1994 World Series

{{See also|1994–95 Major League Baseball strike#Reaction}}

This was supposed to have been the first year of an expanded eight-team playoff system, with the American League (AL) and National League (NL) realigning into three divisions each (East, Central, and West) at the start of the 1994 season, and the addition of a wild card spot in each league.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-10-mn-33545-story.html |title=Baseball Owners Approve New League Lineup |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 10, 1993|access-date=June 12, 2022}} The NL champion was then intended to be assigned home-field advantage in the 1994 World Series, based on an annual rotation dating back to the mid-1930s in which the World Series opened in the NL city in even-numbered years and opened in the AL city in odd-numbered years. With the postseason canceled, the new playoff system did not go into effect until the 1995 postseason, and the annual World Series rotation (which continued until 2003) was then reversed so that home-field advantage for the 1995 World Series was assigned to the NL champion.{{cite news|title=Empty Feeling|quote=The World Series was supposed to start tonight.|date=October 22, 1994|first=Mike|last=Lupica|newspaper=Newsday|page=A42|author-link=Mike Lupica}}{{cite news|quote=Because of the expanded playoffs, including the new wild-card round, the World Series schedule had been flipped this season to open again at the home of the AL champion.|title=Game 1 of World Series passes by|date=October 23, 1994|first=Ben|last=Walker|agency=Associated Press}}

At the time that the strike began, the Montreal Expos had a six game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves, while the Braves had a 2{{frac|1|2}} game lead over the Houston Astros for the NL wild card.{{cite news |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/would-the-expos-have-won-the-1994-world-series/ |title=Would The Expos Have Won The 1994 World Series? |website=FiveThirtyEight |date=October 25, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2022}} As there were no division champions in 1994, the Braves are officially credited with winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005, winning the NL West in the final three years of the two–division system and then winning 11 consecutive NL East titles from 1995 to 2005.

{{See also|1994–95 Major League Baseball strike#Television deal collapses|The Baseball Network#Downfall and demise}}

1994 was the first season that national telecasts were produced by The Baseball Network, a joint venture between MLB, ABC, and NBC.{{cite news|title=Major League Baseball Strikes Unique Deal with NBC, ABC|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/289457/MAJOR-LEAGUE-BASEBALL-STRIKES-UNIQUE-DEAL-WITH-NBC-ABC.html?pg=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113231254/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/289457/MAJOR-LEAGUE-BASEBALL-STRIKES-UNIQUE-DEAL-WITH-NBC-ABC.html?pg=all|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 13, 2014|author=John Nelson|newspaper=Deseret News|date=May 9, 1993}} Under the original arrangement, ABC would have broadcast the World Series in even-numbered years (included 1994) and NBC would have televised the series in odd-numbered years.{{cite news|title=More tales of The Baseball Network|url=http://archives.dailyegyptian.com/imported-20111018201841/1995/7/26/more-tales-of-the-baseball-network-abc-lost-the-1994-world-s.html|newspaper=SIU Daily Egyptian|date=July 26, 1995|access-date=February 12, 2015|quote=ABC lost the 1994 World Series; this was supposed to be NBC's year. Instead, they split the spoils. Who got the better of the deal? Let's see. The networks each get 6 percent of the advertising revenues; baseball gets 88 percent. Call it a draw.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205073735/http://archives.dailyegyptian.com/imported-20111018201841/1995/7/26/more-tales-of-the-baseball-network-abc-lost-the-1994-world-s.html|archive-date=December 5, 2014|url-status=dead}} Because the 1994 World Series was cancelled, ABC and NBC shared broadcast rights to the 1995 World Series, after which the joint venture was ended.{{cite news|title=Abc And Nbc Quit Baseball Network|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-06-23/sports/25692151_1_abc-and-nbc-baseball-network-george-vukasin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218223331/http://articles.philly.com/1995-06-23/sports/25692151_1_abc-and-nbc-baseball-network-george-vukasin|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 18, 2014|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=June 23, 1995|access-date=July 2, 2012}}

• 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1994 Japan Series

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-year-there-was-no-world-series/2017/09/05/f1ed4a60-7d0f-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html The Year There Was No World Series, The Washington Post]
• [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1994/baseball.strike/94.baseball.mov Baseball players strike against proposed salary cap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303072746/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1994/baseball.strike/94.baseball.mov |date=March 3, 2013 }}
• [http://remarque.org/~grabiner/strikefaq.html Frequently Asked Questions About the 1994 Strike] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116185508/http://remarque.org/~grabiner/strikefaq.html |date=November 16, 2020 }}

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{{The Baseball Network}}

{{1994 MLB season by team}}

Category:World Series

World Series

Category:Major League Baseball labor relations

Category:Cancelled baseball competitions

Category:1994 in American sports

Category:Cancelled events in the United States