Baseball 1994-2003

[Wolf Hopper]

What are the most significant baseball stories - on the field and off - regular season, post-season, and off-season - for this period, in your opinion?

[TimmyB]

The '94 strike seems to be the biggest off-field story here, as it killed the '94 post-season and seems to have scared both owners and players to a degree.

On the field the Rocket Ball is the big story. The McGwire/Sosa HR chase of '98 was a huge story, along with Bonds' subsequent chase and complete domination of any game in which he takes part.

The downside there is the nearly constant talk about Vitamin S. It has cast a long shadow over this era.

The Yankee dynasty of '96 - '00 is a big one, as is the '01 World Series that knocked off the Bombers.

Cal Ripken's breaking of Gehrig's streak probably saved baseball (even though some would argue it was at the detriment of his own career performance).

Interleague play, love it or hate it, along with the introduction of the wild-card have also been two very important innovations.

[sweaver]

1. Labor unrest interferes with many seasons, both directly and indirectly.
2. Yankee domination.
3. Big Mac and Sosa chase Maris. Then Barry does his thing.
4. Ripken's streak--it didn't save baseball, but it provided the kind of good publicity that is increasingly hard to come by.
5. The biggest era for offense ever.
6. Pedro Martinez and his excellence shine through all that offense.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Maybe the biggest story of the period, for the good of baseball, was the '99 All-Star Game in Fenway. That, along with the wonderful '98 season-long friendly battle between Sosa and Mac, and Ripken's streak, may have saved baseball from itself.

Those events allowed fans to remember what they love about baseball despite the very worst combined efforts of owners, players and agents to turn fans away from the gate.

Big Mac deserves a place in Cooperstown for that alone, if for nothing else, as do Sosa and Ripken -- not that they have to worry about being voted in.

[KCBOOMER]

1. Devastating Strike of 1994
2. Fans Acceptance of their Unimportance
3. Return of the Long Ball