1997 MLB Postseason

The 1997 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1997 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. This was the last edition of the postseason in which teams were not seeded by their win-loss record.

In the American League, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians returned to the postseason for the third year in a row, the Baltimore Orioles returned to the postseason for the second straight year (which would be their last until 2012), and the Seattle Mariners returned to the postseason for the second time in three years.

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves made their sixth straight postseason appearance, the Houston Astros made their first postseason appearance since 1986, the Florida Marlins made their first postseason appearance four years into their existence, and the San Francisco Giants returned to the postseason for the first time since 1989.

The postseason began on September 30, 1997, and ended on October 26, 1997, with the Marlins defeating the Indians in seven games in the 1997 World Series. It was the Marlins' first championship in franchise history.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

* Baltimore Orioles – 98–64, AL East champions
* Cleveland Indians – 86–75, AL Central champions
* Seattle Mariners – 90–72, AL West champions
* New York Yankees – 96–66

Home-field advantage priority order: East, Central, West

National League

* Atlanta Braves – 101–61, NL East champions
* Houston Astros – 84–78, NL Central champions
* San Francisco Giants – 90–72, NL West champions
* Florida Marlins – 92–70

Home-field advantage priority order: West, Central, East

Playoff bracket

American League Division Series

Baltimore Orioles vs. Seattle Mariners

The Orioles defeated the Mariners in four games to return to the ALCS for the second straight year.

Mike Mussina pitched seven solid innings as the Orioles blew out the Mariners in Game 1 on the road. The Orioles prevailed in another blowout in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead headed back home. Game 2 was the last postseason game ever played at the Kingdome. Jeff Fassero pitched eight innings of shutout baseball and the Seattle bullpen stopped a late rally by the Orioles to give the Mariners the win in Game 3. Game 4 was a pitchers’ duel between Mussina and Randy Johnson, which would be won by the former as the Orioles narrowly prevailed to close out the series.

This would be the last playoff series win by the Orioles until 2014, as well as their last postseason appearance until 2012. The Mariners would return to the postseason in 2000, defeating the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

The 1997 ALDS was the last postseason series ever played at the Kingdome.

Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees

This was the first postseason appearance between the Yankees and Indians. The Indians knocked out the defending World Series champion Yankees in five games to return to the ALCS for the second time in three years.

Game 1 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which would be won by the Yankees as Derek Jeter, Tim Raines, Tino Martinez, and Paul O'Neill all hit home runs. Game 2 was another duel between both teams, which would be won by the Indians as they evened the series headed home. In Game 3, David Wells pitched a complete game as the Yankees blew out the Indians, capped off by a grand slam from O'Neill. In Game 4, the Yankees jumped out to an early lead, but the Indians would tie the game thanks to home runs from David Justice and Sandy Alomar Jr., and would win the game in the bottom of the ninth thanks to an RBI single from Omar Vizquel, forcing a decisive fifth game back in the Bronx. The Indians would narrowly prevail in Game 5 as their bullpen stopped a late rally by the Yankees.

The Yankees and Indians/Guardians would meet again in the postseason six more times - in the 1998 ALCS (won by the Yankees), the 2007 ALDS (won by the Indians), the 2017 ALDS (won by the Yankees), the 2020 AL Wild Card Series (won by the Yankees), the 2022 ALDS (won by the Yankees), and the 2024 ALCS (won by the Yankees).

National League Division Series

San Francisco Giants vs. Florida Marlins

This was the first postseason meeting between the Marlins and Giants. The Marlins swept the Giants to advance to the NLCS for the first time in franchise history.

Édgar Rentería won the Marlins their first postseason game in Game 1 with a walk-off RBI single. Game 2 was a back-and-forth shootout between both teams, which was won by the Marlins on yet another walk-off RBI single from Moisés Alou. Game 3 was a pitchers’ duel between Florida’s Alex Fernandez and San Francisco’s Wilson Álvarez, which would be won by the former as the Marlins won 6–2 to complete the sweep. Game 3 was the last postseason game ever played at Candlestick Park.

Both teams would meet again in the NLDS in 2003, which was also won by the Marlins.

Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves

This was the first postseason meeting between the Braves and Astros. The Braves swept the Astros to return to the NLCS for the sixth year in a row.

This series was dominated by Atlanta, as the Astros were only held to five runs scored across the entire series. Greg Maddux pitched a complete game in Game 1 as he outdueled Houston’s Darryl Kile in a 2-1 Braves victory. Tom Glavine pitched six solid innings in Game 2 as the Braves blew out the Astros to take a 2–0 series lead headed to the Astrodome. John Smoltz pitched yet another complete game for the Braves as they won 4–1 in Game 3 to complete the sweep.

The Braves and Astros would meet in the NLDS four more times - in 1999, 2001 (Braves won both), 2004, and 2005 (both won by the Astros). They would also meet in the 2021 World Series, which the Braves won in six games.

American League Championship Series

Baltimore Orioles vs. Cleveland Indians

This was the second straight postseason meeting between the Indians and Orioles. The Indians defeated the Orioles in six games to return to the World Series for the second time in three years.

Both teams split the first two games in Baltimore. The Indians took Game 3 after twelve innings of play, and prevailed in a slugfest in Game 4, 8–7, to go up 3–1 in the series. The Orioles took Game 5 to send the series back to Baltimore. Game 6 remained scoreless after ten innings of play until Cleveland's Tony Fernández hit a solo home run to put the Indians in the lead for good, effectively securing the pennant.

The Indians would win their next and most recent AL pennant in 2016 against the Toronto Blue Jays in five games before falling in the World Series. This was the last time the Orioles appeared in the postseason until 2012. The Orioles would not return to the ALCS again until 2014, where they were swept by the Kansas City Royals.

National League Championship Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Florida Marlins

This was the first postseason meeting between the Braves and Marlins. The Marlins defeated the two-time defending National League champion Braves to advance to their first World Series in franchise history, becoming the first team from Florida to accomplish such a feat.

The Marlins stole Game 1 on the road by two runs, while in Game 2, the Braves blew out the Marlins thanks to an excellent pitching performance from Tom Glavine, who only gave up one run after nearly eight innings of play. When the series moved to Miami, the Marlins took Game 3 by three runs, while Atlanta's Denny Neagle pitched a complete-game shutout to help the Braves even the series at two. Game 5 was marred by controversy as Florida's Liván Hernández was given an unusually wide strike zone by umpire Eric Gregg. Gregg seemed to expand the strike zone as the game went on. It also seemed to be wider off the plate to left-handed hitters than it was to right-handed hitters, and while this was consistently the case with both teams, it disproportionately affected Atlanta due to them having six left-handers in their lineup to Florida's three. It was picked as the third-worst called game from 1975–2000 by Baseball America. Hernández ended up pitching a complete game, striking out 15 batters, allowing only three runs and one hit as the Marlins won 2–1 to go up 3–2 in the series headed back to Atlanta. The Marlins won Game 6 by three runs to clinch the pennant.

The Braves returned to the NLCS the next year, but they lost to the San Diego Padres in six games. Their next pennant would come in 1999, against the New York Mets. The Marlins would win their next and most recent NL pennant in 2003, where they overcame a 3–1 series deficit against the Chicago Cubs.

1997 World Series

Cleveland Indians (AL) vs. Florida Marlins (NL)

This was the first World Series to ever be played in the state of Florida. In what many consider to be one of the greatest World Series ever played, the Marlins knocked off the Indians in a back-and-forth seven game series to win their first ever championship.

In Miami, both teams split the first two games. In Cleveland for Game 3, the Marlins prevailed in an offensive duel, 14–11, to take a 2–1 series lead. In a cold and snowy Game 4, the Indians blew out the Marlins thanks to solid pitching performances from Jaret Wright and closer Brian Anderson to even the series at two. Game 4's official gametime temperature of 35 °F (3.3 °C) still stands as the coldest in World Series history, with media outlets reporting wind chill readings as low as 18 °F (−7.8 °C). Game 5 was another offensive duel, which was won by the Marlins by an 8–7 score to go up 3–2 in the series headed back to Miami. The Indians would win Game 6 by a 4–1 score to force a seventh game. In Game 7, the Indians held a 2–1 lead in the bottom of the ninth and were two outs away from winning the World Series, but closer José Mesa was unable to hold the lead, as the Marlins tied the game. The game went scoreless throughout the tenth, and then in the eleventh inning, the series was capped off by Edgar Rentería hitting a hard line drive back up the middle of the infield. The ball hit off Charles Nagy’s glove and rolled into center field, scoring Craig Counsell and winning the series for the Marlins.

The Marlins' World Series title was the first championship won by a team from the Miami metropolitan area since 1974, when the Miami Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII. The Marlins would win the World Series again in 2003, where they defeated the New York Yankees in six games. At the time, the Marlins became the quickest expansion team and the first ever wild card-quailfied team to reach (and win) the World Series, as they won it in their fifth season in existence. The Arizona Diamondbacks then became the quickest to reach and win the World Series, as they did it in their fourth year in 2001.

The Indians would not return to the World Series again until 2016, where they blew a 3–1 series lead to the Chicago Cubs, who won their first title in 108 years.

Broadcasting

This was the second season under a five-year U.S. rights agreement with ESPN, Fox, and NBC. Division Series games aired across the three networks. Fox then televised the American League Championship Series, while NBC aired both the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

References

External links

League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 1997

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Major League Baseball Season

Major League Baseball postseason