1995 'Replacement Players'

By Patrick Mondout

When the Major League Baseball lockout of 1994 dragged into the spring of 1995, the owners announced that they would start the season with "replacement players," including minor leaguers and even some current or former major leaguers willing to cross picket lines. Those that did would be ineligible to be members of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). These players do not pay union dues, but will receive full pension benefits from MLB. They also can use the Player's Association's grievance procedure. They do not receive a share of the collective royalties from the sale of baseball merchandise, such as baseball cards, but are free to make their own deals (this is why Rick Reed and others only appear on Topps cards as they have historically only signed individual players rather than work with the player's union).

At least 47 players did participate in the sham games and appeared in a real major league game either before or after. Here is a list of them:

Note: Players in bold appeared in the Majors before becoming scabs.