1994 CJRL CHAMPIONS!

TERMINATORS


Terminators photoThe Terminators, owned by Larry Johnson, won the CJRL title in 1994. Johnson had been a champion two times before, as a co-owner of DNTs, one of the original eight CJRL teams. After a heated dispute with DNT co-owner Debbie Streckenbein, Johnson left the DNTs and entered the CJRL expansion draft in 1992 with the expansion Cassville Crew and the now-defunct Howie's Halos. The first two seasons were fairly successful for the Terminators, finishing third in both 1992 and 1993.

Terminators owner Larry Johnson has a reputation for not hesitating to make a trade, and also for his dislike of the DNTs. Soon after the break-up of the DNT partnership, Johnson had been quoted as saying: "I was the brains of the operation. Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Randy Myers, Ryne Sandberg, they were all my doing. Streckenbein was only my errand girl!".

Another controversy involving the Terminators championship is that it occurred during the strike-shortened 1994 season. Rumors of Johnson making payoffs to MLB players union representative Donald Fehr and acting commissioner Bud Selig to keep the dispute going have surfaced, believed to have been started by Bob Taylor, owner of the Ladykillers.

That championship season did not start out very well for the Terminators. As of the CJRL first stat report on April 14, the Terminators were in fifth place. A drop to sixth, and then seventh in the following two weeks had Terminator fans howling for Johnson's job. On May 5, the Terminators moved up to fourth place, and then jumped 8 points in one week to reach second place on May 12. After alternating between second and third place during the next two weeks, the Terminators finally reached the coveted top spot on June 2, tied with the Foulks' Follies. The next two months would be a slugfest between those two teams. The Terminators held the top spot for two weeks beginning June 9, but the Foulks' Follies battled back to first for the next four weeks from June 23 to July 14. However, the Terminators regained first place on July 21 and never looked back. The Foulk's Follies faltered, falling to fourth place in the final standings, and the Terminators' arch-rivals the DNTs inched their way up to second place, four points behind the Terminators.

The Terminators were very strong in pitching that season, and led the league in stolen bases. The following is the Terminators ending roster for the 1994 season:
OFFENSE
Craig Biggio
Midre Cummings
Ricky Jordan
Roberto Kelly
Darren Lewis
Orlando Miller
Kevin Mitchell
Charlie O'Brien
Lance Parrish
Terry Pendleton
Phil Plantier
Reggie Sanders
Gary Sheffield
Walt Weiss
Brian Hunter (Reserve)
 PITCHING
Bud Black
Mike Dyer
John Franco
Joey Hamilton
Erik Hanson
Todd Jones
Greg Maddux
Jose Rijo
Johnny Ruffin
Ryan Bowen (DL)
Norm Charlton (DL)
Also contributing to season stat totals for the Terminators were James Mouton, Ricky Gutierrez, and Kirk Rueter.

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