The 1997

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

season was the 36th regular season for the Mets. They went 88-74 and finished 3rd in the NL East. They were managed by

Bobby Valentine Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1 ...

. They played home games at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

Offseason

* November 25, 1996:

Paul Byrd Paul Gregory Byrd (born December 3, 1970), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who is currently a TV sports broadcaster for Atlanta Braves games on Bally Sports Southeast. While pitching in Major League Baseball (MLB), ...

and a player to be named later were traded by the Mets to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

for Greg McMichael. The Mets completed the deal by sending Andy Zwirchitz (minors) to the Braves on May 25, 1997. * November 27, 1996:

Rico Brogna Rico Joseph Brogna (born April 18, 1970) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Brave ...

was traded by the Mets to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for Ricardo Jordan and

Toby Borland Toby Shawn Borland (born May 29, 1969) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and for the Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional b ...

. * December 20, 1996:

Robert Person Robert Alan Person (born October 6, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball: two for the New York Mets, two and a half for the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half for the Philade ...

was traded by the Mets to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

for

John Olerud John Garrett Olerud, Jr. (; born August 5, 1968), nicknamed "Johnny O", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays te ...

and cash. * March 22, 1997: Héctor Ramírez was traded by the Mets to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

for Scott McClain and

Manny Alexander Manuel De Jesús Alexander (born March 20, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles (–, –), New York Mets (), Chicago Cubs (1997–), Boston Red Sox (), Texas Rangers () and San Dieg ...

Regular season

For the first time since 1990 the Mets finished the regular season with a winning record. Their offensive output was led by their corner infielders, the 23-year old third baseman

Edgardo Alfonzo Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo (born November 8, 1973), nicknamed Fonzie, is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an infielder from to , most notably as a member of the New York Mets, wi ...

and the two-time former world champion first baseman

, the latter of whom was acquired in a trade with the

. Alfonzo, in his first full season as a starter, led the team with a .315 average and 163 hits while Olerud notched a .294 average and drove in 102 runs to lead the Mets in that category. Catcher

Todd Hundley Todd Randolph Hundley (born May 27, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder. He was a two-time All-Star who played for 14 seasons with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Hundley was born i ...

, a year removed from his record setting 1996 campaign, led the team in home runs with 30 and added 86 RBI, one of five Mets to record 70 or more (joining Alfonzo, Olerud,

Bernard Gilkey Otis Bernard Gilkey (born September 24, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. ...

, and Butch Huskey). After a year out of baseball, Rick Reed joined the Mets' starting rotation and led them with a 2.89 ERA. Bobby Jones led with fifteen wins, with Reed recording thirteen.

John Franco John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed relief pitcher between and . Franco established himself as an All-Star player with the Cincinn ...

saved 36 games, his most since 1988.

Jackie Robinson tribute

On April 15 the Mets hosted ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

's first game with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

before their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. The ceremony was attended by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

and commissioner

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...

announced that Robinson's jersey number, 42, would be retired permanently across baseball. The Mets won the game 5-0.

Subway Series

Interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

was brought to MLB in 1997 and the Mets played

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in June as part of the first ever regular season games that counted in the standings between the two teams (they had previously an exhibition game until 1983 during the season). The series took place at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, and Mets won the first game by a score of 6-0.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 3, 1997:

1997 Major League Baseball Draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

Garrett Atkins Garrett Bernard Atkins (born December 12, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. Between 2003 and 2010, he played for the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles. Amateur career High school career Atkins attended Univer ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 10th round, but did not sign. **

Jeremy Guthrie Jeremy Shane Guthrie (born April 8, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Washington Nation ...

was drafted by the Mets in the 15th round, but did not sign. * August 8, 1997: Lance Johnson and players to be named later were traded by the Mets to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

for

Brian McRae Brian Wesley McRae (; born August 27, 1967) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays from to . McRae is the son of former ma ...

Mel Rojas Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League a ...

and

Turk Wendell Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

. The Mets completed the deal by sending Mark Clark to the Cubs on August 11 and

to the Cubs on August 14.

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note; G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note; G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

League champions: Pittsfield, GCL MetsJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links

1997 New York Mets at Baseball Reference1997 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{New York Mets New York Mets seasons New York Mets season

1990s in Queens Shea Stadium