1994–95 Major League Baseball strike

The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season, including the postseason and the World Series, being canceled. This was the first time in ninety years, since 1904, that a World Series was not played. The strike was suspended on April 2, 1995, after 232 days, making it the longest such stoppage in MLB history and the longest work stoppage in major league professional sports at the time (breaking the record set by the 1981 strike, also in MLB).

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike
DateAugust 12, 1994 – April 2, 1995
(7 months and 3 weeks)
Location
 United States
 Canada
Caused by
  • Expiration of the previous MLB collective bargaining agreement on December 31, 1993
  • MLB team owners' proposal for a salary cap to be included in the next MLB collective bargaining agreement
Goals
  • Owners proposed revenue-sharing plan in addition to a salary cap
Resulted inAgreement reached to end strike via injunction on April 2, 1995, without a salary cap
  • 1994 World Series canceled on September 14, 1994; implementation of expanded postseason delayed until 1995
  • Owners agree to begin 1995 season with replacement players on January 13, 1995
  • 1995 season reduced to 144 games per team
  • Players were bound by the terms of the expired agreement until a new collective bargaining agreement was reached
  • Injunction that ended the strike upheld on September 29
Parties
Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA)
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Lead figures

Donald Fehr (executive director)

Bud Selig (acting commissioner)
Richard Ravitch (MLB owners representative)

Bill Clinton (President)
Sonia Sotomayor (District Court judge)
William Usery Jr. (federal mediator)

Major League Baseball
labor relations
Work stoppages
Topics
  • Collective Bargaining Agreement  • Collusion  • Reserve clause  • Seitz decision
People
  • Principal owners
  • Commissioner of Baseball
  • Major League Baseball Players Association
  • Major League Baseball Umpires Association
Court cases
Baseball, Organized labor

As a result of the strike, a total of 948 games were canceled, and MLB became the first-ever major American professional sports league to lose an entire postseason due to a labor dispute. Due to the strike, both the 1994 and 1995 seasons were not played to a complete 162 games; the strike began after the teams had played at least 113 games in 1994. Each team played a total of 144 games in 1995.

This was the first time in North American professional sports that an entire postseason was canceled because of labor disputes; the second (and last to date) was the cancellation of the National Hockey League's 2005 Stanley Cup playoffs as a result of the entire 2004–05 season being canceled. Coincidentally, the NHL also experienced a labor dispute of their own in 1994.

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