More 1997 Baseball Season Highlights
Below are more highlights of the 1997 baseball season highlights, including Tony Womack's 32 steals and a 3-game series in Honolulu between the Cardinals and the Padres:
- San Diego's Greg Vaughn signs a $15 million contract, then hits .216 in 120 games.
- Randy Johnson of the Mariners strikes out 19 batters twice during the season and finishes 20-4 with 291 whiffs.
- Tony Womack of the Pirates steals 32 consecutive bases en route to leading the National League with 60 swipes.
- Yankee Mariano Rivera saves 43 with a 1.88 ERA and is the American League Fireman of the Year.
- Rookie Rey Ordonez of the Mets wins the National League Gold Glove at shortstop.
- The Cardinals and Padres play a three-game series in Honolulu on April 19-20.
- Angels left-hander Chuck Finley wins ten consecutive starts.
- Curt Schilling of the Phillies whiffs 319, most ever by a National League right-hander.
- Cincinnati's Jeff Shaw is named National League Fireman of the Year with 42 saves, 38 more than his previous career high.
- Greg Maddux of Atlanta is 19-4 and leads the National League in winning percentage.
- Andres Galarraga of the Rockies paces the National League in RBI (140) for the second straight season.
- St. Louis hitters strike out 1,191 times, just 12 short of the senior-loop record.
- Brewers reliever Doug Jones walks only nine hitters in 80-2/3 innings.
- Sammy Sosa of Chicago homers 36 times but also leads the National League with 174 strikeouts.
- Cincinnati's Deion Sanders steals 56 bases, then retires to concentrate on pro football.
- Thomas and Albert Belle of the White Sox become the second pair of teammates ever to hit 30 homers and bat in 100 runs in a season.
- Just 24-61 at the All-Star break, the Phils win 36 of their last 58.
- Maddux wins his eighth Gold Glove-all consecutive.
- Bonds's Gold Glove is his seventh.
- Walker's 409 total bases are the most since Stan Musial had 429 in 1948.
- Catcher Charles Johnson of Florida does not commit an error all season.
- Hector Espino, holder of the minor-league home run record with 484, dies in Monterrey, Mexico.
- Catcher Ivan Rodriguez of the Rangers wins his sixth straight Gold Glove.
- Luis Gonzalez of Houston hits in 23 straight games, the longest such streak in the National League during 1997.
- Cubs second sacker Ryne Sandberg retires again, this time for good, at the end of the season.
- Pete Rose Jr., son of the all-time hits leader, makes his big-league debut on Labor Day for the Cincinnati Reds.
- On November 5, the day he is given American League Manager of the Year honors, Davey Johnson quits the Orioles.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers are sold to Rupert Murdoch for approximately $350 million.
- The Rockies lead the National League in attendance for the fifth straight season.
- Major league attendance is 63,168,689, the second-highest total ever.
- Maddux inks a five-year contract extension at $57.5 million, making him the highest-paid player in the game.
- First baseman Eddie Murray retires with 504 homers and 3,255 hits.
- On November 5, the Milwaukee Brewers elect to move from the American League to the National for the 1998 season.
- Baseball holds an expansion draft on November 18 to stock two new clubs: American League's Tampa Bay Devil Rays and National League's Arizona Diamondbacks.
- Within two months of winning the World Series, Florida trades stars Moises Alou, Kevin Brown, Jeff Conine, Robb Nen, and Devon White in an attempt to dump salaries.
