Has the pain of the 1994 strike decreased over time?

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August 12, 2009

As Jonah Keri reminds us, today marks the 15th anniversary of the day the players went on strike, an event that led to the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904 and killed dreams in Cleveland, the Bronx, the South Side and, most regrettably, Montreal.

Oddly, there aren’t many stories or posts recalling what happened on this date, though I can’t say that I don’t see why. Despite feeling like I’d get a scolding from Bob Costas or Billy Crystal for not rewriting the strike as a more painful experience of my youth, the truth is that I don’t remember being especially traumatized. The players and owners were arguing over money and there were no games being played, but there were still Pearl Jam albums to listen to and Erik Kramer’s career with the Bears to anticipate.

I mean, I’m sure I must’ve missed the sport — I remember going to see Frank Thomas vs. Ken Griffey two weeks earlier and thinking, "OK, this is it, no more baseball for awhile after this" — but I don’t think I was particularly crushed. Sports were morphing into really big business and the whole showdown seemed inevitable. My life went on, though I suppose it’s possible I’m "misremembering" and have repressed those memories altogether.

Fifteen years later, what do you recall from baseball’s darkest days?