On May 1, 1991, Nolan Ryan pitched his seventh ca-
reer no-hitter; at age forty-four, he became the old-
est pitcher to throw a no-hitter. On September 22,
1993, Ryan pitched his final game. His career
spanned twenty-seven years, and he left baseball as
the all-time strikeout leader, with 5,714. There were
four seasons in which pitchers compiled 300 or
more strikeouts. Curt Schilling had 319 strikeouts in
1997 and 300 in 1998. Pedro Martinez came in sec-
ond with 305 strikeouts in 1997. In 1999, Randy
Johnson compiled 364, while Martinez had 313
strikeouts. Maddux won an unprecedented four
straight National League Cy Young Awards in the
1990’s; Roger Clemens received three Cy Young
Awards in the 1990’s.
Hitting Performances The 1990’s for the most part
was a hitting decade. In 1992-1993, the batting aver-
age jumped from .256 to .266, home runs from 1.44
to 1.77 per game. In 1996, a major-league record sev-
enteen players each hit forty or more home runs,
topping the previous mark by eight players estab-
lished in 1961. A total of eleven players hit fifty or
more home runs in the 1990’s.
In 1998, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire em-
barked on a home run race that would break the sea-
son home run record set by Roger Maris in 1961. On
May 23, McGwire slammed his twenty-second and
twenty-third home runs. By July 11, McGwire had
thirty-eight, and he was joined by Sosa, who had
thirty-five, and Ken Griffey, Jr., who had thirty-seven.
On July 12, McGwire reached the forty home run
mark faster than any other player in history. By July
25, there were several contenders for the record
held by Maris: Sosa with thirty-seven, McGwire with
forty-three, Griffey with forty, Greg Vaughn with
thirty-seven, and Andres Galarraga with thirty-three.
On August 20, McGwire reached fifty home runs, be-
coming the first player to hit fifty for three consecu-
tive years. By August 31, Sosa and McGwire had fifty-
five home runs. On September 1, McGwire tagged
number fifty-six, breaking the National League re-
cord set by Hack Wilson sixty-eight years before. On
September 8, he broke Maris’s record with his sixty-
second home run. On September 12, Sosa hit his six-
tieth; the following day, he hit two home runs and
passed Maris. On September 7, McGwire reached
seventy home runs. Sosa ended the season with sixty-
six. The home run race was indeed responsible for
restoring interest and excitement in baseball.
Dominant Teams The Yankees had three World Se-
ries appearances during the decade, winning in
1996, 1998, and 1999. The Braves made it to the
championships five times, winning only in 1995. The
Blue Jays appeared twice and won on both occasions,
in 1992 and 1993. In 1991, the World Series included
two teams, the Braves and Minnesota Twins, who
had finished last the previous year. In 1995, the
Cleveland Indians, considered by some as one of the
best teams in the major leagues, compiled a record
of 100-44. The Indians had six .300 hitters as well as
Albert Belle, who had a batting average of .317, fifty
home runs, and 126 runs batted in (RBI). In 1993,
the Braves had a pitching staff that included Greg
Maddux (20-10), Tom Glavine (22-6) and Steve
Avery (18-6).
Impact The 1990’s demonstrated the economic ef-
fect of a prolonged work stoppage on baseball, but it
also demonstrated how baseball was capable of re-
covering from a devastating strike and regaining fan
appeal with exciting performances on the playing
field. The 1998 home run race demonstrated the im-
portant connection between baseball performance
and fan appeal.
Further Reading
Koppett, Larry.Koppett’s Concise Histor y of Major
League Baseball.Rev. ed. Carroll & Graf, 2004.
Chronicles the long history of baseball, from its
beginnings in the nineteenth century to the pres-
ent day.
Miller, Marvin.A Whole Different Ball Game: The Inside
Stor y of the Baseball Revolution.Chicago: Ivan R.
Dee, 2004. As executive director of the Major
League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to
1983, Miller provides insight on the relationship
between players and owners in regard to collec-
tive bargaining.
Solomon, Burt.The Baseball Timeline.New York:
Dorling Kindersley, 2001. Provides narratives for
1990’s events in baseball.
Staudohar, Paul D. “The Baseball Strike of 1994-95.”
Monthly Labor Review120, no. 3 (March, 1997): 24-- Reviews the economic impact of the baseball
strike of 1994.
Thorn, John, et al.Total Baseball: The Official Encyclo-
pedia of Major League Baseball.7th ed. Kingston,
N.Y.: Total Sports, 2001. Precise statistical infor-
mation of players and teams during the 1990’s.
Tygiel, Jules.Past Time: Baseball as Histor y.New York:
The Nineties in America Baseball 85