1997 Cleveland Indians season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1997 Cleveland Indians
AL Champs
AL Central Champs
Major League affiliations
Location
  • Jacobs Field (since 1994)
  • Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)Richard Jacobs
General manager(s)John Hart
Manager(s)Mike Hargrove
Local televisionWUAB
Jack Corrigan, Mike Hegan
SportsChannel
John Sanders, Rick Manning
Local radioWKNR (1220 AM)
Herb Score, Tom Hamilton, Matt Underwood
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The 1997 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Indians making their second World Series appearance in three years. The Indians finished in first place in the American League Central and hosted the 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Offseason[]

  • November 13, 1996: Matt Williams was traded by the San Francisco Giants with a player to be named later to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, Jeff Kent, Julián Tavárez, and José Vizcaíno. The Cleveland Indians sent Joe Roa (December 16, 1996) to the San Francisco Giants to complete the trade.[1]
  • December 10, 1996: Eric Plunk was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[2]
  • December 13, 1996: Kevin Mitchell signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[3]
  • December 16, 1996: Trenidad Hubbard was sent by the San Francisco Giants to the Cleveland Indians to complete an earlier deal made on November 13, 1996.[4]
  • December 18, 1996: Chad Curtis was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[5]
  • December 19, 1996: Les Norman was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[6]
  • December 28, 1996: Tony Fernandez was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[7]
  • January 1, 1997: Casey Candaele was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[8]
  • January 31, 1997: Greg Cadaret was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[9]

Spring training[]

Game log[]

Regular season[]

  • The season started with several new faces. The Indians acquired home run hitter Matt Williams. On March 25, 1997, the club traded All-Star Kenny Lofton and pitcher Alan Embree to the Atlanta Braves for Marquis Grissom and David Justice.
  • June 16 – The first interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians took place at Jacobs Field. The rivalry would be known as the Battle of Ohio. The Reds won the game by a score of 4-1.[10]

Most Starts by Position[]

Position Name # of Starts
C Sandy Alomar, Jr. 119
1B Jim Thome 145
2B Tony Fernández 109
3B Matt Williams 151
SS Omar Vizquel 152
LF Brian Giles 82
CF Marquis Grissom 144
RF Manny Ramírez 146
DH David Justice 61

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
AL Central 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cleveland Indians 86 75 0.534 — 44–37 42–38
Chicago White Sox 80 81 0.497 6 45–36 35–45
Milwaukee Brewers 78 83 0.484 8 47–33 31–50
Minnesota Twins 68 94 0.420 18½ 35–46 33–48
Kansas City Royals 67 94 0.416 19 33–47 34–47

Record vs. opponents[]

1997 American League Records
  • v
  • t

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team ANA BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR NL 
Anaheim — 4–7 6–5 6–5 7–4 5–6 6–5 7–4 4–7 4–7 11–1 6–6 8–4 6–5 4–12
Baltimore 7–4 — 5–7 5–6 6–5 6–6 7–4 5–6 10–1 8–4 8–3 7–4 10–1 6–6 8–7
Boston 5–6 7–5 — 3–8 6–5 5–7 3–8 8–3 8–3 4–8 7–4 7–4 3–8 6–6 6–9
Chicago 5–6 6–5 8–3 — 5–7 4–7 11–1 4–7 6–6 2–9 8–3 5–6 3–8 5–6 8–7
Cleveland 4–7 5–6 5–6 7–5 — 6–5 8–3 8–4 8–4 5–6 7–4 3–8 5–6 6–5 9–6
Detroit 6–5 6–6 7–5 7–4 5–6 — 6–5 4–7 4–7 2–10 7–4 4–7 7–4 6–6 8–7
Kansas City 5–6 4–7 8–3 1–11 3–8 5–6 — 6–6 7–5 3–8 3–8 5–6 6–5 5–6 6–9
Milwaukee 4–7 6–5 3–8 7–4 4–8 7–4 6–6 — 5–7 4–7 5–6 5–6 7–4 7–4 8–7
Minnesota 7–4 1–10 3–8 6–6 4–8 7–4 5–7 7–5 — 3–8 7–4 5–6 3–8 3–8 7–8
New York 7–4 4–8 8–4 9–2 6–5 10–2 8–3 7–4 8–3 — 6–5 4–7 7–4 7–5 5–10
Oakland 1–11 3–8 4–7 3–8 4–7 4–7 8–3 6–5 4–7 5–6 — 5–7 5–7 6–5 7–9
Seattle 6–6 4–7 4–7 6–5 8–3 7–4 6–5 6–5 6–5 7–4 7–5 — 8–4 8–3 7–9
Texas 4–8 1–10 8–3 8–3 6–5 4–7 5–6 4–7 8–3 4–7 7–5 4–8 — 4–7 10–6
Toronto 5–6 6–6 6–6 6–5 5–6 6–6 6–5 4–7 8–3 5–7 5–6 3–8 7–4 — 4–11


Notable transactions[]

  • April 21, 1997: Ryan Thompson signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[11]
  • May 20, 1997: Torey Lovullo was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[12]
  • June 3, 1997: Kevin Mitchell was released by the Cleveland Indians.[3]
  • June 5, 1997: Ryan Thompson was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jeff Manto.[11]
  • June 9, 1997: Dave Weathers was traded by the New York Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for Chad Curtis.[13]
  • July 3, 1997: Greg Cadaret was released by the Cleveland Indians.[9]
  • July 25, 1997: Pat Listach was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.[14]
  • July 31, 1997: John Smiley was traded by the Cincinnati Reds with Jeff Branson to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Crowell, Danny Graves, Damian Jackson, and Scott Winchester.[15]
  • July 31, 1997: Jeff Juden was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Kline.[16]
  • August 13, 1997: Julio Franco was released by the Cleveland Indians.[17]

Roster[]

1997 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager
  • 21 Mike Hargrove

Coaches

Game log[]

1997 Game Log: 86–75 (Home: 44–37; Away: 42–38)
April: 12–13 (Home: 5–6; Away: 7–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
3 April 4 @ Angels 6–8 (11) Holtz (1–0) Shuey (0–1) Anaheim Stadium 17,758 1–2 L2
4 April 5 @ Angels 7–5 Ogea (1–0) Hasegawa (0–1) Shuey (2) Anaheim Stadium 23,913 2–2 W1
5 April 6 @ Angels 10–8 Kline (1–0) Percival (0–2) Jackson (1) Anaheim Stadium 29,363 3–2 W2
9 April 11 Angels 15–3 Ogea (2–0) Gubicza (0–1) Jacobs Field 42,643 5–4 W1
10 April 13 Angels 3–8 Langston (1–1) McDowell (0–1) Jacobs Field 41,218 5–5 L1
May: 15–11 (Home: 9–3; Away: 6–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
June: 13–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–4)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
July: 14–13 (Home: 7–10; Away: 7–3)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
– July 8 68th All-Star Game National League vs. American League (Jacobs Field, Cleveland, Ohio)
99 July 28 Angels 0–2 Springer (6–4) Colón (2–5) Jacobs Field 43,033 54–45 L1[permanent dead link]
100 July 28 Angels 7–10 Harris (2–2) Weathers (1–2) Holtz (2) Jacobs Field 42,857 54–46 L2[permanent dead link]
101 July 29 Angels 2–7 Finley (10–6) Clark (0–3) Jacobs Field 42,975 54–47 L3
102 July 30 Angels 2–5 Hill (6–8) Nagy (10–7) James (7) Jacobs Field 42,898 54–48 L4
August: 16–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 7–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
128 August 26 @ Angels 7–8 May (1–1) Plunk (4–4) Anaheim Stadium 21,012 67–61 L2
129 August 27 @ Angels 10–4 Wright (5–2) Watson (11–8) Anaheim Stadium 20,148 68–61 W1
September: 16–13 (Home: 7–5; Away: 9–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record Recap
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Indians team member

All-Star game[]

The 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 68th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL). There were no members of the Indians in the starting lineup although three Indians (Sandy Alomar, Jr., Jim Thome, and David Justice) were named to the team. The game was held on July 8, 1997, and the first pitch was thrown by former Indian Larry Doby. The American League were victorious 3 – 1, with the go ahead HR coming courtesy Alomar, Jr.

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
C Sandy Alomar Jr. 125 451 146 .324 21 83
1B Jim Thome 147 496 142 .286 40 102
2B Tony Fernández 120 409 117 .286 11 44
SS Omar Vizquel 153 565 158 .280 5 49
3B Matt Williams 151 596 157 .263 32 105
LF Brian Giles 130 377 101 .268 17 61
CF Marquis Grissom 144 558 146 .262 12 66
RF Manny Ramirez 150 561 184 .328 26 88
DH David Justice 139 495 163 .329 33 101

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
Julio Franco 78 289 82 .284 3 25
Kevin Seitzer 64 198 53 .268 2 24
Pat Borders 55 159 47 .296 4 15
Bip Roberts 23 85 23 .271 3 8
Jeff Branson 29 72 19 .264 2 7
Kevin Mitchell 20 59 9 .153 4 11
Jeff Manto 16 30 8 .267 2 7
Chad Curtis 22 29 6 .207 3 5
Casey Candaele 14 26 8 .308 0 4
Bruce Aven 13 19 4 .211 0 2
Enrique Wilson 5 15 5 .333 0 1
Trent Hubbard 7 12 3 .250 0 0
Richie Sexson 5 11 3 .273 0 0
Sean Casey 6 10 2 .200 0 1
Damian Jackson 8 9 1 .111 0 0
Einar Díaz 5 7 1 .143 0 1

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
Charles Nagy 34 227 15 11 4.28 149
Orel Hershiser 32 195.1 14 6 4.47 107
Chad Ogea 21 126.1 8 9 4.99 80
Bartolo Colón 19 94 4 7 5.65 66
Jaret Wright 16 90.1 8 3 4.38 63
Brian Anderson 8 48 4 2 4.69 22
John Smiley 6 37.1 2 4 5.54 26
Terry Clark 4 26.1 0 3 6.15 13

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
Albie Lopez 37 76.2 3 7 6.93 63
Jason Jacome 21 42.2 2 0 5.27 24
Jack McDowell 8 40.2 3 3 5.09 38
Jeff Juden 8 31.1 0 1 5.46 29
David Weathers 9 16.2 1 2 7.56 14

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
Paul Assenmacher 75 5 0 4 2.94 53
Mike Jackson 71 2 5 15 3.24 74
José Mesa 66 4 4 16 2.40 69
Eric Plunk 55 4 5 0 4.66 66
Paul Shuey 40 4 2 2 6.20 46
Alvin Morman 34 0 0 2 5.89 13
Steve Kline 20 3 1 0 5.81 17
Danny Graves 5 0 0 0 4.76 4

American League Division Series[]

Main article: 1997 American League Division Series

Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees[]

Game 1[]

September 30, Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 11 0
New York 0 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 X 8 11 0
W: Ramiro Mendoza (1-0)   L: Eric Plunk (0-1)  SV: Mariano Rivera (1)
HR: CLE – Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1)   NYY – Tino Martinez (1)   Tim Raines (1)   Derek Jeter (1)   Paul O'Neill (1)

Game 2[]

October 2, Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 0 0 7 11 1
New York 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 7 2
W: Jaret Wright (1-0)   L: Andy Pettitte (0-1)  SV: None
HR: CLE – Matt Williams (1)  NYY – Derek Jeter (2)

Game 3[]

October 4, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 1
Cleveland 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
W: David Wells (1-0)   L: Charles Nagy (0-1)  SV: None
HR: CLE – None   NYY – Paul O'Neill (2)

Game 4[]

October 5, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 1
Cleveland 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 9 0
W: Mike Jackson (1-0)   L: Ramiro Mendoza (1-1)  SV: None
HR: CLE – David Justice (1)   Sandy Alomar, Jr. (2)   NYY – None

Game 5[]

October 6, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 12 0
Cleveland 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 X 4 7 2
W: Jaret Wright (2-0)   L: Andy Pettitte (0-2)  SV: José Mesa (1)
HR: CLE – None   NYY – None

American League Championship Series[]

Main article: 1997 American League Championship Series

Game 1[]

October 8, Camden Yards

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
Baltimore 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X 3 6 1
WP: Scott Erickson (1-0)  LP: Chad Ogea (0-1)  SV: Randy Myers (1)
HRs: BAL – Brady Anderson (1) Roberto Alomar (1)

Game 2[]

October 9, Camden Yards

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 5 6 3
Baltimore 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 8 1
WP: Paul Assenmacher (1-0)  LP: Armando Benítez (0-1)  SV: José Mesa (1)
HRs: CLE – Manny Ramírez (1) Marquis Grissom (1)   BAL – Cal Ripken (1)

Game 3[]

October 11, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 8 1
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 0
WP: Eric Plunk (1-0)  LP: Randy Myers (0-1)  
HRs: None

Game 4[]

October 12, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 12 2
Cleveland 0 2 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 8 13 0
WP: José Mesa (1-0)  LP: Alan Mills (0-1)  
HRs: CLE – Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1) Manny Ramírez (2)   BAL – Brady Anderson (2) Harold Baines (1) Rafael Palmeiro (1)

Game 5[]

October 13, Jacobs Field

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 10 0
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 1
WP: Scott Kamieniecki (1-0)  LP: Chad Ogea (0-2)  
HRs: BAL – Eric Davis (1)

Game 6[]

October 15, Camden Yards

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
WP: Brian Anderson (1-0)  LP: Armando Benítez (0-2)  S: José Mesa (1)
HRs: CLE: – Tony Fernández (1)

World Series[]

Main article: 1997 World Series

Game 1[]

October 18, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 4 11 0
Florida 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 x 7 7 1
W: Liván Hernández (1-0)   L: Orel Hershiser (0-1)  S: Robb Nen (1)
HR: CLE – Manny Ramírez (1), Jim Thome (1)  FLA – Moisés Alou (1), Charles Johnson (1)

Game 2[]

October 19, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 6 14 0
Florida 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
W: Chad Ogea (1-0)   L: Kevin Brown (0-1)  
HR: CLE – Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1)

Game 3[]

October 21, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 7 14 16 3
Cleveland 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 4 11 10 3
W: Dennis Cook (1-0)   L: Eric Plunk (0-1)  S: Robb Nen (2)
HR: FLA – Gary Sheffield (1), Darren Daulton (1), Jim Eisenreich (1)  CLE – Jim Thome (2)

Game 4[]

October 22, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 6 2
Cleveland 3 0 3 0 0 1 1 2 X 10 15 0
W: Jaret Wright (1-0)   L: Tony Saunders (0-1)  
HR: FLA – Moisés Alou (2)  CLE – Manny Ramírez (2), Matt Williams (1)

Game 5[]

October 23, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Florida 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 8 15 2
Cleveland 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 9 0
W: Liván Hernández (2-0)   L: Orel Hershiser (0-2)  S: Robb Nen (3)
HR: FLA – Moisés Alou (3)  CLE – Sandy Alomar, Jr. (2)

Game 6[]

October 25, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 7 0
Florida 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
W: Chad Ogea (2-0)   L: Kevin Brown (0-2)  S: José Mesa (1)

Game 7[]

October 26, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2
Florida 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 8 0
W: Jay Powell (1-0)   L: Charles Nagy (0-1)  
HR – FLA: Bobby Bonilla (1)

Award winners[]

All-Star Game

  • Sandy Alomar, Jr., Catcher, Reserve
  • Jim Thome, First Baseman, Reserve
  • David Justice, Outfield, elected to start, but was unable to play due to an injury.

Minor league affiliates[]

Classification level Team League Season article
AAA Buffalo Bisons International League
AA Akron Aeros Eastern League
Advanced A Kinston Indians Carolina League
A Columbus RedStixx South Atlantic League
Short Season A Watertown Indians New York–Penn League
Rookie Burlington Indians Appalachian League

References[]

  1. ^ Matt Williams Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  2. ^ "Eric Plunk Stats".
  3. ^ a b Kevin Mitchell Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  4. ^ "Trent Hubbard Stats".
  5. ^ "Chad Curtis Stats".
  6. ^ Les Norman Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  7. ^ "Tony Fernandez Stats".
  8. ^ "Casey Candaele Stats".
  9. ^ a b "Greg Cadaret Stats".
  10. ^ "Box Score of Game played on Monday, June 16, 1997 at Jacobs Field".
  11. ^ a b Ryan Thompson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ^ "Torey Lovullo Stats".
  13. ^ "David Weathers Stats".
  14. ^ Pat Listach Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  15. ^ John Smiley Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  16. ^ Jeff Juden Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  17. ^ Julio Franco Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
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