Year In Review : 1994 American League

Off the field...

A major earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale, struck the densely populated San Fernando Valley in northern Los Angeles. In the aftermath, fifty-seven people were killed, 1,500 were injured and over 12,500 buildings were damaged.

Richard M. Nixon, the thirty-seventh President of the United States, who won a record landslide and resigned in disgrace twenty-one months later died after suffering a stroke at the age of eighty-one.

U.S. national champion figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, a 1992 Olympic bronze medalist and one of the favorites to win the gold medal, was attacked after a practice at the U.S. Olympic trials. It was later discovered that one of her rivals, Tonya Harding and her husband were behind the plot.

In the American League...

Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Shuey went four (K's) for four in the ninth inning of the Tribe's 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. In doing so he became only the tenth pitcher in American League history, (and the first rookie) to strike out four batters in a single inning.

The Twins' Pedro Munoz drove in seven runs to defeat the Detroit Tigers 21-7 as Minnesota became the first team since the 1950 Red Sox to score more than twenty runs in a game, two times in the same season. Their previous rally was a 21-2 homerun derby over the Boston Red Sox.

Kevin Appier, of the Kansas City Royals, set an all-time record (traced back to 1986) after striking out thirteen Texas Rangers in only five and 2/3 innings of work. To date, no pitcher, in the history of baseball had ever pitched less than six innings in a game with that many strikeouts.

In the National League...

The Chicago Cubs' Tuffy Rhodes became the first National League player to tally three home runs (all consecutive) on Opening Day at Wrigley Field. Despite the setback, Dwight Gooden and the New York Mets held on to beat the home team 12-8.

The St. Louis Cardinals set a new major-league record by stranding sixteen base runners in a 4-0 shutout by the Philadelphia Phillies. After eight innings, the game remained scoreless, but reliever Mike Perez stumbled in the ninth surrendering two hits, one walk and a three-run homer.

Jeff Bagwell became the twenty-eighth player in Major League history to homer twice in the same inning as Houston rallied for nine runs in the sixth during a 16-4 massacre over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Around the league...

The Major League Players Association rejected an owner's salary cap proposal, asking players to split all revenues 50-50. In addition, the citation stated that salary arbitration would be eliminated and free agency for players could be reached after four years in the majors instead of six.

As negotiations continued to heat up, the owners decided to withhold $7.8 million that they were obligated to pay into the players' pension and benefit plans. The final straw fell after the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to approve an antitrust legislation that left the players with little choice but to strike.

On September 14th, the remainder of the baseball season was canceled thirty-four days into the players' strike. As a result, the World Series was also called off for the first time since 1904. Three months later, the owners unilaterally implemented a salary cap as negotiations remained at a standstill.