I had the definite sense after 1994 that the strike was a bridge too far and alienated many fans and that the alienation would be long term, or permanent. Looks like that’s holding true.
1994 changed all that with the stupid strike. I thought the owners were to blame as much as the players. They could have called the player's bluffs and brought in replacements (in addition to their manager and two coaches) as the Detroit Tigers did when the players went on strike in 1912 to protest a suspension of outfield star Ty Cobb. Detroit lost the game, of course, but the point was made and Cobb urged the players to return.
The game was all the more remarkable because they were on the road and their players had to be recruited from a North Philadelphia neighborhood. You can look it up. May 18, 1912. The unplanned appearance raised Coach Deacon McGuire's career total to 26 Major League seasons, a record which would not be surpassed until 1993, by Nolan Ryan.