August 11, 1994: The Strike of '94 Begins

August 11, 1994: With the Major League Baseball Players Association going on strike at Midnight, what turn out to be the last games of the season are played.

This includes the unintentionally early last baseball game at Mile High Stadium in Denver, which had hosted minor-league baseball from 1948 to 1992. The Colorado Rockies lose to the Atlanta Braves, 13-0. Greg Maddux pitched a 3-hit shutout. David Justice hits the stadium's last home run.

The Rockies moved into the new Coors Field when baseball resumed the following April. Mile High Stadium continued to host the NFL's Denver Broncos, as it had since 1960, through the 2000 season, when its replacement opened next-door, on the site of the McNichols Sports Arena.

The last game to end is at the Oakland Coliseum, with the host Athletics losing, 8-1 to the Seattle Mariners. Randy Johnson, outpitching former Met Ron Darling, closes it out by striking Ernie Young out at 9:45 PM Pacific Time – 12:45 AM on August 12, Eastern Time. Eric Anthony of Seattle hits the last home run… until Raul Mondesi of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 25, 1995, 257 long days and many broken hearts later.

The A's trailed the Texas Rangers in the American League Western Division by 1 game; the Mariners, by 2. The Rangers actually had a terrible record, 52-62, but it was good enough, at the time, to lead the Division. With the 3-Division setup debuting this season, they could have become the 1st team ever ton win a Division title with a losing record. Through the 2021 season, that still has not happened.

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August 11, 1994 was a Thursday. These other games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium. This game went to extra innings, and I thought at the time that the players looked like they wanted to keep playing, and not go on strike. Each team scored a run in the 12th inning. Ed Sprague hit a home run off Joe Ausanio to lead off the top of the 13th. Danny Tartabull hit a home run for the Yankees. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5 with a walk.

The Yankees had the best record in the American League, 70-43, and were leading the American League Eastern Division by 6 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles. This was probably Mattingly's best chance to win a title, and it was over.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Ricky Jordan singled Billy Hatcher home with the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning. So, between them, the 2 New York teams played 28 innings, and neither won.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 8-6 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 4-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Zane Smith pitched a 5-hit shutout. Despite this defeat, at 74-40, the Expos had the best record in MLB, leading National League Eastern Division by 6 games over the Braves.

The only 2 times that franchise ended a season in 1st place under the Montreal Expos name were in 1981 and 1994, both tainted by a strike. During the strike-affected off-season, the Expos would break up their team to save money. Just 10 years later, they moved, becoming the Washington Nationals.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Ramón Martínez pitched a 7-hit shutout. The Dodgers were leading the NL Western Division, while the Reds were leading the NL Central. They would face each other in the Playoffs the next season, with the Reds sweeping, but not this season.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 8-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Derek Bell went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Tony Gwynn also went 3-for-5. The Astros were only half a game behind the Reds in the NL Central.

* The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians were among the teams not scheduled. The White Sox, who hadn't won a Pennant since 1959 or a World Series since 1917, were leading the AL Central. The Indians, who hadn't even been in a Pennant race since 1959, hadn't won a Pennant since 1954, and hadn't won a World Series since 1948, were just 1 game behind the ChiSox. Both got screwed by the strike. At the time, the White Sox were the one team that concerned me, as a Yankee Fan, with possibly being a better team.