rovisions of the expired collective bargaining agreement. As far as the players were concerned, the strike ended after this ruling (Layden 63).The resumption of play by real big leaguers proved, once again, the old saying that all strikes must end. Nothing was settled by the strike, because the old contract provisions continued to apply, which has to make the strike one of the most eventful, but unproductive, ever. At the end of the strike, the owners announced losses of $700 million and then added another $300 million in losses resulting from a delay of the start of the 1995 season (Monthly Labor Review). Veteran players got some protection from the union strike fund, but they were really being paid back their own money, while other players got little or nothing. Average salaries dropped about 5 percent, from $1,168,263 in 1994 to $1,110,776 in 1995, as financially straightened clubs looked to the minor leagues for cheaper talent and many veterans were released or took sizable pay cuts (Atlantic Unbound).Fans, or course, were disappointed with the cancellation of postseason play, as well as the loss of the chance to see whether or not records would be broken. Tony Gwynn had a batting average of .394, with a chance to be the first player since Ted Williams to hit .400 for the season. Ken Griffey, Jr., Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Albert Belle, and Barry Bonds all were on pace to hit fifty home runs. Never before had two players hit fifty or more home runs in a single season. There was also the case of Cal Ripken, Jr., who was on pace to break Lou Gehrigs streak of playing 2,130 consecutive games. The divisional races were wide open, and the conclusion of the season would have been exciting. Angry fans sent a message of a plague on both your houses in 1995 by means of a 20-percent drop in a attendance (Dolan 134).By then end of 1996, some of the dark clouds lingering over the game had been swept away. Postseason play in 1995 s...
