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Toronto's season a mirror image of Brooklyn's. While the Superbas were red-hot into early August, Toronto started slowly. Their 42-38 record on Jun. 25 was good for 5th place in the East, nine games behind division-leading Detroit. The P-Bears were 59-21 the rest of the way, but it was not a linear ascent. The were 32-7 June 26-Aug. 11, the day they claimed a share of 1st place, which they held for 16 days. But a 1-7 slump saw them spiral out of the top three by Sept. 1, as Brooklyn reclaimed a top-three spot. But a 19-4 finish saw Toronto surge to a franchise-best 101 wins and their first pennant since 1991.

Toronto mashed a league-leading 261 dingers, led by Eric Karros (48) and Mickey Tettleton (40). CF Raul Mondesi led all rookies with 36 HR and 301 total bases. The rotation ranked 6th in ERA led again by Dwight Gooden (2.81, 238 K), while 37-year-old Scott Sanderson had his best ERA (3.54) and WHIP (1.22) since his 20s.

Despite improving by 32 games, the Feds ended the season on a bitter note, blowing a three-game lead with 10 games to go. The 99 wins set a franchise record as well as a career record for second-year GM Mark Waller, whose emphasis upon entering Beantown was the upgrade one of the worst pitching staffs to complement one of more prolific offenses.

Boston was the only club with rookies in top-2 SP and closer roles, and the results exceed all expectorations. Jon Lieber, the 3rd overall pick, was 15-11 with a 3.12 ERA, and led all rookies with 11 CGs, 234 Ks and 5.2 WAR. Billy Taylor, the 21st overall pick, was 41/42 (.976) in save situations and had 41 shutdowns to just 6 meltdowns, the best ratio in the league.

At the plate, the Federals unlocked their latent potential, with four regulars with OPS over .880, three of whom were under 25. Sammy Sosa, 24, hit 43 dingers, slugged .533 and was 4th in the league with 8.7 WAR. Jim Thome, 23, was the club RBI leader (120) and added 39 home runs and a .900 OPS. And third-year catcher Mike Piazza, 25, had his second .300-30-100 season. Kal Daniels, at age 30, was the old man of the group; the former Leone hit .313-32-92, and led the team with 38 stolen bases and the league with a .391 OBP. Other players of note: 2B Chuck Knoblauch, 25, had a .353 OBP and 3.9 WAR, and a pair of 34-year-old sentimental bozos—Joe Carter and Gary Gaetti—combined for 28 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Ever since most pundits declared Detroit's 1992 103-win and World Series winning season a fluke, said pundits have predicted the Flyin' Lions decline. And for the second straight year, the Griffins refused to obliged, again posting 90-plus wins and securing a third straight playoff berth. This year it was the pitching that bouyed the ballclub. Their 3.15 ERA was the best in franchise history, and the rotation featured three hurlers with ERAs at or below 3.00, though none ranked in the top-10 in ERA or pWAR, and none of them was ace Andy Benes (3.18), who posted career bests in ERA, innings, and WHIP. Rookie Scott Sanders was spectacular, with a 12-7 record, 2.80 ERA, and 230 Ks. Chris Nabholz' 2.82 ERA was his lowest since his ERA-title rookie year, and lefty Pete Schourek pitched a career-best 1.06 WHIP and 2.7 WAR despite missing most of the first two months of the season.

But the Griffs also had the fifth-best offense. They were first in batting average and OBP, 2nd in wOBA, and 3rd in OPS and bWAR. Dave Nilsson's .331-30-101 won the batting title. Ryan Klesko's 43 homers tied for 4th, and Dwight Smith was 10th in batting with .306. This trio's production offset an off-year by 1992 MVP Fred McGriff. The Crime Dog got off to a slow start, had a hot July (.313, .804 OPS), and then hit like a snowman after an abominable strain July 27 (.182 in 62 PA). Veteran shortstop Tony Fernandez was a key cog as well, hitting .295 with a .351 OBP and career-high 5.2 WAR.

At +23, Keystone was the third most-improved team in 1994, but fell under the radar compared to headliners Atlanta and Boston, who led their divisions most of the season. And 18-7 July had the club in the pennant race before an August swoon dashed their playoff hopes. Even still, a 12-3 finish gave Philadelphia its first winning team since the 1950 Whiz Kids, the year before the UL's founding.

The Starlings crop of young players all took forward strides. The offense flew from 15th to 6th. Third-year RF Tim Salmon, already christened "Mr Starling" at the age of 26 hit .267-46-123 and finished 3rd in HR and 4th in RBI. Twenty-five year old 2B Carlos Baerga led the league with 221 hits and 46 doubles and finished 2nd in the batting race at .320. New arrivals 3B Kevin Mitchell (.279-24-89) and C Mike Stanley (.326-20-41, 1.083) made big contributions.

The Starlings' pitching also hatched, climbing five perches to 12th. William Van Landingham (16-11, 4.12) led all rookies in wins and was 2nd in WAR; sophomore southpaw Kirk "Woody" Rueter (REE-ter) was 19-4, 3.36 with a 1.22 WHIP; and veteran Scott Bankhead (12-9, 3.14) posted the lowest ERA and WHIP of his career. In the pen, closer John Dopson, after eight years at the back of the bullpen, led the league with 43 saves and 45 shutdowns.

Keystone finished just two games out of the Hex, and with most of their stars under 25, should be East Division contenders throughout the rest of the '90s.

The Superbas won 91 games, one more than last year's World Series year, but somehow finished in fifth place. As late as Aug. 7, the Bas had the second best record in the league (71-44) and a share of 1st place. But a seven-game losing streak plummetted them into a three-way scrum for the last two playoff spots and their catastrophic 9-15 September doomed them to 5th place behind Keystone. What went wrong? On the pitching side, 3-4 starter Steve Avery and Kelly Downs were a combined 1-5, 7.21; on the hitting side, Matt Williams OPSed .672, after OPSing .857 in the first five months. The most demoralizing bit may have been a 1-6 week in mid-September that included shutouts by four separate divisional rivals.

Despite the disappointment, there were some massive individual achievements. Ken Griffey Jr (.315-41-130) was 2nd in OPS, RBIs, and total bases and led the league in WAR for the second time in three years. Kevin Brown won a career high 17 games. And despite his late-season meltdown, the 24-year-old Avery led the club with a 2.85 ERA and notched his second straight 15-win campaign.

With six teams in rebuilding mode, the Barons have a slight head start, based on the core of players that won the Triple-A Governor's Cup last year plus the 1-2 double-whammy of top draft picks. All that young talent is starting to gel along the banks of Lake Erie (eww!).

The B's won 71 games, a 15-game improvement, the biggest one-year gain since 1964 (which was just before two pennants in three years). The biggest upgrade game in the hitting department. Cleveland's offense ranked 12th, which doesn't seem all that remarkable, but was the best showing since 1983. After all, this is a pitcher-friendly roster playing for a pitcher-friendly GM in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Rookie Jim Edmonds was the breakout star; the 24-year-old led all rookies with 98 RBIs, .825 OPS, and 7.1 WAR—the third best bWAR in club history. The other rookie outfielder, RF Jeffrey Hammonds, was less flashy but still contributed 20 HR and 71 RBI. Third year infielder Eric Young had another solid year with 3.6 WAR at second base.

The pitching rotation featured three rookies, two of which performed admirably. Ismael Valdez, this year's #2 overall pick, led all rookies with a 2.74 ERA and 0.97 WHIP; and Salomon Torres had a 3.81 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 31 starts. Meanwhile 23-year-old Allen Watson took his lumps (2-16, 5.08). Yet another rookie, Pedro A. Martinez, was plugged into the closer role and responded well, with 36 saves and 3.76 ERA, though his 9 blown saves were 2nd in the league and 14 meltdowns tied for 6th.

The defense was solid again, attendance ticked upward, and the most highly anticipated hitting prospect since Griffey Jr is on the near horizon. A-Rod hit .316-6-14, .962 in 24 games in September and could see regular action in 1995.

The Dingy Hose had their most anemic offense since moving into the bandbox called Ferraro. Manhattan scored just 3.2 runs per game, a full run lower than their previous floor. Pair this with the league's worst pitching staff and you easily get to 98 losses, the most in club history. However, in the warped world of the '94 UL, that tied with 13th in the league, meaning five other teams were just as bad.

The season started well enough. At 25-32 on May 31, the Sox weren't exactly world-beaters, but they were only six games out of the Hex. Then the calendar flipped to June and the wheels came off. A nine-game losing streak was following by a six-game losing streak, then another six-game losing streak. All told, starting June 1, the team went on a 14-44 slide that had them 7.5 games out of eighth place in the East.

The bright spots were few and relative. Ed Sprague was the team WAR leader, with 2.9. He hit .246-28-54. Tom Brunansky was the #2 WAR guy; he hit .233-20-42. Veteran Bob Horner joined the team in mid-May and gave fans something to cheer for when his 8 home runs in August suddenly turned the media's attention on the all-time home run race (see Horner's Corner, below). The best pitching WAR belonged to Melido Perez, and he was 5-17, 4.71. As I said, few and relative.

The last time this team had a downturn—in 1990-91—they won 89 games and made the playoffs the next year. Don't be surprised if the '95 Gray Sox do the same. The rebuild is already in full swing. In 14 trades, Manhattan managed to acquire both established stars and a raft of picks. They added SS Barry Larkin, 3B Chris Sabo, 3B Gary Gaetti, LF Vince Coleman; SPs Pat Hentgen, Roger Clemens, Bill Wegman, and Mike Scott; and RPs Gregg Olson and Cris Carpenter. And the Sox have 19 picks in the seven-round 1995 draft, including nine in the first three rounds. 

Father Time is catching up to the Washington Monuments. While new GM Jason Gudim has made some big moves in his two years—trading away fan favorites Bret Saberhagen and Wade Boggs could not have been easy—most of the roster is over 30 and on the wrong side of the development curve. However, the roster is loaded with national fan favorites (Ryne Sandberg, Teddy Higuera, Will Clark) and at least one sentimental bozo (Kirby Puckett), making further moves more difficult. LF Gregg Jefferies was the only regular and Tom Glavine the only starting pitcher under 29.

The pitching, in particular, regressed in '94, finishing 13th in runs allowed, its worst showing since 1982. Both Kevin Tapani and Randy Johnson's ERAs bloated by a over a run to 4.06 and 4.79, respectively. Johnson and 36-year-old free agent Charlie Lea co-led the league with 18 losses. The bullpen was worse, ranking 15th compared the the rotation's 13th. First round pick Bryce Florie was a bright spot, notching 18 saves with a 3.86 ERA in 53 appearances.

Ryne Sandberg hit .293 and had a 7.9 WAR and led the team in most offensive categories. At age 34 and with gradually declining salaries through 1997, he may be the club's best trade capital. Looking ahead, Washington has the 5th best minor league system, including the #3 overall prospect, C Mike Lieberthal and the #15 prospect SP Sterling Hitchcock.

A team that started the season with mid-table expectations hit a midsummer slump, which initiated a teardown, which contributed to the longest losing streak in UL history. The Canoeists were 41-39 on June 25, then fell into a 1-18 descent that turned out to be just their second worst slump of the year. Larry Walker, Bret Boone, Junior Felix, and Luis Gonzalez were all sent packing in a flurry of deadline trades, and then performance on the field went from bad to worse. Montreal was 15-65 from June 26 on and lost 24 straight through Sept. 19 before winning four of their last seven.

The pitching was the biggest problem, ranking next-to-last in runs allowed and dead last in starting pitching. Ron Robinson's 3.83 was the only ERA under 4.00, and Jack Armstrong led the club with a measly eight wins. The offense fared slightly better; Bip Roberts finished 4th in batting (.317) with his eighth straight .300 season.

Despite Atlanta's greatest pitching season of all time, what made them the winningest team in three decades was not their pitching, but their dramatically improved offense. Atlanta was already a historical good pitching team last year, with a league-best 3.3 runs per game and a 118 RA+. But the offense improved from 17th to 3rd this year, an almost unheard of 14-spot leap, thanks to some deft trades and development boosts.

The biggest move was the acquisition of Wade Boggs, which paired alongside Tony Gwynn, gave the Red Blobs to two greatest hitters in UL history by career average. And Boggs did not disappoint, batting .346 and posting a 5.8 WAR despite missing the last two months to injury. The club got massive contributions from SS Jose Valentin (24), C Charles Johnson (22), and LF Manny Ramirez (22), and CF Rondell White (22). Valentin was a top-5 defensive infielder and led the club with 8.4 WAR. Johnson was a top-3 defensive catcher and hit 21 HR and 66 RBI. Manny hit 29 HR and 69 RBI and surpassed 3.0 WAR for the first time. and White led the club with 32 HR and 92 RBI and posted a 5.4 WAR. One of the many amazing things about this team is that if you take away Gwynn and Boggs, the other six regulars are all 25 or under.

Of course, we must spend some words describing the Hilltoppers' pitching. Their 2.7 runs against, 2.57 team ERA were the best and 1.07 WHIP 2nd best in UL history. Pedro Martinez's 0.74 WHIP, .209 OOBP, and .475 OOPS set a new single-season records. His 1.80 ERA ranks 5th best all-time and the best since 1970. His 12.3 K/9 is 4th best, but his 12.6 last year set the record. And his 340 strikeouts is tied for 11th all-time, but the most in the five-man rotation era and the most since Whitey Ford in 1966.

Back to the team level, Atlanta had three pitchers in the top 10 in ERA, wins, and WAR, so we should say something about Fernando Valenzuela and Darryl Kile. Fernie, of course, won the Cy Young last year while leading the league with a 2.28 ERA. This year, he led the league with 22 wins trimmed his ERA seven points to 2.21, trimmed his WHIP two points to 0.96, and increased his strikeouts to 274. In short, Valenzuela is an improved Cy Young winner. Kile, a 25-year-old righthander, was 17-7 with a 2.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 4.8 WAR. His last three ERAs (4.79, 3.10, 2.74) show that he is one of the fastest-developing young hurlers in the game.

Some other tidbits. With a historically excellent rotation, the bullpen does not get a lot of recogniation. But check this out: Atlanta's 2.54 ERA also ranked 1st, Arthur Rhodes had a 1.69 ERA and 2.1 WAR in 63 appearances, middle reliever Mike Maddux 1.84, and Steve Howe had 33 saves with a 2.97 ERA.

If we are comparing the '94 Hilltoppers with the '63 Superbas, the only other team to win at least 100 games, we find some similarities and differences. At the aggregate level, Brooklyn had a +2.3 run differential to Atlanta's +1.8. Brooklyn's R+ and RA+ (indexed measures of runs per game compared to league average, which is 100) were 121 and 132 compared to Atlanta's 120 and 128.

Like Atlanta, Brooklyn's offense featured two of the best hitters of all-time, Mickey Mantle and Granny Hamner. Mantle would hit .340 the year and averaged 110 RBI per 162 games. Hamner hit over .350 three years in a row and had a .323 career average and close to 2600 hits. But that '63 lineup also got key contributions from Hall of Fame 2B Felix Mantilla, 1B Jim Gentile, and RF Al Kaline.

The pitching featured the legendary trio of Burdette, Conley, and Ford, who had WARs of 10.9, 10.6, and 9.0 and combined for a 67-17 record. Pedro, Fernie and Darryl have WARs of 9.5, 7.0, and 4.8 and combined for a 58-19 record.

Brooklyn's big three:
Conley, Burdette and Ford rank 4th, 5th, and 8th in career WAR.
Burdette won 305 games and nine UL titles, and two World Series MVPs, and had the Playoff MVP named after him.
Conley won 309 games, four Cy Youngs, eight UL titles, two World Series MVPs, won 20 games eight years in a row, was once 26-3, and had the best career ERA in UL history (2.74).
Ford won 263 games, one Cy Young, and six UL championships, including a final one at age 39 with the 1968 Manhattan Gray Sox.

Atlanta's big three:
Pedro is 22 years old and already has 41 wins, a 2.05 ERA, 823 strikeouts, and 21.0 WAR. Only Gooden had better numbers by age 22. Conley didn't debut until he was 23, Ford was 24, and Burdette was 25. In short, Pedro has 41 more wins at his age than the Burdette-Conley-Ford trio combined.
Fernie is 33 years old and won his first Cy Young last year. He is 177-121 with 68 WAR and has won five Ullies.
Kile is 25, has a career losing record (36-41), a 3.50 ERA, and 10.5 career WAR, and one All-Star appearance.

As for age,  the following Hilltoppers are 25 or younger: Charles Johnson, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez (22); Greg Colbrunn, Jose Valentin (24); Bret Boone, Darryl Kile (25).

Brookyn's youngest key players were 28 (Mantilla and Gentile). Burdette and Hamner were 35, Ford 34, Amoros and Landrith 33,  and Mantle 31.

After last year's (relatively) disappointing 87-win season, the Dark Reds rebounded to familiar territory: 98 wins for the 6th time in 11 years. The bounce was equal parts offense and pitching, as both improved a couple spots to 4th and 6th.

Barry Bonds (.306-52-135) is the fifth batter to win back-to-back HR and RBI titles, and his two-year HR tally of 101 is second only to Craig Robinson. Former Monuments Gold Glove catcher Rich Gedman (.290-25-79) had his best WAR season (8.3) as did iron man 2B Tony Phillips (7.2), who has played in 1,917 out of a possible 1,928 games since becoming a regular in 1983.

Joe Magrane (21-4, 2.24, 1.04 WHIP) put up Cy Young numbers (in any other year) and Dave Schmidt started 32 games for the 9th time in 10 years. The bottom of the rotation featured some new faces. Shawn Hillegas was 9-6 in 22 starts, including a no-hitter on May 1; and 24-year-old Angel Miranda—a 2nd round pick in 1993—was 10-3, 2.44, third in WAR among rookie hurlers and posted a 0.95 WHIP in 18 starts, including 6-1 down the stretch, when he allowed two or fewer runs in his last six starts. Alejandro Pena led all relievers with a 2.9 WAR, despite a league-high 12 blown saves.

Back-to-Back HR and RBI Titles
                          Yrs     ΣHR ΣRBI
Craig Robinson MAN      1977-78   129  274
Barry Bonds    STL      1993-94   101  259
Tom Grieve     DEN/MAN  1974-75    96  268
Bob Horner     DET      1981-82    95  271
Orlando Cepeda BOS      1972-73    94  256

The Outlaws extended their league-record playoff run to 14 years—barely. L.A. won just 88 games, fewest since 1980, and didn't clinch until the penultimate day of the season. In the Year of the Pitcher, L.A.'s staff ranked just third, with only two of the top 16 ERAs. Meanwhile, the run production shrank from 4.3 to 3.7 per game, and the team had a losing record in both extra-inning and one-run games for the first time in six years.

Ace Floyd Youmans had a career-best 2.43 ERA and led the staff with 289 Ks; Greg Swindell (15-13, 2.63, 1.07 WHIP) bounced from last year's off-season and 35-year-old southpaw Bruce Hurst set career marks with 17 wins and 2.92 ERA. In the pen, closer Todd Frohwirth had his third straight 30-save campaign. The offense was midtable in almost every category. Rey Sanchez led the team with a .286 batting average, Frank Thomas with 33 HR and 97 RBI, and Andy Van Slyke stole 41 bases and was 9th in WAR. The question is, do the Outlaws have enough gas to get past St. Louis and Atlanta and return to the World Series for the first time since 1991?

After last season's great leap forward—26 more wins—1994 was more about consolidation. Last year, the Flamingos briefly flirted with the pennant race but finished five games out of the Hex; this year they were on L.A.'s heels and were not eliminated until Sep. 29, finishing just two games behind the Outlaws. The overall metrics were unchanged: a mid-tier offense paired with a top-third pitching staff. The big story at Ponce de Leon was the emergence of Mike Mussina as an elite ace. Moose went 22-5, 2.23 with 267 Ks; he led the league in wins, shutouts (6) and innings pitched (270.2). Those are Cy Young numbers any other season, but in the Year of the Pitcher that might only get him 3rd place in Cy voting. Pete Smith also turned the corner (3.21 after 5.40 last year) and 32-year-old Jay Tibbs (3.03) had his first sub-4.00 ERA in a decade.

The offense was again focused on speed, with 168 stolen bases (2nd), led by Roberto Alomar's 56. The 25-year-old $15 million second baseman struggled in his first year in South Florida  batting .266 with a .725 OPS, 50 and 115 points under his career averages. Ivan Calderon also had an off-year, slugging just .762 after last year's .914; and Mark McGwire's OPS likewise dropped 66 points to .737. The bright spots included SS Kevin Elster's 2.9 WAR and Ruben Sierra's .800 OPS.

After years of climbing—from Semi Series loss to World Series loss to World Series win—the Colts looked like the new power in the West, with several key pieces still young and developing. Instead, Chicago took a giant step backwards, winning just 83 games, 14 less than last year and its lowest win total since '88. The decline was so sudden and so dramatic that Colts management ran GM Steve Haugh out of town—following assault allegations involving a furry club—and he landed with the hapless San Francisco Spiders. So what went wrong?

In a word: offense. The team dropped from 5th to 11th in run production. Alan Trammell's OPS dropped 100+ points to .641, Gary Sheffield's 93 points to .775, and Albert Belle's 155 points to .788, and Benito Santiago's a stunning 215 points to .563. On the other hand, Sheffield (24) and Belle's (26) drops look like simple off-years, and young hitter John Olerud (25) continues to develop. Also, CF Eric Davis had his second best season, hitting 41 home runs and producing 9.3 WAR.

Chicago again was a top-3 pitching staff (aided by the league's best defense). All five starters had ERAs 3.30 or under. Terry Mulholland (16-6, 2.50) had a career year, leading the team in wins and ERA. Steve Cooke, at the tender age of 24, had another stellar campaign (15-9, 3.02), and newcomer Donovan Osborne was effective (3.29, 1.05 WHIP) while leading the staff in innings.

In the final analysis, 83-77 is not a horrible record, and the new Colts GM will have a lot of star-level players to work with.

This was the year the Leones were supposed to make a move and fight for a playoff berth. After four straight fourth place finishes, averaging 4.5 games out of the Hex, Havana added several big-dollar signings, including six-time All-Star CF Lenny Dykstra, two-time All-Stars SS Scott Fletcher and LF Dan Pasqua, and former Boston ace Roger Clemens. A 44-27 start found Havana in 2nd place, 3.5 games ahead of St. Louis and L.A. But two straight losses at Sportsmans Park, followed by home sweeps at the hands of San Francisco and Detroit signaled the beginning of a decent that would land the team in sixth place. Havana was 33-56 from mid-June.

Dykstra had the worst OBP (.335) and OPS (.690) of his career, Dan Pasqua had his lowest SLG (.440) and the offense slumped to its lowest output in eight years (3.8 R/G). Under .500 at the trade deadline, GM Lance Mueller dealt Clemens and C Mike Stanley to Manhattan and Keystone for draft picks.

On the plus side, Shane Mack (.297-23-75, .815) and Howard Johnson (.277-39-106, .850) again produced 6.0+ WAR seasons. HoJo tied for 9th in both HR and RBI and Mack ranked 4th in outfield defense. Sergio Valdez had an off season (4.05) but as the only starter under 30 figures to be a key part of future rotations as the club shifts focus into rebuilding mode.

A crumbling stadium around a crumbling team is the best way to describe the '94 Spiders campaign. The Arachnids not only suffered their 12th losing season in 14 years, but lost a club record 102 games. The club's future at Seals Stadium was already in question when a major earthquake on June 4 damaged the "Queen of Concrete." The club hired former Chicago Colts GM and World Series winner Steve Haugh to clean up the mess, both literally and figuratively. Haugh's first move was dealing longtime SS Barry Larkin to Manhattan.

Rookie LF Garret Anderson hit .287 with a 3.0 WAR, but youngsters 3B Travis Fryman (.753 OPS) and CF Bernie Williams (.677)  both regressed a bit. The young pitchers showed signs of progress, with 26-year-old Tommy Greene (3.70) and 25-year-old Kevin Foster (3.80) leading the staff in ERA, while 25-year-old Frank Castillo led with 202 strikeouts.

Denver continued the teardown that it started last season, dealing away SP Bill Swift, 2B Jeff Kent, LF Luis Polonia, and CL Norm Charlton and netting 2B Delino DeSheilds, LF Luis Gonzalez, SP David West, and several draft picks.

The 14ers lost a franchise record 103 games thanks largely to the second-worst offense. 2B Mark McLemore and C Rick Wilkins' development stalled, and the youngers CF Brian Hunter, C Mike Matheny, and 3B Robin Ventura all looked overmatched at the big league level. Utility man Kurt Stillwell hit .285 and put up 2.0 WAR and veterans Ozzie Smith and Tim Raines hit 2500 and 2000 career hits, respectively. New pitchers Charles Nagy and David West showed some promise, and RP Bryan Hickerson (1.22 in 50 games) was a pleasant surprise and garnered the club's lone All-Star appearance.

After a 17th place overall finish last year, Seattle finished dead last in 1994 thanks to a 14-game losing streak that coincided with Montreal's 24-game skid. Historically known as a hitting team in a hitter's dome, the R's offense hit rock bottom this year, finishing last with 3.0 runs per game. Alvin Davis (.258-17-85) was the only hitter with more than 8 HR and 63 RBI.

A major rebuild is likely in the offing, with several big stars ending contracts—Willie McGee, Chris Brown, Rickey Henderson, and Alvin Davis—and two of the first nine picks in the draft.