Among players, owners, umpires, commissioners, and fans, Strikes are often controversial phenomenon in the world of baseball. It is among these same groups that another kind of less common but even more controversial strike creates animosity – the work stoppage form of strike. When the baseball strike erupted in August of 1994, it represented the eight such work stoppage in baseball since the 1972 between unions and owners (Staudohar 1). In 1991, attendance figures set records for the eighth consecutive time but the aftermath of the strike in 1994-95 which lasted 232 days would put a stop to these kinds of records as fans, television viewers, and others denounced baseball and turned away from the sport (Staudohar 1). Attendance records and the even more crucial TV viewer ratings spiraled downward “Disgruntled fans sent a message of ‘a plague on both your houses’ in 1995 by means of a 20-percent drop in attendance and television contracts were scaled down dramatically because of low ratings that caused CBS to lose about $500 million and ESPN about $150 million” (Staudohar 9; 5). Despite declining attendance, viewership and the resulting loss of profitability, the effects of the 1994 baseball strike were temporary and short-lived. This analysis will discuss the recovery of baseball from the deleterious effects of the 1994 baseball strike, even though the strike resulted in no World Series and generated enormous loss of good will among fans and viewers of the sport.
Before assessing the recovery of the baseball industry after the strike of 1994, one must briefly revisit the strike and its impact. Owners presented players via union representatives with their proposals, almost two years after voting to reopen contracts. The players were unhappy with owner proposals which would set their share of revenues at 50%, 6% below former levels, would force them to share their licensing revenues, and eliminated salary arbitration...