1997 in baseball

American LeagueRank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Baltimore Orioles98 64 .605 -- 2nd New York Yankees* 96 66 .593 2.0 3rd Detroit Tigers79 83 .488 19.0 4th Boston Red Sox78 84 .481 20.0 5th Toronto Blue Jays76 86 .469 22.0 Central Division 1st Cleveland Indians86 75 .534 -- 2nd Chicago White Sox80 81 .497 6.0 3rd Milwaukee Brewers78 83 .484 8.0 4th Minnesota Twins68 94 .420 18.5 5th Kansas City Royals67 94 .416 19.0 West Division 1st Seattle Mariners90 72 .556 -- 2nd Anaheim Angels84 78 .519 6.0 3rd Texas Rangers77 85 .475 13.0 4th Oakland Athletics65 97 .401 25.0

National LeagueRank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Atlanta Braves101 61 .623 -- 2nd Florida Marlins* 92 70 .568 9.0 3rd New York Mets 88 74 .543 13.0 4th Montreal Expos 78 84 .481 23.0 5th Philadelphia Phillies 68 94 .420 33.0 Central Division 1st Houston Astros 84 78 .519 -- 2nd Pittsburgh Pirates 79 83 .488 5.0 3rd Cincinnati Reds 76 86 .469 8.0 4th St. Louis Cardinals 73 89 .451 11.0 5th Chicago Cubs 68 94 .420 16.0 West Division 1st San Francisco Giants 90 72 .556 -- 2nd Los Angeles Dodgers 88 74 .543 2.0 3rd Colorado Rockies 83 79 .512 7.0 4th San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 14.0

The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.

Events

January-March

January 5 - Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield escapes serious injury when he is hit by a car while out jogging. He is released from the hospital after being treated for bruises.

January 6 - Knuckleballer Phil Niekro is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Niekro receives 80.34% of the vote. Pitcher Don Sutton falls nine votes short of election.

February 20 - The Philadelphia Phillies sign free agent outfielder Danny Tartabull. Tartabull will break his foot on Opening Day and sit out the year before retiring.

March 5 - Nellie Fox, Tommy Lasorda and Negro Leaguer Willie Wells are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

April-May

April 5 - Larry Walker hits 3 home runs helping Colorado Rockies beat Montreal Expos 15-3.

April 15 - On the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game, all Major League baseball games are stopped so that fans across the country may witness a special presentation at Shea Stadium. With then U.S. President Bill Clinton alongside, acting Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Robinson's uniform #42 will be retired from all Major League teams in perpetuity, with exceptions made for players currently wearing #42 in honor of Robinson.

April 25 - Ken Griffey, Jr. hits 3 home runs helping Seattle Mariners beat Toronto Blue Jays 13-8.

April 29 - Chili Davis' 300th home run, leading off the 10th inning, snaps a 5–5 tie and gives the Kansas City Royals a 6–5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

May 7 - The Montreal Expos score a National League-record 13 runs in the 6th inning of their game against the San Francisco Giants on the way to a 19-3 win. The Expos send 17 batters to the plate. Mike Lansing homers twice in the inning to drive in five runs, becoming the third Expos player to perform the feat, and the first NL second baseman to do so since Bobby Lowe in 1894.

May 8 - At home, the Baltimore Orioles stop Randy Johnson's 16-game win streak with a decisive 13–3 pasting of the Seattle Mariners. Baltimore is led by catcher Chris Hoiles, who collects six RBI on two homers and a double. Johnson strikes out 10 in six innings, but gives up five runs on six hits and two walks in his attempt to become the first AL pitcher since Dave McNally (1968-69) to win 17 straight.

May 13 - Eddie Murray gets two hits in Anaheim's 8-7 win over the Chicago White Sox. The game is the 3,000th of Murray's career, making him only the sixth player in history to reach that mark, joining Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and Stan Musial.

May 21 - Roger Clemens fires the Toronto Blue Jays past the New York Yankees 4–1, for his 8th win of the year against no losses. The Rocket wins his 200th game, the 94th pitcher to reach the 200 victories mark.

May 25 - The Minnesota Twins retire Kirby Puckett's uniform number 34 in a 90-minute pregame ceremony.

May 26 - In the Chicago Cubs' 2–1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cub Sammy Sosa and Pirate Tony Womack both hit inside-the-park home runs in the sixth inning. It is the first time two inside-the-park homers are hit in the same NL game since Lou Brock and Héctor Cruz of the St. Louis Cardinals did it against the San Diego Padres on June 18, 1976. Greg Gagne of the Twins had two for Minnesota on October 4, 1986.

May 26 - In Toronto, Roger Clemens allows one run and four hits in seven innings and strikes out seven to beat the Rangers 8–1. The Rocket is now 9–0, his best start since beginning 1986 at 14-0.

May 26 - Andrés Galarraga hits a 469-foot two-run homer and Vinny Castilla adds a solo shot as the Colorado Rockies overcome a six-run deficit to beat the Cardinals 9–7. Galarraga has four RBI, and his moon shot off Mark Petkovsek is the third-longest homer in the three-season history of Coors Field.

May 27 - Barry Larkin's streak of consecutively reaching base 13 times is stopped by Curt Schilling, who goes all the way to beat Cincinnati 2–1. Larkin singles in the first inning, but flies out in the 3rd to end his streak one shy of Pedro Guerrero's NL record, set in 1985.

May 30 - The Orioles' Mike Mussina retires the first 25 Indian batters before Sandy Alomar, Jr. ruins his no-hit bid with a one-out single in the 9th. Mussina then strikes out the final two batters for a 3–0 victory.

May 31 - Cal Ripken, Jr. snaps a 7th-inning tie with a record-breaking home run as the Baltimore Orioles rally from a 4-run deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians 8–5. Ripken's homer gives him 4,274 total bases with Baltimore, breaking the franchise mark for total bases in a career. Baltimore also place Eric Davis on the disabled list. Davis is suffering from colon cancer and will be operated on in early June.

May 31 - In Miami, Andrés Galarraga golfs a 529-foot grand slam, the longest home run ever at Pro Player Stadium. His homer gives the Colorado Rockies a 7-0 lead over the Florida Marlins, and they eventually win 8–4. Galarraga has three home runs in the past three games against Florida that traveled 1,435 feet, an average of 478 feet. He hit a 455-foot homer two days before and a 451-foot homer yesterday. The longest previous homer at the stadium was 482 feet by Pete Incaviglia of the Phillies off Al Leiter on May 1, 1996.

May 31 - Unbeaten Roger Clemens is the first 10-game winner in the majors, as the Toronto Blue Jays romp 13-3 over the Oakland Athletics.

June-July

June 12 - The first interleague game took place as the Texas Rangers hosted the San Francisco Giants at The Ballpark in Arlington (now Rangers Ballpark in Arlington).

June 24 - At the Kingdome, Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners strikes out 19 Oakland Athletics, but loses 4-1. One of the Athletics runs comes on a towering home run by Mark McGwire, his ex-University of Southern California teammate.

July 8 - The American League defeats the National League by a score of 3-1 in the annual All-Star Game, played at Jacobs Field. Cleveland Indians catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. hits a 2-run home run and is named the game's MVP. Alomar is the first hometown player to homer since Hank Aaron did it in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in 1972.

July 12 - At a sold out Three Rivers Stadium, Francisco Cordova pitched nine innings of a combined 10-inning no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ricardo Rincon pitched the 10th inning. The Pirates won the game on a dramatic three run, pinch hit home run in the bottom of the 10th by Mark Smith.

July 31 - Mark McGwire is traded by the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews, and Blake Stein.

August-September

August 8 - For the second time this season, Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners records a 19-strikeout performance at the Kingdome, this time against the Chicago White Sox. Unlike his 19-K performance on June 24, Johnson comes out on top, shutting out the White Sox 5-0.

August 24 - Sammy Sosa hits his 200th career home run helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos 12-3.

August 31 - Don Mattingly has his number 23 retired by the New York Yankees.

September 10 - Mark McGwire joins Babe Ruth as the only players in major league history with 50 home runs in consecutive seasons by hitting a 446-foot shot off Shawn Estes in the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' road game against the San Francisco Giants. McGwire, who hit a major league-leading 52 homers for the Oakland Athletics last season, becomes the first player with back-to-back 50-homer seasons since Ruth did it in 1927 and 1928.

September 19 - Mark McGwire records his 20th home run of the season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Paired with the 34 home runs he had hit with the Oakland Athletics earlier in the year, he becomes the first player in Major League history to record twenty or more home runs for two different teams in the same season.

September 21 - Mike Piazza becomes the first Dodger in hisotry to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the only previous player to accomplish this feat.

September 21 - After going 2-for-3, Ryne Sandberg is lifted for a pinch runner in the fifth inning of an 11-3 win by the Chicago Cubs over Curt Schilling and his Philadelphia Phillies. It is Sandberg's final Major League game.

September 23 - The Florida Marlins clinch the National League wild card. It is the franchise's first ever post season appearance.

September 25 - Pedro Martínez records his 300th strikeout of the season, becoming the first player since 1972 (Steve Carlton) to record 300 or more strikeouts while maintaining a sub-2.00 ERA.

September 28 - Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres ties Honus Wagner's record by winning his eighth National League batting title. Gwynn finishes at .372, becoming the first player to win four consecutive NL batting titles since Rogers Hornsby won six straight between 1920 and 1925.

September 30 - Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O'Neill become the first trio to hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in a single postseason game as their New York Yankees defeat the Cleveland Indians, 8-6, in the first game of the 1997 American League Division Series.

October-December

October 11 - Mike Mussina sets record for most strikeouts in a post-season game for the losing team (15) as the Baltimore Orioles lose to the Cleveland Indians 2-1.

October 27 - The Detroit Tigers break ground on their new ballpark.

November 6 - The Milwaukee Brewers switch leagues, joining the National League Central Division, after the Kansas City Royals reject the invitation. With the 1998 addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (AL), the move will maintain an even number of teams in each league.

November 18 — The expansion draft starts with several transactions. Two pitchers who appeared in the World Series a month earlier, Tony Saunders (Florida Marlins) and Brian Anderson (Cleveland Indians), are the first players taken. Saunders, the first player chosen overall, heads a list of new Tampa Bay Devil Rays team that includes Quinton McCracken, Bubba Trammell, Albie López and Terrell Wade. Tampa Bay also obtain John Flaherty from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Brian Boehringer and Andy Sheets; Kevin Stocker from the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Abreu; Fred McGriff from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a player to be named, and sign free agent Roberto Hernández. The Arizona Diamondbacks, meanwhile, who signed free agent Jay Bell to a five-year contract yesterday, select Jeff Suppan, Jorge Fábregas and Karim García, and acquire Travis Fryman from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Joe Randa, Gabe Alvarez and a minor leaguer. They also obtain Devon White from the Florida Marlins for a prospect.

Movies

Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way (TV)

Deaths

January-March

January 6 - Dick Donovan, 69, All-Star pitcher, mainly with the White Sox and Indians, who led AL in ERA in 1961 and won 20 games in 1962
January 20 - Curt Flood, 59, All-Star center fielder who won seven Gold Gloves and batted .300 six times; challenged baseball's reserve clause all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, unsuccessfully, after refusing a trade
February 7 - Manny Salvo, 83, Boston pitcher who tied for the National League lead in shutouts in 1940
February 13 - Bobby Adams, 75, third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs between 1946 and 1959
February 25 - Cal Abrams, 72, popular Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder, who also played for the Reds, Pirates, Orioles and White Sox
March 3 - Harry Davis, 86, first baseman for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns in the 1930s

April-June

April 8 - Bob Cain, 72, pitcher for the White Sox, Tigers and Browns from 1949 to 1953, who is most remembered for the walk he issued to pinch-hitting midget Eddie Gaedel in 1951
June 1 - Mickey Rocco, 81, Cleveland first baseman who led the American League in fielding percentage at his position in 1943 and 1945
June 8 - Ken Hunt, 62, backup outfielder for the Yankees, Angels and Senators from 1959 to 1964
June 9 - Thornton Lee, 90, All-Star pitcher who won over 100 games for the White Sox; won 22 games and led AL in ERA in 1941

July-September

July 31 - Eddie Miller, 80, 7-time All-Star shortstop for four NL teams who led league in fielding five times
August 12 - Rex Barney, 72, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers between 1943 and 1950, who threw a no-hitter against the New York Giants in 1948
August 23 - Guy Curtright, 84, White Sox outfielder who finished sixth in 1943 American League batting race with a .291 average
September 9 - Richie Ashburn, 70, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Phillies who batted .308 lifetime, winning two batting titles, and led NL in putouts nine times, hits three times, triples twice and steals once; retired with six of the top eight single-season putout totals in history
September 19 - Bill Butland, 89, pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox (1940, 1942, 1946-1947).
September 22 - Eddie Sawyer, 87, manager who led the Phillies' "Whiz Kids" to the 1950 pennant, later a scout
September 25 - Bill Donovan, 81, pitcher for the Boston Braves in the 1930s
September 26 - Woody English, 91, All-Star infielder for the Cubs who batted .300 twice

October-December

October 6 - Johnny Vander Meer, 82, All-Star pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds who in 1938 became the only player to pitch two consecutive no-hitters; led NL in strikeouts three times
October 14 - Al Somers, 92, umpiring instructor who developed thousands of students for the profession, including 70 major league umpires
October 21 - Dolph Camilli, 90, All-Star first baseman who was the NL's MVP in 1941, leading the Brooklyn Dodgers to the pennant; had five 100-RBI seasons
November 2 - Roy McMillan, 68, All-Star shortstop for the Reds, Braves and Mets who won the NL's first three Gold Gloves; minor league manager, coach and scout
November 13 - Bill Conroy, 82, catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox between 1935 and 1944
November 20 - Dick Littlefield, 71, well-traveled pitcher who played for nine teams, earning 15 of his 33 wins with the Pirates
November 27 - Buck Leonard, 90, Hall of Fame first baseman of the Negro Leagues regularly among the league leaders in batting average and home runs