Home run history, .400 seasons and more: What was lost to the 1994 MLB strike - and what it means for 2027
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- Matt Williams had 43 home runs when the Aug. 12, 1994 strike hit, putting him on pace to match Roger Maris' 61; he never hit more than 35 again in his career.
- Six sluggers were on track for 50 home runs in 1994 — Williams, Ken Griffey Jr., Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas, Barry Bonds and Albert Belle — a group that could have set the all-time record for 50-homer hitters in a single season.
- Tony Gwynn was hitting .394 on Aug. 11, 1994, his highest average since June 1, on a trajectory that no player has matched since Ted Williams' .406 in 1941; current closest contender Luis Arraez has topped out at .354.
- Fred McGriff had 34 homers in the truncated 1994 season and finished his career at 493 — seven short of 500 — needing the Hall of Fame's era committee to reach Cooperstown 19 years after retirement.
- Greg Maddux went 16-6 in 1994's 25 starts and 19-2 in 1995's 144-game season, combining for 35-8 with a 1.60 ERA, 265 ERA+ and 18.2 bWAR while winning the final two of his four straight Cy Young awards.
- MLB attendance averaged 31,256 at the strike's start, on pace to break 1993's record, but tumbled to 25,021 in 1995 — a drop the sport only began approaching again in recent post-pandemic years.
- A 2027 work stoppage could end Aaron Judge's window to challenge Bonds' 73-homer record (he turns 35 in April), stall Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper's 500-homer pursuits, and derail Freddie Freeman and Jose Altuve's 3,000-hit bids.
- The 1994 season was the first under MLB's new six-division, three-wild-card format that purists had decried but which set the template for modern playoff races.
Why it matters: With current CBA negotiations carrying the same vitriolic tone that preceded the 1994 stoppage, baseball fans face the prospect of watching the Judge/Ohtani era end without its signature records being challenged — Stanton (currently 4 HRs from 450), Trout (50 from 400) and Ohtani (306 at age 31) all have milestones that a canceled 2027 season could permanently deny.
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