphia Phillies (66-34) (WC)
Atlanta Braves (59-41)
New York Mets (47-53)
Florida Marlins (44-56)
CENTRAL:
Houston Astros (57-43)
Cincinnati Reds (54-46)
St Louis Cardinals (47-53)
Chicago Cubs (40-60)
Pittsburgh Pirates (39-61)
WEST:
San Francisco Giants (60-40)
Los Angeles Dodgers (58-42)
Colorado Rockies (52-48)
San Diego Padres (45-55)
WC = Wild Card
Awards
AL MVP - Jim Thome, Cleveland Indians
AL Cy Young - Scott Sanderson, Chicago White Sox
AL Manager of the Year - Mike Hargrove, Cleveland Indians
NL MVP - Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros
NL Cy Young - Curt Schilling, Philadelphia Phillies
NL Manager of the Year - Felipe Alou, Montreal Expos