1994 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1994 Cincinnati Reds season was the 125th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 25th and 24th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The team moved to the new National League Central in the 1994 season. They were leading the division by a half game before a strike ended the 1994 Major League Baseball season in mid-August.

1994 Cincinnati Reds
League	National League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Riverfront Stadium
City	Cincinnati
Record	66–48 (.579)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Marge Schott
General managers	Jim Bowden
Managers	Davey Johnson
Television	WLWT SportsChannel Cincinnati (George Grande, Chris Welsh)
Radio	WLW (Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall)
← 1993 Seasons 1995 →

Offseason

• November 2, 1993: Dan Wilson and Bobby Ayala were traded by the Reds to the Seattle Mariners for Bret Boone and Erik Hanson.^[1]
• November 4, 1993: Jerome Walton was signed as a free agent by the Reds.^[2]
• November 23, 1993: Steve Lake was signed as a free agent by the Reds.^[3]
• November 24, 1993: Casey Candaele was signed as a free agent by the Reds.^[4]
• March 8, 1994: Tony Fernández was signed as a free agent by the Reds.^[5]

Regular season

For the first time, the Opening Day game was moved to Sunday night as part of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Up to that point, traditionally Opening Day was held on a Monday, with the Reds customarily hosting the first game of the afternoon. The move was met with some controversy, as many fans and traditionalists, including Reds owner Marge Schott, were not happy about the Sunday night game, especially since it was also Easter Sunday.^[6][7] Many tickets for the Sunday night game went unsold, and the team elected to wait until Monday afternoon's game for the traditional Opening Day pageantry and festivities. A sparse crowd of only 32,803 braved frigid weather Sunday night April 3 to watch the Reds lose 6–4 to the St. Louis Cardinals.^[8][9]

For Game 2 on Monday April 4, dubbed by most in attendance the "traditional" opening day, a sold out, standing room only crowd of 55,093 arrived at Riverfront Stadium, shrugging off the previous night's game. The pomp and ceremony, including the traditional Findlay Market parade was held under sunny skies. Kevin Mitchell hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game 5–4.^[10][11]

By Friday, August 12, the Reds had compiled a 66-48 record through 114 games (although they had actually played 115 games, since their April 6 game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Riverfront Stadium ended tied 8–8 after the top of the 6th inning due to poor weather^[12]). They were leading the NL Central Division by just half a game over the Houston Astros. Prior to the strike, they had scored 609 runs (5.30 per game) and had allowed 490 runs (4.26 per game).^[13]

Game log

1994 Regular Season Game Log (66-48-1) (Home: 37-22-1; Road: 29-26)
April (15-7-1) (Home: 10-2-1; Road: 5-5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report 1 April 3 Cardinals 2 April 4 Cardinals 3 April 6 Cardinals 4 April 8 Phillies 5 April 9 Phillies 6 April 10 Phillies 7 April 11 @ Expos 9-4 (11 inn.) Carrasco (3-0) Heredia (0-1) 12,526 5-1-1 Boxscore 8 April 12 @ Expos 7-1 Pugh (1-0) Boucher (0-1) 12,466 6-1-1 Boxscore 9 April 13 @ Expos 2-3 Wetteland (1-1) McElroy (0-1) 14,072 6-2-1 Boxscore 10 April 15 @ Phillies 11 April 16 @ Phillies 12 April 17 @ Phillies 13 April 19 Pirates 14 April 20 Pirates 15 April 22 Marlins 16 April 23 Marlins 17 April 24 Marlins 18 April 25 Cubs 19 April 26 Cubs 20 April 27 @ Pirates 21 April 28 @ Pirates 22 April 29 @ Marlins 23 April 30 @ Marlins
May (14-15) (Home: 7-5; Road: 7-10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report 24 May 1 @ Marlins 25 May 2 @ Cubs 26 May 3 @ Cubs 27 May 4 @ Cubs 28 May 5 Astros 29 May 6 Astros 30 May 7 Astros 31 May 8 Astros 32 May 9 @ Padres 33 May 10 @ Padres 34 May 11 @ Padres 35 May 13 @ Giants 36 May 14 @ Giants 37 May 15 @ Giants 38 May 17 Braves 39 May 18 Braves 40 May 19 Braves 41 May 20 Dodgers 42 May 21 Dodgers 43 May 22 Dodgers 44 May 23 @ Rockies 45 May 24 @ Rockies 46 May 25 @ Rockies 47 May 26 @ Rockies 48 May 27 @ Mets 49 May 28 @ Mets 50 May 29 @ Mets 51 May 30 Expos 7-3 Rijo (3-3) Hill (8-3) 27,875 28-22-1 Boxscore 52 May 31 Expos 5-4 (13 inn.) Schourek (3-0) Shaw (2-2) 25,046 29-22-1 Boxscore
June (15-11) (Home: 10-4; Road: 5-7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report 53 June 1 Expos 9-10 Scott (3-2) Carrasco (3-2) Martínez (1) 23,653 29-23-1 Boxscore 54 June 3 Mets 55 June 4 Mets 56 June 5 Mets 57 June 7 @ Cardinals 58 June 8 @ Cardinals 59 June 9 Rockies 60 June 10 Rockies 61 June 11 Rockies 62 June 12 Rockies 63 June 13 @ Dodgers 64 June 14 @ Dodgers 65 June 15 @ Dodgers 66 June 17 @ Braves 67 June 18 @ Braves 68 June 19 @ Braves 69 June 21 Giants 70 June 22 Giants 71 June 23 Giants 72 June 24 Padres 73 June 25 Padres 74 June 26 Padres 75 June 27 @ Astros 76 June 28 @ Astros 77 June 29 @ Astros 78 June 30 @ Pirates
July (17-10) (Home: 8-6; Road: 9-4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report 79 July 1 @ Pirates 80 July 2 @ Pirates 81 July 3 @ Pirates 82 July 4 @ Marlins 83 July 5 @ Marlins 84 July 6 @ Marlins 85 July 7 Pirates 86 July 8 Pirates 87 July 9 Pirates 88 July 10 Pirates All-Star Break: NL def. AL at Three Rivers Stadium, 8–7 (10) 89 July 14 Cubs 90 July 15 Cubs 91 July 16 Cubs 92 July 17 Cubs 93 July 18 Marlins 94 July 19 Marlins 95 July 20 Marlins 96 July 22 @ Cubs 97 July 23 @ Cubs 98 July 24 @ Cubs 99 July 25 Astros 100 July 26 Astros 101 July 27 Astros 102 July 28 @ Padres 103 July 29 @ Padres 104 July 30 @ Padres 105 July 31 @ Padres
August (5-5) (Home: 2-5; Road: 3-0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Report 106 August 1 @ Giants 107 August 2 @ Giants 108 August 3 @ Giants 109 August 5 Braves 110 August 6 Braves 111 August 7 Braves 112 August 8 Braves 113 August 9 Dodgers 114 August 10 Dodgers 115 August 11 Dodgers

Legend
Reds win	Reds loss	All-Star Game	Game postponed

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	66	48	.579	—	37‍–‍22	29‍–‍26
Houston Astros	66	49	.574	½	37‍–‍22	29‍–‍27
Pittsburgh Pirates	53	61	.465	13	32‍–‍29	21‍–‍32
St. Louis Cardinals	53	61	.465	13	23‍–‍33	30‍–‍28
Chicago Cubs	49	64	.434	16½	20‍–‍39	29‍–‍25

• v
• t
• e

Division leaders

Team	W	L	Pct.
Montreal Expos	74	40	.649
Cincinnati Reds	66	48	.579
Los Angeles Dodgers	58	56	.509

Wild Card team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Atlanta Braves	68	46	0.597	—
Houston Astros	66	49	0.574	21⁄2
New York Mets	55	58	0.487	121⁄2
San Francisco Giants	55	60	0.478	131⁄2
Philadelphia Phillies	54	61	0.470	141⁄2
St. Louis Cardinals	53	61	0.465	15
Pittsburgh Pirates	53	61	0.465	15
Colorado Rockies	53	64	0.453	161⁄2
Florida Marlins	51	64	0.444	171⁄2
Chicago Cubs	49	64	0.434	181⁄2
San Diego Padres	47	70	0.402	221⁄2

Record vs. opponents

1994 National League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1994 v t e
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	4–2	5–5	8–2	8–4	3–3	6–0	4–5	5–4	6–3	3–9	6–1	5–1	5–7
Chicago	2–4	—	5–7	6–6	4–5	4–8	3–3	2–4	1–4	1–6	5–5	6–3	5–4	5–5
Cincinnati	5–5	7–5	—	4–4	7–5	4–6	3–6	4–2	2–4	4–2	9–3	8–2	7–2	2–2–1
Colorado	2–8	6–6	4–4	—	3–9	5–5	4–6	4–2	5–1	2–4	2–3	5–5	3–7	8–4
Florida	4–8	5–4	5–7	9–3	—	2–4	3–3	2–7	6–4	4–6	1–6	5–1	2–4	3–7
Houston	3–3	8–4	6–4	5–5	4–2	—	1–8	2–4	3–3	5–1	8–4	5–5	8–2	8–4
Los Angeles	0–6	3–3	6–3	6–4	3–3	8–1	—	3–9	6–6	7–5	3–3	6–4	5–5	2–4
Montreal	5–4	4–2	2–4	2–4	7–2	4–2	9–3	—	4–3	5–4	8–2	12–0	5–7	7–3
New York	4–5	4–1	4–2	1–5	4–6	3–3	6–6	3–4	—	4–6	4–5	6–6	6–6	6–3
Philadelphia	3-6	6–1	2–4	4–2	6–4	1–5	5–7	4–5	6–4	—	5–4	4–8	4–8	4–3
Pittsburgh	9–3	5–5	3–9	3–2	6–1	4–8	3–3	2–8	5–4	4–5	—	3–3	1–5	5–5
San Diego	1–6	3–6	2–8	5–5	1–5	5–5	4–6	0–12	6–6	8–4	3–3	—	5–2	4–2
San Francisco	1–5	4–5	2–7	7–3	4–2	2–8	5–5	7–5	6–6	8–4	5–1	2–5	—	2–4
St. Louis	7–5	5–5	2–2–1	4–8	7–3	4–8	4–2	3–7	3–6	3–4	5–5	2–4	4–2	—

Notable transactions

• May 27, 1994: Kevin Maas was signed as a free agent by the Reds.^[14]
• May 29, 1994: Roberto Kelly and Roger Etheridge (minors) were traded by the Reds to the Atlanta Braves for Deion Sanders.^[15]

Roster

1994 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers 45 Jeff Brantley 32 Tom Browning 58 Héctor Carrasco 53 Rich DeLucia 55 Tim Fortugno 39 Erik Hanson 42 Kevin Jarvis 31 Chuck McElroy 40 Tim Pugh 27 José Rijo 44 John Roper 47 Johnny Ruffin 46 Pete Schourek 34 Scott Service 57 John Smiley 48 Jerry Spradlin		Catchers 33 Brian Dorsett  9 Joe Oliver 10 Eddie Taubensee Infielders 29 Bret Boone 20 Jeff Branson 21 Tony Fernández 12 Willie Greene 28 Lenny Harris 11 Barry Larkin 23 Hal Morris		Outfielders  4 Jacob Brumfield 22 Thomas Howard 30 Brian Hunter 30 Roberto Kelly  7 Kevin Mitchell 26 Steve Pegues 12 Deion Sanders 16 Reggie Sanders 19 Jerome Walton		Manager 15 Davey Johnson Coaches  8 Bob Boone (bench) 35 Don Gullett (pitching)  3 Grant Jackson (bullpen) 25 Ray Knight (third base/hitting)  2 Joel Youngblood (first base)

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Brian Dorsett	76	216	53	.245	5	26
1B	Hal Morris	112	436	146	.335	10	78
2B	Bret Boone	108	381	122	.320	12	68
SS	Barry Larkin	110	427	119	.279	9	52
3B	Tony Fernández	104	366	102	.279	8	50
LF	Kevin Mitchell	95	310	101	.326	30	77
CF	Roberto Kelly	47	179	54	.302	3	21
RF	Reggie Sanders	107	400	105	.263	17	62

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Deion Sanders	46	184	51	.277	0	7
Thomas Howard	83	178	47	.264	5	24
Ed Taubensee	61	177	52	.294	8	21
Jacob Brumfield	68	122	38	.311	4	11
Jeff Branson	58	109	31	.284	6	16
Lenny Harris	66	100	31	.310	0	14
Jerome Walton	46	68	21	.309	1	9
Willie Greene	16	37	8	.216	0	3
Brian Hunter	9	23	7	.304	4	10
Joe Oliver	6	19	4	.211	1	5
Steve Pegues	11	10	3	.300	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
José Rijo	26	172.1	9	6	3.08	171
John Smiley	24	158.2	11	10	3.86	112
Erik Hanson	22	122.2	5	5	4.11	101
John Roper	16	92.0	6	2	4.50	51
Tim Pugh	10	47.2	3	3	6.04	24
Tom Browning	7	40.2	3	1	4.20	22

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Pete Schourek	22	81.1	7	2	4.09	69
Kevin Jarvis	6	17.2	1	1	7.13	10

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Jeff Brantley	50	6	6	15	2.48	63
Chuck McElroy	52	1	2	5	2.34	38
Johnny Ruffin	51	7	2	1	3.09	44
Hector Carrasco	45	5	6	6	2.24	41
Tim Fortugno	25	1	0	0	4.20	29
Rich DeLucia	8	0	0	0	4.22	15
Jerry Spradlin	6	0	0	0	10.13	4
Scott Service	6	1	2	0	7.36	5

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Marc Bombard
AA	Chattanooga Lookouts	Southern League	Pat Kelly
A	Winston-Salem Spirits	Carolina League	Mark Berry
A	Charleston Wheelers	South Atlantic League	Tom Nieto
Rookie	Princeton Reds	Appalachian League	John Stearns
Rookie	Billings Mustangs	Pioneer League	Donnie Scott

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Indianapolis, Princeton, Billings^[16]