At the time, Tim Allen and Roseanne Barr were the king and queen of television. Seinfeld was still a new sensation. Ace of Base had three top ten hits, including the year's number one song, "The Sign." As Casey Cassum would say, the year was 1994.
It was an epic year for movies with box office successes that included Forrest Gump, The Lion King, Clear and Present Danger, The Mask, Mrs. Doubtfire, Pulp Fiction, Hoop Dreams and The Shawshank Redemption. Keanu Reeves was known for Speed rather than as Neo and Arnold Schwarzenegger was starring in True Lies -- not running for governor.
Dallas had just won its second straight Super Bowl. Arkansas basketball was feared for its "40 Minutes of Hell" while Nebraska football was simply feared. The New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in half a century on the ice, while Nancy Kerrigan was taking a hit in the knee -- thanks to Tonya Harding -- off the ice. Michael Jordan was playing baseball.
The O.J. Simpson trial was just getting underway and puberty was just starting to settle in for most of us. The Power Rangers were in and slap bracelets were out. The Internet was an unknown commodity, and Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America" gave the Republicans a majority in Congress.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Expos were the best team in baseball. (Did I really just say that?) Yes, the now Montreal/Puerto Rico, MLB-owned and operated Expos were far and away the top team until the end of the 1994 season was lost to the strike.
When that season was cut short, the Expos were six games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and, at 74-40, had the best record in all of baseball.
Their roster was as impressive as any other in the last decade. Their starting staff was a fearsome foursome that included lefties Jeff Fassero (who was 8-6 with a 2.99 ERA in 1994) and a young Kirk Reuter (7-3). For righties, they had a pair of aces in Ken Hill (who led the league in wins with 16) and an up and coming star named Pedro.
Out of the bullpen they sported a three-headed monster of dominant relief specialists. Jeff Shaw would usually work the seventh inning and would eventually become a closer in his own right with the Reds and Dodgers. Mel Rojas would then come in for the eighth. He finished his career with 126 saves, including two 30-save seasons in 1995 and 1996. After Shaw and Rojas would hold the lead, John Wetteland closed the deal. He eventually finished his career with 330 saves and racked up at least 30 saves in eight separate seasons.
With such dominant pitching, the Expos did not need much hitting, but their bats were even more imposing than their arms.
Montreal's infield included all-stars Mike Lansing, Wil Cordero and Cliff Floyd. Playing outfield were all-stars Moises Alou (hitting .339 in 1994), marquee lead off man Marquis Grissom and heavy hitting Larry Walker. In addition, 2003 all-star Rondell White could relieve any of these guys who needed a day off. To cap it all off, this remarkable roster was headed by 1994 Coach of the Year Felipe Alou.
Baseball certainly lost a lot in 1994. It lost Matt Williams' and Ken Griffey, Jr.'s legitimate chase of Roger Maris' homerun record. It lost Tony Gwynn's pursuit of becoming the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams in 1941 (he was batting .394). It lost fans and interest. But maybe most notably, it also lost the chance to have a thriving franchise in Quebec.
For a team that now splits its home games between Montreal and San Juan and may move completely out of Montreal at the season's end, a World Series title in 1994 could have turned the entire franchise around.
When the strike hit, the Expos already had 1.2 million fans enter through the turnstiles in Olympic Stadium. Today, they are lucky to get 10,000 per game. They were World Series favorites with a plethora of young, exciting talent. They were on their way to becoming the class of the league for a long time to come.
Instead, after the strike ended, the ownership went on a fire sale and got rid of Walker, Grissom, Hill and Wettleland immediately. Within two years, Cordero, Alou, Fassero, Reuter, Shaw and Pedro would also be sporting different uniforms.
Since 1994, the Expos have finished an average of 25 games behind the Braves at season's end. As this year's Expos fade from wild card contention, baseball can't help but think what might have been.
Read More
West Coast woes strike again as men’s basketball gets hammered by Stanford
By Emory Huffman | 8 hours agoVirginia, once again in a lost season, looked aimless on the floor.
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | 17 hours agoHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
