30th Anniversary of MLB '94 Strike and its impact on Expos demise

The day the music died for Canada’s original MLB team

In 1994, the impact and influence of major pro sports in Canada was at an all-time and group-euphoria high. The Blue Jays were defending back-to-back World Series champs in 1992-93 and, then, in ’94, the Expos were dominating the National League standings, with the best record in all of baseball.

In addition, at the same time, the Canadiens were defending Stanley Cup champions, having clinched the championship the previous spring, with a 4-1 win over the Kings, June 9, 1993. That June ‘93 Cup championship night, just down the road at Olympic Stadium, the Expos had just lost 3-2, in 12-innings vs. the Reds and were heading out of town to begin a road-trip in St. Louis. As the team bus cruised quietly down Boulevard Rene Levesque, around midnight, we could see signs of the raucous celebration well underway, downtown, smiling and dreaming of one day creating a joyous celebration of our own.

How good were those times for CDN pro sports? The previous two World Series and a Stanley Cup good. Canadian franchises were on a roll. It was in that context, that on Aug. 11, 1994 in Pittsburgh, the Expos, the hottest team in baseball, winners of 20 of the previous 23 games, coming back, as they had, from 4.5 games behind the Braves on June 20, to a six-game lead, faced the Pirates. It was in that context that the Expos faced up to the uncertainty of a likely work stoppage with optimism and hope, that may, in hindsight, have been born of false bravado.

The team and the entire travelling staff met, post-game on that Thursday, the last scheduled game before the strike, with GM Kevin Malone leading offering an optimistic opinion in the visitor’s clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium.

There was going to be a labour stoppage the next day, of that there was no doubt. However that did not stop a message of hope from being delivered by the GM. The strike date was set up in advance by Donald Fehr and the players’ union over MLB owners’ insistence on a salary cap and a larger revenue sharing. All that would have benefitted teams like the small market Expos…who happened, with the second lowest payroll in baseball, to have the best record in baseball. Tough for owners to argue the need when MLB’s best team was one of the franchises with a hand out for help.

It was not a surprise. The previous Collective Bargaining Agreement had expired on Dec. 31, 1993, so everyone in the game knew this strike was a strong possibility considering the historical stubbornness of owners and the traditional resolve of the union, that had never lost one of these intramural battles.

You can see a full conversation on GriffsthePitch.com with Expos’ GM Malone, that we posted June, 23, earlier this year, but the message he delivered in that closed-door meeting with players and staff in that clubhouse was a simple one, “Stay ready.”

What Malone and manager Felipe Alou had to say that night fired everyone up, including the travelling P.R. guy, who was me. Basically, it was, “we are the best team in baseball, stay in shape, stay close to your phone, this isn’t going to be forever, we will finish the season and we will go on to win the World Series.” Of course, in hindsight, mutual animosity prevailed and the rest of the season was cancelled, including the Fall Classic, by order of Commissioner Bud Selig on Sept. 14.

When the strike was ended on the eve of “replacement player” opening day, April 2, 1995 by order of Judge Sonia Sotomayor (now a member of the US Supreme Court), it was the beginning of the end for the Expos, who did not gain the revenue sharing that owner Claude Brochu insisted was necessary for survival, thus it was that 10 years later after dumping most of the young stars, after two changes of ownership, one attempt to fold the team, after sharing a schedule with San Juan (P.R.), of refusing to make in-season moves to help contend, the franchise was sold to Washington D.C. and fingers were wrongly pointed at Expos fans, always an easy out for MLB.

How good was that ’94 Expos team?

The ’94 Expos were 74-40, with 62 of those games on the road (42-20) and just 52 at home (32-20). All eight starting position players were 28-or-younger, with 3B Sean Berry being the elder statesman at 28. The starting three-man outfield of LF Moises Alou, CF Marquis Grissom and RF Larry Walker were each 27-years-old and over a 114-game season posted the equivalent of full-season numbers.

Alou .339 AVG, 22HR, 78RBI, 7SB … Grissom .288, 11HR, 45RBI; 36SB, 81R … Walker .322, 19HR, 86RBI, 15SB. The other ‘94 Expos regulars were: C Darrin Fletcher (27), 1B Cliff Floyd (21), 2B Mike Lansing (26), SS Wil Cordero (22) and 3B Berry (28). The 5 Starting pitchers: RH Pedro Martinez (22), RH Ken Hill (28), LH Jeff Fassero (31), LH Butch Henry (25) and LH Kirk Rueter (23). The ‘94 bullpen was anchored by CL John Wetteland (27) and RH Mel Rojas (27).     

“We came to the ballpark every day, knowing we were going to win,” Walker said.