1997 National League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season Florida Marlins (4) Jim Leyland 92–70, .568, GB: 9 Atlanta Braves (2) Bobby Cox 101–61, .623, GA: 9
Dates	October 7–14
MVP	Liván Hernández (Florida)
Umpires	Bruce Froemming Charlie Williams Mike Winters Jerry Layne Eric Gregg Frank Pulli
Broadcast
Television	NBC (United States) MLB International (International)
TV announcers	Bob Costas,Joe Morgan andBob Uecker (NBC) Gary Thorne andKen Singleton (MLB International)
Radio	CBS
Radio announcers	Gary Cohen andJerry Coleman
NLDS	Atlanta Braves overHouston Astros (3–0) Florida Marlins overSan Francisco Giants (3–0)
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The1997National League Championship Series (NLCS) was a semifinal series inMajor League Baseball’s1997 postseason that pitted theFlorida Marlins against theAtlanta Braves. The Marlins won the series, 4–2, and went on to defeat theCleveland Indians in the1997 World Series.

Both teams hailed from theNL East division, the 101-win Braves being the division champions while the Marlins made the playoffs courtesy of the wild card. Both the Braves and Marlins swept their opponents during the Division Series. This was the second all-Southern postseason series, the first being in the previous round when Atlanta beat theHouston Astros. However, it was the first all-Southern postseason series to take place entirely in one time zone.

This series marked the high point for the Braves-Marlins rivalry, as the Marlins made the playoffs only once from 1998 to 2019 (2003, which also ended with a World Series title). However, both franchises would eventually meet in the postseason again in the2020 National League Division Series.

Florida won the series, 4–2.

Tuesday, October 7, 1997, atTurner Field inAtlanta

The Marlins scored three unearned runs in the first inning offGreg Maddux whenFred McGriff's error onJeff Conine's ground ball loaded the bases with two outs, thenMoisés Alou hit a bases-clearing groundball double past Chipper Jones's glove (who made a weak attempt backhanding the ball). Atlanta got a run back in the bottom of the inning off Florida starterKevin Brown withKeith Lockhart doubled with one out and scored on McGriff's single, but in the third, an error by center fielderKenny Lofton onGary Sheffield's fly ball allowed him to reach third, then after a walk, Alou's groundout andCharles Johnson's doubled scored a run each to put the Marlins ahead 5–1. All five runs they scored in this game were unearned. Home runs byChipper Jones in the third andRyan Klesko in the sixth drew Atlanta to 5–3, but the Florida bullpen held the Braves hitless over the final three innings. Brown, who went six innings, got the win.

Wednesday, October 8, 1997, atTurner Field inAtlanta

The Braves rallied from their sloppy Game 1 and routed pitcherAlex Fernandez, chasing him after2+2⁄3 innings. In the first,Kenny Lofton hit a leadoff single, then scored onKeith Lockhart's triple. After two strikeouts,Ryan Klesko's home run made it 3–0. A third inning two-run homer byChipper Jones helped Atlanta build a 5–0 lead. In the bottom of the seventh,Tony Graffanino hit a leadoff double, then scored on Jones' single. Two walks loaded the bases beforeJavy Lopez's sacrifice fly made it 7–0 Braves. StarterTom Glavine was excellent, giving up just one run (in the eighth whenCharles Johnson walked with one out and scored onDevon White's double) in7+2⁄3 innings. It was learned after the game that Fernandez had been unknowingly pitching with a rotator cuff injury, and would be done for the series, which was tied 1–1 heading to Florida.

Friday, October 10, 1997, atPro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

With the series shifting south toMiami, Game 3 began as a close game. In the top of the fourth inning the Braves loaded the bases with nobody out on a single, walk and error off ofTony Saunders, but could only score one run onFred McGriff's sacrifice fly that scoredKenny Lofton.Gary Sheffield responded with a home run in the bottom of the fourth off ofJohn Smoltz. This was the only home run the Marlins hit in the series. In the sixth, the Braves put runners on first and third with one out off of Saunders beforeJavy López hit a sacrifice fly off ofLivan Hernandez, which scoredJeff Blauser. However, the Marlins pulled away in the bottom half of the sixth, when they scored four runs to finishJohn Smoltz's night. With two on, two out, and a 1-2 count,Darren Daulton hit a clutch, game-tying double, scoringÉdgar Rentería. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, light-hitting catcherCharles Johnson smacked a 2-2 pitch to left-center, clearing the bases and giving the Marlins a 5–2 lead. Hernández got the win as the Marlins took a 2–1 series lead. This was Smoltz's only post-season loss in his career in which he did not turn in a quality start. His other three were hard luck losses, including two in which he surrendered only unearned runs.

Saturday, October 11, 1997, atPro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

Denny Neagle stepped up and pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout of the Marlins in Game 4. The Braves offense, meanwhile, chipped away atAl Leiter.Fred McGriff followed a walk and single with an RBI single in the first, then after a double and walk in the third,Andruw Jones's RBI single made it 2–0 Braves.Jeff Blauser led off the fifth with a home run, thenChipper Jones singled and scored onFred McGriff's double, putting the Braves on top 4–0. The win evened the series at 2–2, and withGreg Maddux andTom Glavine scheduled to start Games 5 and 6 and the Florida pitching staff in apparent disarray, the advantage clearly fell with the Braves.

Sunday, October 12, 1997, atPro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

After Neagle's gem in Game 4, Game 5 was clearly the pivotal game of the series. If the Marlins lost, the Braves would be up three games to two and going home with an almost certain NL pennant in sight.Liván Hernández replacedKevin Brown, who had fallen ill that day. The Braves threatened immediately in the first inning, withKenny Lofton hitting a triple andKeith Lockhart being walked, putting runners on the corners with no outs. However, Livan regrouped and struck out the heart of the order. Florida scored a run in the bottom of the inning offGreg Maddux whenDevon White was hit by a pitch. It was noted that he appeared to make no effort to get out of the way of the pitch, though this is rarely called against a player even though the rules state that a player can be called out for this. White subsequently stole second and after a walk, scored onBobby Bonilla's single. The Braves evened the game with aMichael Tucker home run in the second. The score remained tied at 1–1 as Maddux and Hernández traded scoreless innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Bobby Bonilla doubled and scored on a single byJeff Conine to give the Marlins a 2–1 lead. Hernández continued to shut down a befuddled Braves offense. The Braves had a chance for a potential two-out rally in the eighth with Lofton reaching on a walk, but was thrown out trying to steal second base. The game ended with Hernandez striking outFred McGriff on a called third strike, on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to be at least a foot off the plate. Hernández pitched a complete game, three-hit, 15 strikeout masterpiece to reclaim a series lead for the Marlins. The Braves three, four, five hitters went 1–11 with seven strikeouts.

This particular game is remembered for the controversy surrounding an unusually widestrike zone given to Hernández, by umpireEric Gregg. While Gregg was long known to have a wide strike zone, this game took it to the extreme even for him, and the strike zone seemed to expand as the game went on. Furthermore, the strike zone 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 the Braves because they had six left-handers in their lineup to the Marlins' three. It was voted as the third-worst called game from 1975 to 2000 byBaseball America.

Liván Hernández set a record for most strikeouts in aNational League Championship Series game with 15; just a day earlierMike Mussina of theBaltimore Orioles had struck out 15 in theAmerican League Championship Series against the Indians in Game 3. By contrast, the game left Maddux with an 0–2 record in the series despite an ERA of 1.38.

Tuesday, October 14, 1997, atTurner Field inAtlanta

Back atTurner Field with aWorld Series appearance looming, the Marlins went back to their ace,Kevin Brown. FacingTom Glavine,Devon White singled,Edgar Rentería walked, andGary Sheffield singled to load the bases with no outs.Bobby Bonilla then smacked a two-run single. After aJeff Conine sacrifice bunt andMoises Alou intentional walk, Glavine beanedCharles Johnson, scoring Sheffield, making it 3–0.Craig Counsell then grounded out, scoring Bonilla, making it 4-0 Marlins.

The Braves struck back in the bottom half withRyan Klesko singling homeKeith Lockhart (baseball). The Braves closed to within one run in the second inning.Jeff Blauser singled with one out, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on aKenny Lofton single. After Lofton stole second and moved to third on catcher Johnson's throwing error, Lockhart singled him home, making the score 4–3. However, Glavine could not quell the Marlins in the sixth. Once again, White, Rentería, and Sheffield reached base with no outs. Bonilla singled making it 5–3. After a Conine strikeout, Alou grounded into a force play, scoring Rentería. Johnson then walked intentionally before Counsell singled, making it 7–3 Marlins. Brown was asked to leave the game towards the ninth, but he toldJim Leyland he wanted to continue. The Braves were able to score one in the ninth on Lockhart's single with two on, bringingChipper Jones, who finished ninth in MVP voting, to the plate representing the tying run. However, he hit a grounder and the Marlins forcedKeith Lockhart at second to give Brown a complete game victory and the first pennant for the Florida Marlins. It was the first pennant for a wild card team in Major League Baseball history. Furthermore, Glavine suffered his ninth career postseason loss, surpassingWhitey Ford andJerry Reuss for the most ever.

1997 NLCS(4–2):Florida Marlins overAtlanta Braves

Liván Hernández, the 1997National League Championship Series MVP, would eventually find himself pitching for the Braves 15 years later in 2012, though it would only be a short 18 game stint. Hernandez became well traveled throughout his career, having pitched 9 different teams after being traded from the Marlins in 1999.Gary Sheffield would also spend time with the Braves for two seasons in2002 and2003. In 2003, he came in third in MVP voting behindBarry Bonds andAlbert Pujols.^[7]

2012 was alsoChipper Jones last season in the majors, where he spent all 17 years with the Braves. Chipper was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2018,^[8] joining his teammatesGreg Maddux,Tom Glavine, andJohn Smoltz, managerBobby Cox, and general managerJohn Schuerholz.Fred McGriff would later join them in the Hall of Fame after he was unanimously elected by the Contemporary Era Committee in 2022.^[9]

Game 5 home plate umpireEric Gregg continued to umpire in 1998 and a portion of the 1999 season, but was not selected for post season duties again. Gregg was one of 22 umpires who resigned in 1999 as part of a labor action.Richie Phillips, executive director of the umpires' union and a very close friend of Gregg's, felt that Major League Baseball might reconsider its stance in contract negotiations rather than doling out millions of dollars in severance pay. Instead, the MLB chose to accept the resignations, though they later rehired several of those who had resigned –– Gregg not being one of them. Gregg suffered stroke on June 4, 2006, and died the next day. He was 55 years old.^[10] Considering the ramifications (the series was tied at 2 a piece with a pennant on the line), many publications consider his Game 5 one of the worst called games in Major League Baseball history.^[11][12][13]

This series reinforced multiple narratives. On one hand, it showed how unpredictable baseball can be in the postseason, particularly in theWild Card era, as the Braves lost the series despite being heavy favorites, while also reinforcing the narrative that the Braves left many opportunities of multiple championships on the table during their historic 14-year run of division titles (1991-2005). Although the Marlins had never won theNL East, they won more World Series as a wild card entrant (1997,2003) than the Braves did as theNL West/NL East division winner, with1995 being their lone championship during the run.

The Marlins were the first 2nd place team to not win their division, yet beat the division winner in the postseason. With postseason expansion in2012,2020 (due to aglobal pandemic) and2022, this became more common. Seven years later, this would be the path for the2004 Boston Red Sox, defeating the 1st place Yankees, on their way to winning theWorld Series and breaking theCurse of the Bambino.

23 years later, the Braves swept the Marlins in the2020 National League Division Series.^[14]

• 1997 NLCS at Baseball Reference

• National League Championship Series
• 1997 Major League Baseball season
• Florida Marlins postseason
• Atlanta Braves postseason
• 1997 in sports in Florida
• 1997 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1997 in Atlanta
• October 1997 sports events in the United States

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