Man, the ’94 Yankees, what a year that could have been. I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it’s been, what, almost thirty years? I was glued to the TV every game, I remember that. They were on fire. I mean, they were in the first place. First place! Seventy wins and only forty-three losses when the season got cut short.
They had the best record in the American League. The whole damn league! And they were second in the whole MLB! We were all geared up, you know? We thought, “This is it, this is our year!” We were getting ready to take it all the way. I really felt they were destined for greatness. The season was cut short, and that was it. I felt robbed, really robbed.
I remember thinking back then, “If only they could finish the season, they would have won the World Series.” No doubt about it. They didn’t have the World Series that year at all because of the strike. The year before that, in ’93, the Blue Jays won against the Phillies. I remember that clearly because I felt that would be us, you know, the Yankees, the next year.
Later on, the Yankees did become like a dynasty, right? They won three World Series in four years. But the ’94 team, that team had something special. A bunch of young guys, hungry, you know? Some of them ended up being Hall of Famers, All-Stars every year. And they had the older, more seasoned players too, and together they were just… explosive.
It was a killer mix, I’m telling you. And that Buck Showalter, he was a good manager, knew how to handle them. And you know what? In 1995, they gave him the Manager of the Year for the American League. It was based on how well the Yankees did in 1994, which I think was totally deserved. He was a great manager.
- I remember that Paul O’Neill was a batting champion, batting .359!
- And, they had a bunch of guys hitting double-digit home runs. Six of them, I think.
That year, 1994, was the 92nd season for the Yankees. It would have been so good for Don Mattingly. I remember that he hadn’t played in a postseason then. That would have been a great first.
They were playing at Yankee Stadium, the old one. Man, those were the days. I really thought they were going to go all the way. It was a real shame how it all ended. The strike just messed everything up. What a waste. What a damn waste.
I kept track of everything. Every game, every win, every home run. I was sure it was going to be a historic year. And you know what, it kinda was, but not in the way I wanted. It’s always gonna be the year that could have been. A real heartbreaker, that ’94 season.
Still, I’ll never forget that team.
They were something else. The ’94 Yankees. The kings of the league.
