1997 Chicago Cubs season

1997 Chicago Cubs
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876) Central Division (since 1994)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916) Chicago (since 1870)
Results
Record	68–94 (.420)
Divisional place	5th
Other information
Owner(s)	Tribune Company
General manager(s)	Ed Lynch
Manager(s)	Jim Riggleman
Local television	WGN-TV/Superstation WGN/Chicagoland TV (Harry Caray, Steve Stone, Josh Lewin)
Local radio	WGN (Pat Hughes, Ron Santo, Harry Caray, Josh Lewin)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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The 1997 Chicago Cubs season was the 126th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 122nd in the National League and the 82nd at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth and last in the National League Central with a record of 68–94. The team never had a record above .500 at any point during the season.

The Cubs lost the first 14 games of the season, before finally winning the second game of a double-header against the New York Mets. The 0-14 start brought the superstition of the "billy goat curse" to the forefront, and at one point a goat was actually led around Wrigley Field in an effort to end the curse.

This was also Harry Caray's final season as broadcaster for the Cubs, as he died on February 18, 1998 (two months after his grandson Chip Caray was hired to share play-by-play duties with him). The team would wear a patch with his likeness that year.

Offseason[]

• December 10, 1996: Mel Rojas was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.^[1]

Regular season[]

• June 16 – The first interleague game between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox took place at the new Comiskey Park. The Cubs won the game by a score of 8-3.^[2]

Opening Day Starters[]

Season standings[]

v t NL Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	84	78	0.519	—	46–35	38–43
Pittsburgh Pirates	79	83	0.488	5	43–38	36–45
Cincinnati Reds	76	86	0.469	8	40–41	36–45
St. Louis Cardinals	73	89	0.451	11	41–40	32–49
Chicago Cubs	68	94	0.420	16	42–39	26–55

Record vs. opponents[]

1997 National League Records v t Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Atlanta	—	9–2	9–2	5–6	4–8	7–4	6–5	10–2	5–7	10–2	5–6	8–3	7–4	8–3	7–5
Chicago	2–9	—	7–5	2–9	2–9	3–9	5–6	4–7	6–5	6–5	7–5	6–5	5–6	4–8	9–6
Cincinnati	2–9	5–7	—	5–6	5–6	5–7	6–5	6–5	2–9	8–3	8–4	5–6	4–7	6–6	9–6
Colorado	6–5	9–2	6–5	—	7–4	5–6	5–7	7–4	6–5	4–7	4–7	4–8	4–8	7–4	9–7
Florida	8–4	9–2	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	7–4	7–5	4–8	6–6	7–4	5–6	5–6	5–6	12–3
Houston	4–7	9–3	7–5	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	8–3	7–4	4–7	6–6	6–5	3–8	9–3	4–11
Los Angeles	5–6	6–5	5–6	7–5	4–7	4–7	—	7–4	6–5	10–1	9–2	5–7	6–6	5–6	9–7
Montreal	2–10	7–4	5–6	4–7	5–7	3–8	4–7	—	5–7	6–6	5–6	8–3	6–5	6–5	12–3
New York	7–5	5–6	9–2	5–6	8–4	4–7	5–6	7–5	—	7–5	7–4	5–6	3–8	9–2	7–8
Philadelphia	2-10	5–6	3–8	7–4	6–6	7–4	1–10	6–6	5–7	—	5–6	7–4	3–8	6–5	5–10
Pittsburgh	6–5	5–7	4–8	7–4	4–7	6–6	2–9	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	5–6	8–3	9–3	7–8
San Diego	3–8	5–6	6–5	8–4	6–5	5–6	7–5	3–8	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	4–8	5–6	8–8
San Francisco	4–7	6–5	7–4	8–4	6–5	8–3	6–6	5–6	8–3	8–3	3–8	8–4	—	3–8	10–6
St. Louis	3–8	8–4	6–6	4–7	6–5	3-9	6–5	5–6	2–9	5–6	3–9	6–5	8–3	—	8–7

Notable Transactions[]

• July 12, 1997: Carlos Zambrano was signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent.^[3]
• August 8, 1997: Brian McRae was traded by the Chicago Cubs with Mel Rojas and Turk Wendell to the New York Mets for players to be named later and Lance Johnson. The New York Mets sent Mark Clark (August 11, 1997) and Manny Alexander (August 14, 1997) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.^[4]
• August 11, 1997: Mark Clark was sent by the New York Mets to the Chicago Cubs to complete an earlier deal made on August 8, 1997. The New York Mets sent players to be named later and Lance Johnson to the Chicago Cubs for Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell. The New York Mets sent Mark Clark (August 11, 1997) and Manny Alexander (August 14, 1997) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.^[5]

Roster[]

1997 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 33,51 Terry Adams 47 Miguel Batista 34,45 Kent Bottenfield 55 Larry Casian 49 Frank Castillo 48 Mark Clark 31 Kevin Foster 54 Geremi González 33 Ramón Morel 45 Terry Mulholland 59 Rodney Myers 35 Bob Patterson 41 Marc Pisciotta 51 Mel Rojas 40 Dave Stevens 38 Dave Swartzbaugh 36 Kevin Tapani 52 Ramón Tatís 44 Amaury Telemaco 46 Steve Trachsel 13 Turk Wendell		Catchers  7 Tyler Houston  6 Mike Hubbard  9 Scott Servais Infielders 24 Manny Alexander 20 Miguel Cairo 17 Mark Grace 25 Dave Hansen 18 José Hernández 15 Kevin Orie 11 Rey Sánchez 23 Ryne Sandberg Outfielders 37 Brant Brown 22 Dave Clark 12 Shawon Dunston 1,8 Doug Glanville 29 Robin Jennings  1 Lance Johnson 19 Brooks Kieschnick 10 Terrell Lowery 56 Brian McRae 21 Sammy Sosa		Manager  5 Jim Riggleman Coaches 43 Dave Bialas (bullpen) 40 Tony Muser (former hitting)  2 Mako Oliveras (first base) 55 Jeff Pentland (hitting)  3 Dan Radison (third base) 27 Phil Regan (pitching) 26 Billy Williams (bench)

Player stats[]

Batting[]

Starters by position[]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters[]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Pitching[]

Starting pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Farm system[]

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Cubs	American Association	Tim Johnson
AA	Orlando Rays	Southern League	Dave Trembley
A	Daytona Cubs	Florida State League	Steve Roadcap
A	Rockford Cubbies	Midwest League	Rubén Amaro, Sr.
A-Short Season	Williamsport Cubs	New York–Penn League
Rookie	AZL Cubs	Arizona League	Terry Kennedy

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Cubs^[6]

References[]

• 1997 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference