1997 Montreal Expos season

The 1997 Montreal Expos season was the 29th season of the franchise. They finished 78–84, 23 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and 14 games back of the Florida Marlins in the Wild Card. They played the Toronto Blue Jays in Interleague play for the first time during the season.

1997 Montreal Expos
Pedro Martínez wins the Cy Young
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1969) Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Olympic Stadium (since 1977) Montreal (since 1969)
Results
Record	78–84
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Claude Brochu
General manager(s)	Jim Beattie
Manager(s)	Felipe Alou
Local television	The Sports Network (Dave Van Horne, Ken Singleton) TQS (Michel Villeneuve, Marc Griffin) SRC (Claude Raymond, Rene Pothier) RDS Network (Denis Casavant, Rodger Brulotte)
Local radio	CIQC (Dave Van Horne, Elliott Price, Joe Cannon, Gary Carter) CKAC (AM) (Jacques Doucet, Rodger Brulotte,Alain Chantelois)
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Offseason

• October 28, 1996: John Habyan was released by the Montreal Expos.^[1]
• November 15, 1996: Dave Silvestri was selected off waivers by the Seattle Mariners from the Montreal Expos.^[2]
• December 17, 1996: Torey Lovullo was signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos.^[3]
• January 21, 1997: Lee Smith signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos.^[4]
• January 28, 1997: Yamil Benitez was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Kansas City Royals for Melvin Bunch.^[5]
• March 26, 1997: Cliff Floyd was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Florida Marlins for Dustin Hermanson and Joe Orsulak.^[6]
• March 31, 1997: Rico Rossy was signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos.^[7]

Spring training

The Expos held spring training at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida – a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves – for the last time in 1997. It was their 21st season at the stadium; they had conducted spring training there from 1969 to 1972 and since 1981. In the final spring training game at Municipal Stadium, held on March 26, 1997, the Expos defeated the Braves 2-0.^[8] The following season, the Expos moved their spring training activities to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.

Regular season

In 1997, Pedro Martínez posted a 17-8 record for the Expos, and led the league in half a dozen pitching categories, including a 1.90 ERA, 305 strikeouts and 13 complete games pitched, and won the National League Cy Young Award. Pedro Martínez was also the first right-handed pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts with an ERA under 2.00 since Walter Johnson in 1912.

The 13 complete games were tied for the second-highest single-season total in all of baseball since Martínez's career began (Curt Schilling had 15 in 1998; Chuck Finley and Jack McDowell also reached 13 in a year). However, this 1997 total is by far the highest in Martínez's career, as he has only completed more than 5 games in one other season (7, in 2000).

• May 7, 1997 – The Expos set a team record (never broken) in runs scored in one inning as they score 13 runs off of Julián Tavárez, Jim Poole, and Joe Roa of the San Francisco Giants at 3Com Park. The Expos would go on to defeat the Giants 19 to 3. The only non-pitcher on the Expos to not register a hit was Sherman Obando who went 0 for 1. An up-and-coming prospect named Vladimir Guerrero hit his first career double and was struck by his second career pitch. A crowd of 9,958 were on hand to witness it in San Francisco.

Opening Day starters

• Shane Andrews
• Jim Bullinger
• Darrin Fletcher
• Mark Grudzielanek
• Mike Lansing
• Joe Orsulak
• Henry Rodríguez
• David Segui
• Rondell White

Season standings

v t e NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	101	61	0.623	—	50–31	51–30
Florida Marlins	92	70	0.568	9	52–29	40–41
New York Mets	88	74	0.543	13	50–31	38–43
Montreal Expos	78	84	0.481	23	45–36	33–48
Philadelphia Phillies	68	94	0.420	33	38–43	30–51

Record vs. opponents

1997 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Atlanta	—	9–2	9–2	5–6	4–8	7–4	6–5	10–2	5–7	10–2	5–6	8–3	7–4	8–3	7–5
Chicago	2–9	—	7–5	2–9	2–9	3–9	5–6	4–7	6–5	6–5	7–5	6–5	5–6	4–8	9–6
Cincinnati	2–9	5–7	—	5–6	5–6	5–7	6–5	6–5	2–9	8–3	8–4	5–6	4–7	6–6	9–6
Colorado	6–5	9–2	6–5	—	7–4	5–6	5–7	7–4	6–5	4–7	4–7	4–8	4–8	7–4	9–7
Florida	8–4	9–2	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	7–4	7–5	4–8	6–6	7–4	5–6	5–6	5–6	12–3
Houston	4–7	9–3	7–5	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	8–3	7–4	4–7	6–6	6–5	3–8	9–3	4–11
Los Angeles	5–6	6–5	5–6	7–5	4–7	4–7	—	7–4	6–5	10–1	9–2	5–7	6–6	5–6	9–7
Montreal	2–10	7–4	5–6	4–7	5–7	3–8	4–7	—	5–7	6–6	5–6	8–3	6–5	6–5	12–3
New York	7–5	5–6	9–2	5–6	8–4	4–7	5–6	7–5	—	7–5	7–4	5–6	3–8	9–2	7–8
Philadelphia	2-10	5–6	3–8	7–4	6–6	7–4	1–10	6–6	5–7	—	5–6	7–4	3–8	6–5	5–10
Pittsburgh	6–5	5–7	4–8	7–4	4–7	6–6	2–9	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	5–6	8–3	9–3	7–8
San Diego	3–8	5–6	6–5	8–4	6–5	5–6	7–5	3–8	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	4–8	5–6	8–8
San Francisco	4–7	6–5	7–4	8–4	6–5	8–3	6–6	5–6	8–3	8–3	3–8	8–4	—	3–8	10–6
St. Louis	3–8	8–4	6–6	4–7	6–5	3-9	6–5	5–6	2–9	5–6	3–9	6–5	8–3	—	8–7

Expos vs. American League

Team	AL East
	BAL	BOS	DET	NYY	TOR
Montreal	2–1	3–0	3–0	2–1	2–1

Notable transactions

• May 20, 1997: Torey Lovullo was released by the Montreal Expos.^[3]
• July 25, 1997: Omar Daal was selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Montreal Expos.^[9]
• July 31, 1997: Jeff Juden was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Kline.^[10]
• September 25, 1997: Lee Smith was released by the Montreal Expos.^[4]

Roster

1997 Montreal Expos
Roster
Pitchers 54 Shayne Bennett 52 Jim Bullinger 13 Rhéal Cormier 47 Omar Daal 34 Rick DeHart 53 Steve Falteisek 30 Dustin Hermanson 47 Mike Johnson 14 Jeff Juden 44 Steve Kline 45 Pedro Martínez 36 José Paniagua 33 Carlos Pérez 49 Lee Smith 38 Everett Stull 32 Anthony Telford 51 Mike Thurman 44 Salomón Torres 41 Ugueth Urbina 18 Marc Valdes 43 Dave Veres		Catchers 12 Raúl Chávez 24 Darrin Fletcher 16 Chris Widger Infielders 11 Shane Andrews  2 Orlando Cabrera 14 Brad Fullmer  4 Mark Grudzielanek  3 Mike Lansing 21 David Segui  5 Andy Stankiewicz 15 Doug Strange 37 José Vidro		Outfielders 27 Vladimir Guerrero  9 Ryan McGuire 31 Hensley Meulens 29 Sherman Obando 19 Joe Orsulak 40 Henry Rodríguez  7 F. P. Santangelo 22 Rondell White		Manager 17 Felipe Alou Coaches 67 Pierre Arsenault (Bullpen) 26 Bobby Cuellar (Pitching)  1 Tommy Harper (Hitting) 25 Pete Mackanin (Third base) 55 Luis Pujols (First base) 23 Jim Tracy (Bench)

Interleague Play

• June 30 – The first interleague game between the Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays took place at SkyDome. The Expos won the game by a score of 2-1.^[11]

Expos vs. Jays

June 30, SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario

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

Batting

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

Pitching

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

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

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Chris Widger	91	278	65	.234	7	37
1B	David Segui	125	459	141	.307	21	68
2B	Mike Lansing	144	572	161	.281	20	70
SS	Mark Grudzielanek	156	649	177	.273	4	51
3B	Doug Strange	118	327	84	.257	12	47
LF	Henry Rodriguez	132	476	116	.244	26	83
CF	Rondell White	151	592	160	.270	28	82
RF	Vladimir Guerrero	90	325	98	.302	11	40

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
F.P. Santangelo	130	350	87	.249	5	31
Darrin Fletcher	96	310	86	.277	17	55
Ryan McGuire	84	199	51	.256	3	17
José Vidro	67	169	42	.249	2	17
Joe Orsulak	106	150	34	.227	1	7
Andy Stankiewicz	76	107	24	.224	1	5
Shane Andrews	18	64	13	.203	4	9
Sherman Obando	41	47	6	.128	2	9
Brad Fullmer	19	40	12	.300	3	8
Raúl Chávez	13	26	7	.269	0	2
Hensley Meulens	16	24	7	.292	2	6
Orlando Cabrera	16	18	4	.222	0	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Pedro Martínez	31	241.1	17	8	1.90	305
Carlos Pérez	33	206.2	12	13	3.88	110
Dustin Hermanson	32	158.1	8	8	3.69	136
Jeff Juden	22	130.0	11	5	4.22	107
Mike Johnson	11	50.0	2	5	5.94	28
Rhéal Cormier	1	1.1	0	1	33.75	0

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jim Bullinger	36	155.1	7	12	5.56	87
Marc Valdes	48	95.0	4	4	3.13	54
José Paniagua	9	18.0	1	2	12.00	8
Mike Thurman	5	11.2	1	0	5.40	8

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Ugueth Urbina	63	5	8	27	3.78	84
Anthony Telford	65	4	6	1	3.24	61
Dave Veres	53	2	3	1	3.48	47
Omar Daal	33	1	2	1	9.79	16
Steve Kline	26	1	3	0	6.15	20
Lee Smith	25	0	1	5	5.82	15
Rick DeHart	23	2	1	0	5.52	29
Shayne Bennett	16	0	1	0	3.18	8
Salomón Torres	12	0	0	0	7.25	11
Steve Falteisek	5	0	0	0	3.38	2
Everett Stull	3	0	1	0	16.20	2

Award winners

• Pedro Martínez, NL Cy Young Award
• Pedro Martínez, Pitcher of the Month, August

1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Pedro Martínez, pitcher, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Ottawa Lynx	International League	Pat Kelly
AA	Harrisburg Senators	Eastern League	Rick Sofield
A	West Palm Beach Expos	Florida State League	Doug Sisson
A	Cape Fear Crocs	South Atlantic League	Phil Stephenson
A-Short Season	Vermont Expos	New York–Penn League	Kevin Higgins
Rookie	GCL Expos	Gulf Coast League	Luis Dorante

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Harrisburg^[12]

References

1. "John Habyan Stats".
2. "Dave Silvestri Stats".
3. "Torey Lovullo Stats".
4. Lee Smith Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
5. "Yamil Benitez Stats".
6. Cliff Floyd Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
7. "Rico Rossy Stats".
8. "Around the NL". St. Petersburg Times. March 27, 1997. p. 5C.
9. "Omar Daal Stats".
10. Jeff Juden Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
11. "1997 Toronto Blue Jays Schedule by Baseball Almanac".
12. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

• 1997 Montreal Expos team at Baseball-Reference
• 1997 Montreal Expos team at baseball-almanac.com