
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the owners had not negotiated in good faith. The battle escalated when the owners OK’d the use of replacement players. When negotiations collapsed in December 1995, the owners unilaterally implemented a salary cap. All told, 669 regular-season games were missed in 1994 and 252 at the beginning of the ’95 season. A month into the strike, acting commissioner Bud Selig announced the cancellation of the playoffs and World Series.

With the owners continuing to threaten a salary cap, the players went out on strike Aug. The players were vehemently against the plan from the start, believing then, as they do now, that a salary cap would ultimately decrease salaries. The sticking points were revenue sharing, the owners’ continued desire for a salary cap and pay-for-performance for arbitration-eligible players. Although 78 games were missed, they were all rescheduled. This work stoppage lasted 32 days before a new four-year agreement was reached March 18.

Ultimately, the courts ruled in favor of the players and the owners were forced to pay $434 million in damages. In response to rising salaries, the owners colluded to suppress the free-agent market for three consecutive years - 1985-87. In the end, players’ arbitration eligibility was increased from two seasons of service time to three and the union got a raise in a new pension plan when a five-year CBA was signed. 6-7) and 25 missed games were rescheduled. At the heart of the dispute was the owners’ desire to put a cap on salary arbitration earnings.
1994 MLB STRIKE NEWSPAPER FREE
The owners played hardball, authorizing a rule that required any team that signed a free agent to lose not just a draft pick, but a player on the roster as well.Ī compromise deal was reached July 31 and the end result was a messy split season in which the first-half and second-half winners of each division met in the first-ever division series. The players went on strike from June 12-July 31. A final-hour agreement was reached, but issues lingered. The players vowed to strike again if a new CBA wasn’t reached by May 23. Speaking for the owners, Kuhn famously said: “Unless we find oil under second base we will never survive.” The owners - upset that the average salary went from about $51,000 in 1976 to more than $113,000 in 1979 - sought more compensation for teams that lost free-agent players. Some spring training games were canceled when the players went on strike for the final eight days of spring training. The main issue was free-agent compensation. The season began without a CBA, but in July the two sides agreed to a four-year agreement - with free agency in place. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn declared spring training camps be opened after the 17-day lockout. However, a federal appeals court upheld Seitz’s ruling, and Messersmith and McNally became free agents. In response to Seitz’s decision, owners locked out the players. But executive director Marvin Miller and the union won the right to free agency when Seitz sided with pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally in their dispute with MLB. The owners held tight to the belief that the reserve clause could keep a player with a team his entire career. Some spring training games were missed but no regular-season games were canceled. The owners conceded, knowing they would lose more money from lost attendance than simply meeting the MLBPA’s pension demands. The player reps voted 47-0 (with one abstention) in favor of MLB’s first strike. The start of the season was canceled, eventually wiping out about a week’s worth of action until a four-year agreement was reached. The issue was the players’ desire for increased funding for their pension plan. Ultimately, the strike cost MLB 86 games.

Following is a thumbnail history of the previous labor battles: 1972 strike It was the culmination of nearly three decades of a power struggle between the players and owners.

The strike, however, didn’t come out of left field. The Major League Baseball strike of 1994-95, not only wiped out the 1994 World Series, it left an ugly mark on the game. More than 26 years after baseball’s longest and most infamous strike, the images remain vivid: Disgruntled fans holding homemade signs, blaming both the owners and players for being greedy. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
