On the heels of the MLB lockout, we go back in time and remember the day that the previous work stoppage began.
Today, August 12, marks the 28th anniversary of the 1994 strike.
How does that pertain to the Cleveland Guardians, you ask?
Well, 1994 was proving to be a solid season for the Guardians, then the Indians.
The Indians were 66-47, one game out of first place in the AL Central, which at the time was led by the Chicago White Sox.
One Guardians fan tweeted a picture of what the standings were on that fateful day, when the team was right in the thick of the playoff race after years of heartache.
August 12, 1994: What If⚾️
MLB players go on strike #ForTheLand having its best season in 40 years are 1 game out of 1st place, hold wild card spot. For long suffering CLE fans was such a thrill (almost surreal) just to look at standings & see our Tribe up there in August #Strike pic.twitter.com/RFtzwrKZhM— On This Day: Cleveland Sports (@CityfanC) August 12, 2022
Remembering The Strike
As we know, the strike lasted throughout the 1994 season, canceling the postseason and the World Series and stretching into the 1995 season.
Of course, in 1995, Cleveland reached the World Series, but they had a decent shot at making it there in ’94.
As the fan on Twitter mentions, Cleveland was having its best season in 40 years and had control of the lone Wild Card spot.
The city of Cleveland was thrilled to see its team right in the thick of the race that late in the season.
Then the strike happened and took out the rest of the ’94 season and some of the ’95 season.
Perhaps ’94 could have been the year that the Indians finally won a World Series.
We’ll never know of course, but the day the strike began, the baseball world was taken by surprise.
The season came to a grinding halt, and everything was left unresolved.
28 years later, that day remains a dark day in the history of baseball and a shocking one for fans of the Guardians, who were robbed of a chance to see their team make a run.
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