3 ways the lockout was different than the 1994 strike for the Chicago White Sox

Reason 3: There still will be a World Series for the Chicago White Sox to possibly win.

The Chicago White Sox were 67-46, in first place in the AL Central Division, and a game ahead of the Cleveland Indians when the 1994 strike happened.

The Sox held onto first place for 84 days and it appeared they would have held onto win the division. I am also convinced that even though the Montreal Expos were having a great year, the Chicago White Sox would have won the 1994 World Series.

They had one of the best pitching staffs in the game. Jason Bere was on his way towards winning a Cy Young. Jack McDowell, Wilson Alvarez, and Alex Fernandez were pitching well.

The Sox lineup was also potent. Frank Thomas was having a monster season.

The Sox were a season removed from being two wins away of making the 1993 World Series. Everything was in place to win the whole thing in 1994.

Then, it was all gone. The season and World Series canceled.

The Sox would have to wait another 11 seasons before finally winning the team’s first World Series since 1917.

Fast forward to the present, and the one saving grace is that the lockout happened at the beginning of the season.

A deal was going to get done as there was just too much money be lost for one side to shut the whole thing down.

The only surprise was the deal got done in time to have a full season. It felt like the owners would drag this out for a couple of weeks to avoid those low attendance April games.

Now it is onto free agency restarting and the start of Spring Training. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a magical Chicago White Sox season.