A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 1997 Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Record | 78–84 (.481) | |
| Divisional place | 4th (20 GB) | |
| Owners | JRY Trust | |
| President | John Harrington | |
| General manager | Dan Duquette | |
| Manager | Jimy Williams | |
| Television | WABU (Sean McDonough, Jerry Remy) NESN (Bob Kurtz, Jerry Remy) | |
| Radio | WEEI (Jerry Trupiano, Joe Castiglione) WROL (Bobby Serrano, Hector Martinez) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
| ||
The 1997 Boston Red Sox season was the 97th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, 20 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. It was the last time the Red Sox had a losing record until 2012. The Red Sox had 5,781 at bats, a single-season major league record.[1]
Offseason
- December 9, 1996: Bret Saberhagen was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.[2]
- January 22, 1997: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.[3]
- January 27, 1997: José Canseco was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics for John Wasdin and cash.
- January 31, 1997: Mike Benjamin was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
| 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 |
Record vs. opponents
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 |
| Team | ATL | FLA | MON | NYM | PHI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
Notable Transactions
- July 31, 1997: Heathcliff Slocumb was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek.
- August 30, 1997: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.[5]
Opening Day lineup
| 5 | Nomar Garciaparra | SS |
| 13 | John Valentin | 2B |
| 42 | Mo Vaughn | 1B |
| 20 | Mike Stanley | DH |
| 11 | Tim Naehring | 3B |
| 12 | Wil Cordero | LF |
| 44 | Rudy Pemberton | RF |
| 37 | Bill Haselman | C |
| 24 | Shane Mack | CF |
| 36 | Tom Gordon | P |
Roster
Wally the Green Monster
Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox. His name is derived from the Green Monster nickname of the 37-foot wall in left field at Fenway Park. Wally debuted in 1997 to the chagrin of many older Red Sox fans. Although he was a hit with children, the older fans did not immediately adopt him as part of the franchise. According to the Red Sox promotions department, Wally was a huge Red Sox fan who decided to move inside the left field wall of Fenway Park since it "eats up" hits that would easily be home runs at other parks in 1947. Apparently, he was very shy and lived the life of a hermit for 50 years. On the 50th anniversary of the Green Monster in 1997, he came out of the manual scoreboard and has been interacting with players and fans ever since.[6] Thanks to former Red Sox second baseman and broadcaster Jerry Remy, those older fans have adored him.
Player stats
Battingedit
Starters by positionedit
Note: Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases