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List of Major League Baseball replacement players

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This is a list of Major League Baseball replacement players. The Major League Baseball, an American and Canadian baseball league, has used replacement players during two strikes: the 1912 Detroit Tigers strike, and the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike.

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike

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The following Major League Baseball players appeared as strikebreakers during spring training in 1995, crossing picket lines during the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. Some had not yet been placed on a 40-man roster, and as such were not eligible to join the MLBPA at the time of the strike, while others were former MLB players who had retired before the strike. The list does not include replacement players who never appeared in regular-season MLB games.

Certain players who were part of World Series-winning teams were not permitted to have their names or likenesses on commemorative merchandise because they had been declared replacement players for having participated in the 1995 spring training. The players were Shane Spencer of the 1998, 1999 and 2000 New York Yankees, Damian Miller of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, Brendan Donnelly of the 2002 Anaheim Angels, and Brian Daubach and Kevin Millar of the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

The names or likenesses of replacement players, since they are not permitted to join the MLBPA, are also in some cases not included in merchandise which derives its license from the MLBPA, such as video and tabletop games. Many games nevertheless include them, with blank or fictional names and different appearances similar to how Jon Dowd was used to replace Barry Bonds in MVP Baseball 2005 after he left the MLBPA in 2003.

Replacement players

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This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

No MLB experience before strike

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† Chimelis was briefly called up by the San Francisco Giants in June 1995, but never appeared in an MLB game, making him a phantom ballplayer.

Had MLB experience before strike

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1912 Detroit Tigers strike

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Main article: Detroit Tigers replacement players (May 18, 1912)

On May 15, 1912, Detroit Tigers star Ty Cobb went into the stands and assaulted a fan who had been heckling him. Cobb was suspended by American League President Ban Johnson. The other Tigers refused to play unless Cobb was reinstated. Johnson threatened Tigers owner Frank Navin with a stiff fine if he did not field a team. So Manager Hughie Jennings quickly recruited a pickup team of sandlot players, semi-pro players, and college baseball students.[33]

This replacement team played one game, on May 18, 1912, after which the Tigers players relented and returned to play future games (under threat of lifetime banishment).[34]

The following players appeared in the May 18, 1912 game,[35] which the Tigers lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 24–2.[36]

Joe Sugden and Deacon McGuire were Tigers coaches who had had long baseball careers. This game was their last major league appearance. Hughie Jennings was the Tigers manager; he also had had a long career and was later elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[37] Jennings appeared as pinch hitter in the ninth inning.[35]

None of the other players ever appeared in another major league game before or after, except for Billy Maharg, who appeared in one other game[37] as a courtesy in the last game of the 1916 season.[38] Maharg was later deeply involved in the Black Sox Scandal.[38] Jack Smith played two innings in the field, but had no plate appearances and consequently no batting average. Ed Irwin was the only recruit to have a hit (the Tigers coaches each had one). Irwin had two triples, and so retired with a major league batting average of .667 and slugging average of 2.000. Allan Travers's 24 runs allowed is still the American League record for a complete game.[34][37]

Arthur "Bugs" Baer, who later went on to become a noted journalist and humorist, was a member of the team, recruited as a backup bench player. He did not appear in the game.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Replacement Players. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Kurkjian, Tim. The replacements. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Five years later, replacements still feel the heat". May 23, 2000. Archived from the original on September 20, 2001.
  4. ^ "Catchers' Agendas Differ". Miami Herald. February 19, 1995. p. 16C. Retrieved May 22, 2012. (subscription required)
  5. ^ a b c d e f Chass, Murray. "Spoils to the Victors, Grudgingly", The New York Times, published November 17, 1996, accessed October 19, 2007.
  6. ^ Roderick, Joe. "IT COULD BE A CHILLY SPRING FOR GIANTS WHO CROSSED LINE", The Contra Costa Times, January 27, 1996, page D1.
  7. ^ "PLAYERS GROUP WON'T LET REPLACEMENTS JOIN UNION \ DECISION WOULD KEEP 17 PLAYERS FROM GETTING A SHARE OF LICENSING FEES", Associated Press, published December 16, 1995.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Walker won't let decision stop him Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine", The Topeka Capitol-Journal, May 4, 1997.
  9. ^ "`Bad Karma' Vetoes Move -- Padres Won't Recall Replacement Player", Seattle Times News Services, July 17, 1995.
  10. ^ Curry, Jack (April 2, 1995). "BASEBALL; Living on a Yankee Tightrope". The New York Times.
  11. ^ a b c Shea, John. "Royal contract clause for Sweeney, The San Francisco Chronicle, June 8, 2003.
  12. ^ Finnigan, Bob. "M's Have Lots Of Company Seeking Starting Pitching", The Seattle Times, July 30, 1995.
  13. ^ Extra effort. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  14. ^ "Instead Of Solidifying Family Ties, Baseball Pulling Them Apart - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. March 26, 1995. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rutter, Joe. "Major replacements Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine", The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, published March 6, 2005, accessed October 19, 2007.
  16. ^ Chass, Murray. "ON BASEBALL; Credibility Test for Players' Union", The New York Times, May 25, 1995.
  17. ^ Bradley, Ed. "Honor Thy Father", Sports Illustrated, August 11, 1997.
  18. ^ "Bagwell Breaks Hand Again, Probably Will Miss 3-4 Weeks", Associated Press, July 31, 1995.
  19. ^ "Astros 7, Mets 4". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. March 8, 1995. p. 3C. Retrieved August 27, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c d Chass, Murray. "Union Lists Those Who Did Not Back Strike", The New York Times, April 18, 1995.
  21. ^ Rhoden, William C. "Sports of The Times; Oil Can Boyd at Peace With His Own Team", The New York Times, July 8, 1999.
  22. ^ Madden, Bill (March 6, 1995). "Blame Game, Not Bystrom". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  23. ^ Nightengale, Bob. "The first half has been a learning experience", The Sporting News, July 17, 1995.
  24. ^ a b "Cubs Opener: No Pickets, No Protests - Chicago Tribune". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h Frey, Jennifer. "Met Camp Attractive To Players In Need", The New York Times, February 18, 1995.
  26. ^ a b c d e Rock, Steve. Who Were Those Guys?. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  27. ^ Newhan,Ross. "Strike Throws Curve Into Start of Spring Training.", Los Angeles Times, published February 16, 1995, accessed July 29, 2010.
  28. ^ Riesgo, Nikco; Cohen, Russ (2010). Strike Three! - A Player's Journey Through the Infamous Baseball Strike Of 1994. Strike Three. ISBN 978-0-557-24643-4. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  29. ^ Kram, Mike (July 2, 1998). "He's (still) available". Philadelphia Daily News. pp. 76–77. Retrieved December 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Daley, Ken. "Houston's collapse reaches astronomical proportions.", The Dallas Morning News, published May 26, 2000, accessed October 19, 2007.
  31. ^ Robinson, Tom. The Tides Have Talent Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  32. ^ Harrington, Mike. "BISONS HAVE BOUNCED BACK NICELY FROM ROCKY START", The Buffalo News, published June 24, 1995, accessed March 10, 2008.
  33. ^ a b Jerome Holtzman (January 24, 1995). "REPLACEMENT TEAM IN COBB'S DAY LACKED SOMETHING: QUALITY". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  34. ^ a b Gary Livacari. "Allan Travers". SABR (Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  35. ^ a b Wade Forrester (May 18, 2014). "May 18, 1912: Replacement Players Take The Field For The Striking Tigers". On This Day In Sports. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  36. ^ Andrew Godfrey (September 3, 2009). "1912 Tigers Pickup Team Loses 24-2". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  37. ^ a b c "Baseball Stats and History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  38. ^ a b Bill Lamb. "Billy Maharg". SABR (Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
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