Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The MLB faces potential lockout, and could learn lessons by watching how the NFL is prepping for a potential strike from their referees.
- Previous MLB work stoppages paint a grim picture for the product provided by replacement players.
- Some past line-crossers found success later, but others faced lasting criticism.
As Major League Baseball prepares for a potential lockout later this year, the National Football League just offered a grim reminder of what life without a collective bargaining agreement could look like.
News emerged on Monday that the NFL is preparing to hire replacement officials this spring if the league cannot reach a deal with the NFL Referees Association. We last saw replacement officials in 2012, when the league locked out the officials from June through September. Replacement officials worked the preseason and the first three weeks, culminating in the infamous “Fail Mary” game between the Packers and Seahawks.
If the NFL is open to using replacement officials, would MLB owners do the same with players if a lockout occurs and lasts until next spring? Such an idea might sound ludicrous if you’re too young to remember the 1994–95 strike, but we came dangerously close to seeing replacement players in regular-season games nearly 30 years ago.
What is an MLB replacement player?
This photo isn’t a coach- it’s 48 year old Pedro Borbon at spring training in 1995 as a replacement player during the 1994-95 strike. He retired from #MLB in 1980- 15 years earlier & was a 2-time World Series champion with the 1976-77 #Reds “Big Red Machine” pic.twitter.com/HV1lFtTBTI
— RLS Hamilton (@RyanLSack) October 15, 2024
In the context of sports, a replacement player is exactly what it says: someone who crosses the line during a work stoppage, whether it is a lockout or a players’ strike. We’ve only seen replacement players twice, the most notable instance being during the aforementioned 1994–95 strike. Additionally, the 1912 Detroit Tigers used replacement players during a one-game strike after American League president Ban Johnson suspended Ty Cobb for assaulting a heckling fan.
Replacement players are also known as “scabs.” At least 150 replacement players, a significant number of whom had prior MLB experience and were either unsigned or retired, participated in spring training in 1995 before the strike ended. Then, there were players like Mets outfield prospect Benny Agbayani, who reported to spring training as a member of the team’s 40-man roster.
As of publication, there is no indication that teams are preparing to use replacement players next spring.
What happens to MLB replacement players when a work stoppage ends?
This question is arguably the hardest to answer, because every player’s situation is different. There is no indication that Major League Baseball would permanently ban any player who crossed the picket line — and if the league did enact such a rule, those players wouldn’t be protected because they’d have given up their rights to be part of the MLBPA.
I’m also skeptical, given the aftermath of the 1994–95 strike, that teams would collude to blackball players who crossed the picket line. Let’s use Agbayani as an example once again. When the 1994–95 strike ended, Agbayani returned to the minors and spent the season between Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton. By 1998, he was in the majors, and he stuck around in the big leagues until 2002.
Can replacement players join the MLB players’ union when the work stoppage ends?
No. As soon as a player crosses the picket line, they forfeit their ability to join the Major League Baseball Players’ Association. Additionally, replacement players cannot profit off their name, image, and likeness through any merchandise affiliated with the MLBPA. In other words, a first baseman who crosses the picket line would almost certainly not be included in “MLB The Show” games because they are not a part of the players’ union.
Contrary to popular belief, Barry Bonds did not cross the picket line during the 1994–95 strike. That isn’t why we wound up with Jon Dowd in “MVP Baseball 2005” or Reggie Stocker in “MLB 07: The Show.” Bonds didn’t appear in video games later in his career because he had left the MLBPA.
Who are some of the notable MLB replacement players?
Longtime Detroit Tigers reliever Willie Hernández is perhaps the most well-known and successful player who crossed the picket line in 1995. Hernández, a three-time All-Star and the 1984 AL Cy Young winner, pitched for the Yankees in spring training. At the time, Hernández was 40 years old and hadn’t pitched in the majors since 1989.
Former Texas Rangers infielder Lenny Randle came out of retirement in the spring of 1995 and suited up for the Angels at age 46. MLB Network later profiled Randle in a 2015 documentary, which discussed, among other things, his infamous 1977 fight with then-Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi. Randle served a 30-day suspension after fracturing Lucchesi’s cheekbone during a heated pregame argument and was traded to the Mets a month later.
Red Sox fan favorite Kevin Millar is arguably the most well-known of the players who crossed the picket line without prior big-league experience. Millar played a season in the Northern League before the Marlins signed him in September 1993. As a result, Millar was already in the organization when he crossed the picket line, and he made his MLB debut in 1998.
In a 2006 interview with the New York Post, then-Yankees reliever Mike Myers — who had previously played with Millar in Boston — ripped the players who crossed the picket line. Myers recalled members of the 2002 Diamondbacks petitioning to get catcher Damian Miller, a replacement player, included on any 2001 championship gear.
“Personally, I would never trust them when it comes to bargaining,” Myers said, only days after the Yankees acquired former replacement player and starting pitcher Cory Lidle. “They had their opportunity at one time, and they showed their true colors back then. Now it’s easy for them to say they’ll be there for us because they have their money now. But there were guys who didn’t have money then and didn’t cross.”