The 1997

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. It involved the Royals finishing fifth in the

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all loc ...

with a record of 67 wins and 94 losses.

Offseason

* October 28, 1996: Mike Bovee and

Mark Gubicza Mark Steven Gubicza (; born August 14, 1962), nicknamed "Gubie," is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Gubicza played for 14 major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals (1984–96) and Anaheim Angels (1997) ...

were traded by the Royals to the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for

Chili Davis Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a Jamaican-American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter from to for the San Francisco Giants (1981–1987), California Angels (1988–199 ...

. * December 13, 1996:

Jeff Granger Jeffery Adam Granger (born December 16, 1971) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). High school Granger was a star quarterback and pi ...

Joe Randa Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, Jeff Wallace, and Jeff Martin (minors) were traded by the Royals to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

and Jeff King. * December 16, 1996: Scott Cooper was signed as a free agent by the Royals. * January 16, 1997: Ryan Thompson signed as a free agent by the Royals.Ryan Thompson
at ''Baseball Reference'' * January 28, 1997: Melvin Bunch was traded by the Royals to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

for

Yamil Benítez Yamil Antonio Benítez (born October 5, 1972) is a former right-handed outfielder, who last played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also played for the Montreal Expos and the Kansas City Royals in his career. He was an outfielder who played in 16 ...

. * March 4, 1997:

Doug Linton Douglas Warren Linton (born February 9, 1965) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball between 1992 and 2003 for the Toronto Blue Jays, California Angels, New York Mets, Kansas ...

was released by the Royals. * March 26, 1997: Ryan Thompson was released by the Royals. * March 26, 1997: Bob Hamelin was released by the Royals. * March 27, 1997: Michael Tucker and

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carol ...

were traded 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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

for

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

and Jamie Walker.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 17, 1997:

Todd Van Poppel Todd Matthew Van Poppel (born December 9, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (, –), Detroit Tigers (1996), Texas Rangers (, –), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998), Chicago Cubs (–), and Cincinn ...

was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Todd Van Poppel
at ''Baseball Reference'' * June 6, 1997: Todd Van Poppel was released by the Royals. * July 15, 1997:

Chris Stynes Christopher Desmond Stynes (born January 19, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball utility player.Pete Palmer; Gary Gillette; Stuart Shea. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'. Sterling Publishing Company; 1 February 2006. . p. 680. Early life Chri ...

and

Jon Nunnally Jonathan Keith Nunnally (born November 9, 1971) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in the major leagues from 1995-2000. He also played part of 2000 with the Orix BlueWave in Japan. Playing career Nunnally's major-league caree ...

were traded by the Royals to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Héctor Carrasco Héctor Pacheco Carrasco (born October 22, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He bats and throws right handed. In a twelve-season career, Carrasco has posted a 44–50 record with 19 saves and a 3.99 ERA in 637 relief app ...

and

Scott Service Scott David Service (born February 26, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for several Major League Baseball teams, between 1988 and 2004. He also pitched one season in Japan, for the Chunichi Dragons in 1991. ...

. * July 29, 1997:

Matt Treanor Matthew Aaron Treanor (born March 3, 1976) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Dodgers. High s ...

was traded by the Royals to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

for

Matt Whisenant Matthew Michael Whisenant (born June 8, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1990 and spent the 1992 season with the Phillies' Class A affiliate in Spartanburg, South Carolina. ...

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

References

1997 Kansas City Royals
at ''Baseball Reference''
1997 Kansas City Royals
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{Kansas City Royals Kansas City Royals seasons Kansas City Royals season

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...