1997_Toronto_Blue_Jays_season
1997 Toronto Blue Jays season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1997 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 21st season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses. With a massive redesign of their logos and uniforms, the Blue Jays attempted to re-establish themselves in the American League East by signing Roger Clemens via free agency and bringing All-Stars Carlos García and Orlando Merced through trade. Although Clemens rejuvenated himself with the Blue Jays (en route to one of the best-ever single seasons by a starting pitcher, winning the Cy Young Award and the pitchers' triple crown), both Garcia and Merced ended up being flops as dismal overall hitting and an inconsistent bullpen doomed the Blue Jays once again to a last-place finish. 1997 also marked the end of the road for manager Cito Gaston, being fired near the end of the season (Gaston would eventually return to the team in 2008). Longtime fan-favourite Joe Carter also played in his final season for the Blue Jays, as he was released at the end of the season.
Quick Facts Toronto Blue Jays, League ...
| 1997 Toronto Blue Jays | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | SkyDome | |||
| City | Toronto | |||
| Record | 76–86 (.469) | |||
| Divisional place | 5th | |||
| Owners | Interbrew, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | |||
| General managers | Gord Ash | |||
| Managers | Cito Gaston, Melvin Douglas Queen | |||
| Television | CBC Television (Brian Williams, John Cerutti) The Sports Network (Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez) | |||
| Radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) | |||
| ||||
Close
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1997 season.[1]
October 1996
| October 2 | Dane Johnson selected off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics. |
| October 3 | Brian Bohanon granted free agency (signed with New York Mets to a one-year, $205,000 contract on December 18, 1996). |
| October 15 | Mike Huff granted free agency. Félix José granted free agency. Scott Pose granted free agency (signed with New York Yankees to a one-year contract on November 27, 1996). |
November 1996
| November 14 | Acquired Carlos García, Orlando Merced and Dan Plesac from the Pittsburgh Pirates for José Silva, Brandon Cromer, José Pett and players to be named later (Craig Wilson, Abraham Núñez and Mike Halperin on December 11, 1996). Re-signed Juan Guzmán to a two-year, $9.5 million contract. |
| November 18 | Juan Samuel granted free agency (signed with Toronto Blue Jays to a one-year, $375,000 contract on December 18, 1996). |
| November 20 | Acquired Jason Stevenson from the Chicago Cubs for Miguel Cairo. |
| November 27 | Jeff Ware selected off of waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. |
December 1996
| December 9 | Travis Baptist drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1996 MLB Rule 5 draft. Mike Johnson drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1996 MLB Rule 5 draft. Tom Davey selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1996 Minor League Draft. Signed free agent Benito Santiago from the Philadelphia Phillies to a two-year, $6.5 million contract. |
| December 11 | Acquired Anton French from the Detroit Tigers for Roberto Durán. |
| December 11 | Signed Pat Hentgen to a contract extension through the 2001 season (three-year, $20 million contract). |
| December 13 | Signed free agent Roger Clemens from the Boston Red Sox to a four-year, $40 million contract. |
| December 18 | Re-signed free agent Juan Samuel to a one-year, $375,000 contract. |
| December 20 | Acquired Robert Person from the New York Mets for John Olerud and cash. |
February 1997
| February 17 | Signed free agent Jeff Manto from the Cleveland Indians to a one-year, $240,000 contract. |
March 1997
| March 20 | Tom Davey returned from the Baltimore Orioles. |
Opening-day starters
Interleague play
- June 30 – The first interleague game between the Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays took place at the SkyDome. The Expos won the game by a score of 2-1.[3]
Expos vs. Jays
June 30, SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
More information Team, R ...
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| W: Pedro Martínez (10-3) L: Pat Hentgen (8-5) | ||||||||||||
| Home Runs: Vladimir Guerrero (4), Carlos Delgado (15) Attendance: 37,430 Time: 2:03 | ||||||||||||
Close
Batting
More information Montreal Expos, AB ...
| Montreal Expos | AB | R | H | RBI | Toronto Blue Jays | AB | R | H | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grudzielanek, ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Nixon cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lansing 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merced dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Santangelo 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Carter lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Segui 1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Delgado 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rodriguez lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sprague 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orsulak lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Green rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guerrero rf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Santiago c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McGuire dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gonzalez ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| White cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Garcia 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Widger c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NONE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 31 | 2 | 6 | 2 | Totals | 29 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Close
Pitching
More information Montreal Expos, IP ...
| Montreal Expos | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martinez W (10-3) | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
Close
More information Toronto Blue Jays, IP ...
| Toronto Blue Jays | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hentgen L (8-5) | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Close
Canada Day game
The Blue Jays and Expos played to a sold-out Skydome crowd on Canada Day. Legendary Roger Clemens would get the start as the Blue Jays donned red uniforms for the second time. Montreal pitcher Jeff Juden would have a no-hitter through the first six innings until Shawn Green would hit a dramatic home run to break Juden's bid for a no-hitter.
Season standings
More information W, L ...
| AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 98 | 64 | 0.605 | — | 46–35 | 52–29 |
| New York Yankees | 96 | 66 | 0.593 | 2 | 47–33 | 49–33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 19 | 42–39 | 37–44 |
| Boston Red Sox | 78 | 84 | 0.481 | 20 | 39–42 | 39–42 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 22 | 42–39 | 34–47 |
Close
Record vs. opponents
More information Team, ANA ...
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 |
Close
Transactions
Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1997 regular season.[4]
May 1997
| May 11 | Signed free agent Rubén Sierra from the Cincinnati Reds to a contract. |
June 1997
| June 5 | Acquired Ryan Thompson from the Cleveland Indians for Jeff Manto. |
| June 16 | Released Rubén Sierra. |
July 1997
| July 25 | Selected Omar Daal of off waivers from the Montreal Expos. |
| July 29 | Acquired Mariano Duncan from the New York Yankees for Angel Ramirez. |
| July 31 | Acquired José Cruz Jr. from the Seattle Mariners for Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric. |
August 1997
| August 8 | Tilson Brito selected off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics. |
| August 12 | Acquired Bobby Cripps from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Otis Nixon. |
Roster
| 1997 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Game log
More information #, Date ...
| 1997 Game Log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
May
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
June
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
July
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
August
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
September
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Close
Batting
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Benito Santiago | 97 | 341 | 83 | 13 | 42 | .243 |
| 1B | Carlos Delgado | 153 | 519 | 136 | 30 | 91 | .262 |
| 2B | Carlos García | 103 | 350 | 77 | 3 | 23 | .220 |
| 3B | Ed Sprague Jr. | 138 | 504 | 115 | 14 | 48 | .228 |
| SS | Alex Gonzalez | 126 | 426 | 102 | 12 | 35 | .239 |
| LF | José Cruz Jr. | 55 | 212 | 49 | 14 | 34 | .231 |
| CF | Otis Nixon | 103 | 401 | 105 | 1 | 26 | .262 |
| RF | Orlando Merced | 98 | 368 | 98 | 9 | 40 | .266 |
| DH | Joe Carter | 157 | 612 | 143 | 21 | 102 | .234 |
Close
Other batters
Note: G = Games; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawn Green | 135 | 429 | 123 | 16 | 53 | .287 |
| Charlie O'Brien | 69 | 225 | 49 | 4 | 27 | .218 |
| Jacob Brumfield | 58 | 174 | 36 | 2 | 20 | .207 |
| Shannon Stewart | 44 | 168 | 48 | 0 | 22 | .286 |
| Mariano Duncan | 39 | 167 | 38 | 0 | 12 | .228 |
| Tilson Brito | 49 | 126 | 28 | 0 | 8 | .222 |
| Tomás Pérez | 40 | 123 | 24 | 0 | 9 | .195 |
| Juan Samuel | 45 | 95 | 27 | 3 | 15 | .284 |
| Robert Pérez | 37 | 78 | 15 | 2 | 6 | .192 |
| Rubén Sierra | 14 | 48 | 10 | 1 | 5 | .208 |
| Tom Evans | 12 | 38 | 11 | 1 | 2 | .289 |
| Felipe Crespo | 12 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 5 | .286 |
| Rich Butler | 7 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .286 |
| Julio Mosquera | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Sandy Martínez | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Close
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Hentgen | 35 | 264.0 | 15 | 10 | 3.68 | 160 |
| Roger Clemens | 34 | 264.0 | 21 | 7 | 2.05 | 292 |
| Woody Williams | 31 | 194.2 | 9 | 14 | 4.35 | 124 |
| Robert Person | 23 | 128.1 | 5 | 10 | 5.61 | 99 |
| Chris Carpenter | 14 | 81.1 | 3 | 7 | 5.09 | 55 |
| Juan Guzmán | 13 | 60.0 | 3 | 6 | 4.95 | 52 |
Close
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Andújar | 17 | 50.0 | 0 | 6 | 6.48 | 28 |
| Omar Daal | 9 | 27.0 | 1 | 1 | 4.00 | 28 |
| Huck Flener | 8 | 17.1 | 0 | 1 | 9.87 | 9 |
| Erik Hanson | 3 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 7.80 | 18 |
Close
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelvim Escobar | 27 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 2.90 | 36 |
| Paul Quantrill | 77 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1.94 | 56 |
| Dan Plesac | 73 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3.58 | 61 |
| Mike Timlin | 38 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 2.87 | 36 |
| Paul Spoljaric | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3.19 | 43 |
| Tim Crabtree | 37 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7.08 | 26 |
| Marty Janzen | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.60 | 17 |
| Carlos Almanzar | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.70 | 4 |
| Bill Risley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.31 | 2 |
| Kenny Robinson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 4 |
Close
- Roger Clemens, Pitcher of the Month Award, May
- Roger Clemens, Pitcher of the Month Award, August
- Roger Clemens, Cy Young Award
- Roger Clemens, MLB Leader, 21 Wins
- Roger Clemens, AL Strikeout Crown, 292 Strikeouts
- Roger Clemens, AL ERA Crown, 2.05
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Complete Games (9)
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (3)
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Innings Pitched (264)
- Roger Clemens, P
- Pat Hentgen, P
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
Close
- "1997 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "1997 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- 1997 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
- 1997 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
- 1997 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac