1997 Cleveland Indians season

1997 Cleveland Indians
AL Champs AL Central Champs
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Central Division (since 1994)
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 television	WUAB Jack Corrigan, Mike Hegan SportsChannel John Sanders, Rick Manning
Local radio	WKNR (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]

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	Bip Roberts	92
CF	Marquis Grissom	144
RF	Manny Ramírez	146
DH	David Justice	61

Season standings

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 Sources:
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

34 Brian Anderson

45 Paul Assenmacher

47 Terry Clark

40 Bartolo Colón

35 Danny Graves

55 Orel Hershiser

42 Mike Jackson

46 Jason Jacome

7 Jeff Juden

52 Steve Kline

59 Albie Lopez

29 Jack McDowell

49 José Mesa

51 Alvin Morman

41 Charles Nagy

37 Chad Ogea

38 Eric Plunk

53 Paul Shuey

57 John Smiley

50 David Weathers

27 Jaret Wright

Catchers

15 Sandy Alomar, Jr.

10 Pat Borders

2 Einar Díaz

Infielders

11 Jeff Branson

26 Casey Candaele

52 Sean Casey

1 Tony Fernández

23 Julio Franco

11 Damian Jackson

12 Jeff Manto

6 Bip Roberts

44 Richie Sexson

20 Kevin Seitzer

25 Jim Thome

13 Omar Vizquel

9 Matt Williams

35 Enrique Wilson

Outfielders

56 Bruce Aven

12 Chad Curtis

22 Brian Giles

17 Marquis Grissom

30 Trent Hubbard

33,23 David Justice

44 Kevin Mitchell

24 Manny Ramírez

Manager

21 Mike Hargrove

Coaches

54 Johnny Goryl (Bench)

4 Luis Isaac (Bullpen)

42 Charlie Manuel (Hitting)

8 Dave Nelson (First base)

16 Jeff Newman (Third base)

28 Mark Wiley (Pitching)

43 Dan Williams (Bullpen catcher)

Game log

1997 Game Log: 86–75 (Home: 44–37; Away: 42–38)

April: 12–13 (Home: 5–6; Away: 7–7)

May: 15–11 (Home: 9–3; Away: 6–8)

June: 13–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–4)

July: 14–13 (Home: 7–10; Away: 7–3)

August: 16–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 7–8)

September: 16–13 (Home: 7–5; Away: 9–8)

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

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

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

Marquis Grissom, Outfield, ALCS MVP

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	1997 Buffalo Bisons season
AA	Akron Aeros	Eastern League	1997 Akron Aeros season
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

↑ Matt Williams Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/plunker01.shtml
1 2 Kevin Mitchell Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hubbatr01.shtml
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/curtich01.shtml
↑ Les Norman Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/fernato01.shtml
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/candaca01.shtml
1 2 http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cadargr01.shtml
↑ http://baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=199706160CLE
1 2 Ryan Thompson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lovulto01.shtml
↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/weathda01.shtml
↑ Pat Listach Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ John Smiley Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ Jeff Juden Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
↑ Julio Franco Statistics Baseball-Reference.com

1997 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference
1997 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac
1997 WS at Baseball Reference

American League champions

American League Central champions

1997 MLB season by team

AL East	Baltimore Boston Detroit New York Toronto

AL Central	Chicago Cleveland Kansas City Milwaukee Minnesota

AL West	Anaheim Oakland Seattle Texas

NL East	Atlanta Florida Montréal New York Philadelphia

NL Central	Chicago Cincinnati Houston Pittsburgh St. Louis

NL West	Colorado Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco

Cleveland Indians

Founded in 1894
Formerly the Grand Rapids Rustlers, Cleveland Lake Shores, Cleveland Bluebirds, Cleveland Broncos, and Cleveland Naps
Based in Cleveland, Ohio

Franchise

Ballparks

Culture and lore

Rivalries

Cincinnati Reds

Key personnel

Owner: Larry Dolan
Chairman/CEO: Paul Dolan
President: Chris Antonetti
General manager: Mike Chernoff
Manager: Terry Francona

Postseason appearances (12)

Division championships (8)

American League pennants (6)

World Series championships (2)

1920
1948

Hall of Fame inductees

Minors

Media

Seasons (116)

1900s	1900 · 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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