The 1997

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 ...

season was the 29th season of the franchise. They finished 78-84, 23 games back of 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 Bos ...

in the NL East and 14 games back of 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 fran ...

in the Wild Card. They played the Toronto Blue Jays in

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 ...

for the first time during the season.

Offseason

* October 28, 1996:

John Habyan John Gabriel Habyan (born January 29, 1964) is a former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Habyan played all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. Baseball career Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 3rd round of ...

was released by the Montreal Expos. *November 15, 1996: Dave Silvestri was selected off waivers by the Seattle Mariners from the Montreal Expos. *December 17, 1996:

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American professional baseball manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), appointed November 4, 2016. Lovullo served as the first base coach for the Toron ...

was signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos. *January 21, 1997: Lee Smith signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos.Lee Smith Statistics
Baseball-Reference.com *January 28, 1997: Yamil Benitez was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Kansas City Royals for Melvin Bunch. * March 26, 1997:

Cliff Floyd Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst who co-hosts ...

was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Florida Marlins for Dustin Hermanson and Joe Orsulak. *March 31, 1997: Rico Rossy was signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos.

Spring training

The Expos held spring training at

West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, referred to as "Municipal Stadium," is a former baseball park in the southeastern United States, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Located at 755 Hank Aaron Drive, it was the long-time spring training home for the Mil ...

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

– a facility they shared with the

– for the last time in 1997. It was their 21st season at the stadium; they had conducted spring training there from

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In the final spring training game at Municipal Stadium, held on March 26, 1997, the Expos defeated the Braves 2-0. The following season, the Expos moved their spring training activities to

Roger Dean Stadium Roger Dean Stadium (officially known as Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium) is a baseball stadium located in the Abacoa community of the town of Jupiter, Florida. The stadium was built in 1998, holds 6,871 people, and features luxury sky-box seating, t ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

, Florida.

Regular season

In 1997, Pedro Martínez posted a 17-8 record for the

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 ...

, and led the league in half a dozen pitching categories, including a 1.90

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, 305 strikeouts and 13 complete games pitched, and won the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Cy Young Award. Pedro Martínez was also the first right-handed pitcher to reach 300

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

with an ERA under 2.00 since

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

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 Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

had 15 in 1998;

Chuck Finley Charles Edward Finley (born November 26, 1962) is an American retired professional baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1986 to 2002 for three teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the California Angels (later renamed the Anaheim A ...

and

Jack McDowell Jack Burns McDowell (born January 16, 1966) is an American former baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, McDowell played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Anaheim Angels of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Ni ...

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 Julián Tavárez Carmen (born May 22, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 11 franchises over the course of a 17–season Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1993 to 2009. Listed at and , he threw right-h ...

, Jim Poole, and

Joe Roa 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 ...

of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

3Com Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

. 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 Sherman Omar Obando Gainor (born January 23, 1970) is a former major league baseball player who played for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. His main position was outfield, but often played as a first baseman or designated hitter. He is ...

who went 0 for 1. An up-and-coming prospect named

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr. (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for ...

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 Darrell Shane Andrews (born August 28, 1971) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. He graduated from Carlsbad New Mexico High School in 1990. Andrews began his minor-league career in 1990 with the Gulf Coast Expos. In 1992, he led ...

* Jim Bullinger * Darrin Fletcher *

Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (; born June 30, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop. Grudzielanek played for six different teams during his 15-season career. He batted and threw right-handed. He was most recently the ma ...

Mike Lansing Michael Thomas Lansing (born April 3, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001. During his playing days, he had the nickname “The L ...

* Joe Orsulak * Henry Rodríguez *

David Segui David Vincent Segui, (; born July 19, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. Segui was born in Kansas City, Kansas, the son of former Major League baseball pitcher Diego Seguí. He played collegiate baseball for Louisia ...

Rondell White Rondell Bernard White (born February 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter. As well as being a solid defensive player, White also had a batting ave ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

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

Roster

Interleague Play

*June 30 – The first

interleague 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 ...

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.

Expos vs. Jays

June 30, SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario

Batting

Pitching

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''

Award winners

* Pedro Martínez, NL Cy Young Award * Pedro Martínez,

Pitcher of the Month In Major League Baseball (MLB), the Pitcher of the Month Award is given monthly during the regular season to two outstanding pitchers, one each in the National League (NL) and American League (AL). The NL began awarding the honor in , and the A ...

, August

1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 68th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July ...

* Pedro Martínez, pitcher, reserve

Farm system

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

References

External links

1997 Montreal Expos team
at ''Baseball-Reference''
1997 Montreal Expos team
at baseball-almanac.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Montreal Expos Season Montreal Expos seasons Montreal Expos Season, 1997 1990s in Montreal 1997 in Quebec