| 1997 St. Louis Cardinals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| League | National League | |||
| Division | Central | |||
| Ballpark | Busch Memorial Stadium | |||
| City | St. Louis, Missouri | |||
| Record | 73–89 (.451) | |||
| Divisional place | 4th | |||
| Owners | William DeWitt, Jr. | |||
| General managers | Walt Jocketty | |||
| Managers | Tony La Russa | |||
| Television | Fox Sports Midwest KPLR (Al Hrabosky,Bob Carpenter,Joe Buck, Bob Ramsey,Ozzie Smith, Rich Gould) | |||
| Radio | KMOX (Jack Buck,Mike Shannon,Joe Buck) | |||
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The1997 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 116th season inSt. Louis, Missouri and the 106th season in theNational League. TheCardinals went 73–89 during the season and finished fourth in theNational League Central division, 11 games behind theHouston Astros.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | 84 | 78 | .519 | — | 46–35 | 38–43 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 79 | 83 | .488 | 5 | 43–38 | 36–45 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 86 | .469 | 8 | 40–41 | 36–45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 73 | 89 | .451 | 11 | 41–40 | 32–49 |
| Chicago Cubs | 68 | 94 | .420 | 16 | 42–39 | 26–55 |
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | 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 | 8–7 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 1997 St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
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The beginning came on July 31, when the Cardinals acquiredMark McGwire from theOakland Athletics in exchange for relief pitcherT.J. Mathews and minor league pitchersEric Ludwick andBlake Stein. McGwire could have been a free agent at the end of the season.
McGwire had 34 home runs and 81 RBIs withOakland at the time of the trade, which reunited him with former Athletics managerTony La Russa. The Cardinals were considered to have little chance of keeping him with the club beyond the final two months of the season. But general managerWalt Jocketty's deal figured to inject some excitement into a dull close to the season, since the Cardinals were far out of the race. They had begun their freefall in early July when left fielderRon Gant had failed to make a routine catch which would have given the Cardinals a victory over thePittsburgh Pirates. Not only did the Pirates rally for that victory, but they also ended up sweeping the four-game series, knocking the Cardinals out of first place, and sending them reeling.
McGwire hadn't expected to stay with Oakland, but he also didn't think he would end up with the Cardinals.
The team was in the throes of a slump when their new first baseman arrived. On August 10, the Cardinals had lost 11 of their last 14 games. They had scored a total of 58 runs scored in their 21 previous games at that point.
McGwire struggled to hit anything at first but had four home runs with his new team in less than two weeks, including two in an August 13 game that featured a 455-foot dinger, one of the longest inBusch Stadium history.
On September 3, the same day pitcherAlan Benes underwent rotate cuff surgery, McGwire hit the first Busch Stadium home run that was measured at more than 500 feet—504 feet, to be exact—hit on a pitch fromJaime Navarro of theChicago White Sox.
A week later, he hit his 16th homer since joining the Cardinals but his 50th overall for the season, making him only the second man in baseball history-Babe Ruth did it twice-to reach the 50-homer mark in successive seasons
McGwire's biggest blasts might have come on September 17. That afternoon, the Cardinals announced they had signed him to a three-year, $28.5 million contract with an option for a fourth season at $11 million. He announced at the news conference that part of the deal included the formation of a charitable foundation to fight sexual and physical abuse of children, a fight strengthened by his donation of $1 million a year. McGwire choked up and wiped away tears as he talked of that cause, something close to his heart because of a close friend who had suffered such abuse.
He had decided to stay in St. Louis, McGwire said, because of the overwhelming affection shown him by Cardinals fans. Never did he feel it so much as when he stepped to the plate for his first at bat after signing his contract that day. WithLos Angeles Dodgers pitcherRamón Hernández on the mound at Busch, the crowd of 27,157 fans stood for a standing ovation at the announcement of McGwire's name. No one stopped cheering as Martinez threw ball one, then ball two, strike one and ball three. They all remained on their feet and screaming as Martinez fired the fifth pitch of the at bat, which McGwire hit 517 feet for the then-longest home run in stadium history, an upper-deck shot over the left-field scoreboard. it was McGwire's fifth homer of more than 500 feet that season and his 18th home run since joining the Cardinals 48 days earlier.
With two homers on the second-to-last day of the season and one more in the season finale. McGwire ended with 24 homers in the Cardinals uniform and 58 overall for the season. That was a single-season for a right-handed batter and fueled a winter of speculation that he might be the chosen one to breakRoger Maris's hallowed record.
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 | Mike Difelice | 93 | 260 | 62 | .238 | 4 | 30 |
| 1B | Dmitri Young | 110 | 333 | 86 | .258 | 5 | 34 |
| 2B | Delino DeShields | 150 | 572 | 169 | .295 | 11 | 58 |
| SS | Royce Clayton | 154 | 576 | 153 | .266 | 9 | 61 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 148 | 502 | 126 | .251 | 17 | 69 |
| LF | Ron Gant | 139 | 502 | 115 | .229 | 17 | 62 |
| CF | Ray Lankford | 133 | 465 | 137 | .295 | 31 | 98 |
| RF | John Mabry | 116 | 388 | 110 | .284 | 5 | 36 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie McGee | 122 | 300 | 90 | .300 | 3 | 38 |
| Tom Lampkin | 108 | 229 | 56 | .245 | 7 | 22 |
| Mark McGwire | 51 | 174 | 44 | .253 | 24 | 42 |
| Brian Jordan | 47 | 145 | 34 | .234 | 0 | 10 |
| David Bell | 66 | 142 | 30 | .211 | 1 | 12 |
| Danny Sheaffer | 76 | 132 | 33 | .250 | 0 | 11 |
| Phil Plantier | 42 | 113 | 29 | .257 | 5 | 18 |
| Mark Sweeney | 44 | 61 | 13 | .213 | 0 | 4 |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 25 | 50 | 11 | .220 | 1 | 8 |
| Eli Marrero | 17 | 45 | 11 | .244 | 2 | 7 |
| Mike Gallego | 27 | 43 | 7 | .163 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Livingstone | 42 | 41 | 7 | .171 | 0 | 3 |
| Micah Franklin | 17 | 34 | 11 | .324 | 2 | 2 |
| Scarborough Green | 20 | 31 | 3 | .097 | 0 | 1 |
| Luis Ordaz | 12 | 22 | 6 | .273 | 0 | 1 |
| Roberto Mejía | 7 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 2 |
| Steve Scarsone | 5 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Gulan | 5 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Berblinger | 7 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Morris | 33 | 217.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.19 | 149 |
| Todd Stottlemyre | 28 | 181.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.88 | 160 |
| Andy Benes | 26 | 177.0 | 10 | 7 | 3.10 | 175 |
| Alan Benes | 23 | 161.2 | 9 | 9 | 2.89 | 160 |
| Donovan Osborne | 14 | 80.1 | 3 | 7 | 4.93 | 51 |
| Manny Aybar | 12 | 68.0 | 2 | 4 | 4.24 | 41 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | 5 | 22.2 | 0 | 4 | 5.56 | 10 |
| Danny Jackson | 4 | 18.2 | 1 | 2 | 7.71 | 13 |
| Mike Busby | 3 | 14.1 | 0 | 2 | 8.79 | 6 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brady Raggio | 15 | 31.1 | 1 | 2 | 6.89 | 21 |
| Sean Lowe | 6 | 17.1 | 0 | 2 | 9.35 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Eckersley | 57 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 3.91 | 45 |
| Tony Fossas | 71 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.83 | 41 |
| John Frascatore | 59 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.48 | 58 |
| Mark Petkovsek | 55 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5.06 | 51 |
| T.J. Mathews | 40 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2.15 | 46 |
| Rigo Beltrán | 35 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.48 | 50 |
| Curtis King | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.76 | 13 |
| Lance Painter | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.76 | 11 |
| José Bautista | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.57 | 4 |
| Rich Batchelor | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 | 8 |
| Eric Ludwick | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.45 | 7 |
| Rick Honeycutt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |
| Tom McGraw | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Gary Gaetti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |