It happened so quickly. The season resumed the following day. There was joy in Mudville, which had become the collective name for the 26 major league cities. Other evidences of sanity followed. The Baseball Network dropped its practice of airing only regional games and re-established the national game of the week, allowing fans to become part of a countrywide community again.
Some concession stands even tried putting real meat in hot dogs, but the fans rebelled.
The experiment was curtailed. The prestrike hitting assault continued. Houston phenom Jeff Bagwell, who had broken a bone in his left hand two days before the strike, was undaunted by his injury. He finished the season with 52 homers and 165 runs batted in - the best RBI count since the '30s. Chicago muscleman Frank Thomas hit 53 home runs.