What (1994) Strike ?

I have been playing APBA on and off (mostly on) since I was 12 in 1975. In my earlier years I tried doing some replays but was never able to complete any. But in the past 20 years I have always wanted to have the time to not do a ‘replay’ but do a ‘what would have been’ if the 1994 strike never happened. Not really sure what this would be called as I have no intention of replaying anything. The season ended on August 11, 1994 and I want to finish the season as if baseball was played Aug 12 and the season and post season completed as it should have been.

But I want to dothis right, down to the fine details.

For instance, did any players who receiveda regular, XB or XC card get released during the season? If so, they would not play in my ‘continuation’. A number of players were indeed released.

Disabled List data. This was not easy to find. Prior to 2001 DL data is difficult to get. So I spent many hours at the library going thru the archive sections of the Baltimore Sun newspaper. I was able to get pretty accurate DL data. I also found a book – Bill James STATS Major League Handbook for 1995. In it James, plays out the rest of the year as if there was no strike. He also, thankfully, gives ‘full season’ stats based on the played out year. The best part for me – he took into account player injuries. Mark McGwire, Mike Greenwell and many other players who would have played very little if at all even if there were no strike. The McGwire’s and Greenwell’s of the game will also not see any action in my ‘continuation’. To my surprise, Jeff Bagwell and his broken hand would have come back late in the season and thus will for me also.

Injuries. Injuries in APBA come up much too rare. Based on data going back to 2001 I have been able to come up with a random selection of 1-2 players everyday going to the 15 day DL. I have also come up with a random selection of 1-3 players being injured each day and being out 1-8 days as ‘Day to Day’.

What were each teams 25 man rosters on August 11, 1994. Box scores are available on the internet and I have been able to determine those 25 man rosters with 99% accuracy. There were also a number of young players who were sent down to the minors just before the strike to keep playing. In my continuation there is no strike, so those players will remain with the big club.

I also wanted defense to be accurate. As we all know APBA grades all outfielders as ‘Outfielders’. The Albert Belle’s of the world played LF and only LF and certainly won’t play anywhere else. So keeping defensive positions realistic will be a must.

The Kingdom. As you may remember the tiles fell from the sky in the Kingdom during a series with Baltimore. The M’s were forced to play the rest of the season on the road and that they shall. A tall task for the Mariners. Since Baltimore and Seattle were not scheduled to play again during the season the series will be made up on the only available off day for both teams. So Seattle will finish a series in Oakland on Sunday August 14, fly to Baltimore for a double header on Monday (two games were missed by the falling ties), then head to Toronto for a series on Tuesday. There will certainly be a number of moves between the Mariners and their triple A team during that stretch.

Am I getting too detailed? Probably. But I figured if I am going to do it I want it as accurate as possible. I have put at least some time almost every day for the past 6 weeks into gathering info. It certainly could be a 3 year project. It’s approximately 700 games before playoffs. But I also love stats and will be keeping them accurate as well.

Team outlooks heading into the season’s final third.

AL East

New York has the best record in the AL and they are healthy. The Orioles are battling Cleveland and Kansas City for the new ‘wild card’ spot. Baltimore does have to deal with two double headers in three days this week. The defending champion Blue Jays have a lot of ground to make up. Boston has been decimated by injuries. The Red Son are minus Mike Greenwell, Scott Cooper and Danny Darwin for the rest of the year. The Tigers are without Eric Davis for the rest of the year as they battle Boston and Toronto for third in the AL East.

AL Central

Like the east leading Yankees, the White Sox are very healthy. Cleveland is without Mark Clark for the rest of the year and have released Jack Morris. They will rely on Chad Ogea and Julian Tavarez to step up. Kansas City is hanging in there with Baltimore and Cleveland for the wild card. Minnesota and Milwaukee bring up the rear. The Brewers have lost BJ Surhoff, Darryl Hamilton and Brian Harper.

AL West

It’s very possible the winner of the west will be 20 games under .500. There simply is no pitching in this division. Oakland lost Mark McGwire and Brent Gates. Seattle must play every game on the road.

NL East

Montreal boasts the league’s best record and are very healthy. The Braves are trying to stay close led by Greg Maddux (16-6 1.56). The Phils have lost Darren Daulton. The Mets, Marlins and Phillies are battling for third.

NL Central

The Reds have lost Eric Hanson but still lead the division. Houston suffered a major blow with Jeff Bagwell going down with a broken bone in his hand. There is hope he could return before the end of the season if the Astros are still in the race. The Pirates (Al Martin), Cardinals (Geronimo Pena and Rick Sutcliffe) and the Cubs (Anthony Young and Mike Morgan) have all lost some players for the rest of the season.

NL West

Los Angeles is healthy and leads the west. Though it is very possible the winner in the NL West is also under .500. The Giants have lost Robby Thompson and Mark Portugal. Colorado took a hit losing Andres Galarraga. San Diego has the majors worse record.

Standings at start of day, Friday August 12, 1994

AMERICAN LEAGUE / NATIONAL LEAGUE
Eastern Division / Eastern Division
NY Yankees / 70-43 / 0.619 / ---- / Montreal / 74-40 / 0.649 / ----
Baltimore / 63-49 / 0.563 / 6.5 / Atlanta / 68-46 / 0.596 / 6
Toronto / 55-60 / 0.478 / 16 / NY Mets / 55-58 / 0.487 / 18.5
Boston / 54-61 / 0.470 / 17 / Philadelphia / 54-61 / 0.470 / 20.5
Detroit / 53-62 / 0.461 / 18 / Florida / 51-64 / 0.443 / 23.5
Central Division / Central Division
Chi White Sox / 67-46 / 0.593 / ---- / Cincinnati / 66-48 / 0.579 / ----
Cleveland / 66-47 / 0.584 / 1 / Houston / 66-49 / 0.574 / 0.5
Kansas City / 64-51 / 0.557 / 4 / Pittsburgh / 53-61 / 0.465 / 13
Minnesota / 53-60 / 0.469 / 14 / St Louis / 53-61 / 0.465 / 13
Milwaukee / 53-62 / 0.461 / 15 / Chi Cubs / 49-64 / 0.434 / 16.5
Western Division / Western Division
Texas / 52-62 / 0.456 / ---- / LA Dodgers / 58-56 / 0.509 / ----
Oakland / 51-63 / 0.447 / 1 / San Francisco / 55-60 / 0.478 / 3.5
Seattle / 49-63 / 0.438 / 2 / Colorado / 53-64 / 0.453 / 6.5
California / 47-68 / 0.409 / 5.5 / San Diego / 47-70 / 0.402 / 12.5