1997 Houston Astros season

1997 Houston Astros 1997 NL Central Champions
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1962) Central Division (since 1969)
Location
The Astrodome (since 1965) Houston, Texas (since 1962)
1997 information
Owner(s)	Drayton McLane, Jr.
General manager(s)	Gerry Hunsicker
Manager(s)	Larry Dierker
Local television	KTXH Fox Sports Southwest (Bill Brown, Jim Deshaies)
Local radio	KILT (AM) (Milo Hamilton, Vince Controneo) KXYZ (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Trevino)
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The 1997 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central.

Offseason

December 2, 1996: Pat Listach signed as a Free Agent with the Houston Astros.

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	GB	Pct.
Houston Astros	84	78	.519	--
Pittsburgh Pirates	79	83	.488	5.0
Cincinnati Reds	76	86	.469	8.0
St. Louis Cardinals	73	89	.451	11.0
Chicago Cubs	68	94	.420	16.0

Opening Day starters

• Bobby Abreu
• Brad Ausmus
• Jeff Bagwell
• Derek Bell
• Sean Berry
• Craig Biggio
• Luis Gonzalez
• Pat Listach
• Shane Reynolds

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1997: 1997 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Lance Berkman was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (16th pick) . Player signed June 4, 1997.
  • Eric Byrnes was drafted by the Astros in the 4th round, but did not sign.
• July 1, 1997: Pat Listach was released by the Astros.
• July 27, 1997: Josias Manzanillo was signed as a Free Agent with the Houston Astros.

Roster

1997 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 55 Manuel Barrios 51 José Cabrera 50 Sid Fernandez 59 Ramón García 54 Tommy Greene 10 Mike Hampton 54 Oscar Henríquez 45 Chris Holt 35 John Hudek 57 Darryl Kile 42 Jose Lima 52 Mike Magnante 41 Tom Martin 43 Blas Minor 37 Shane Reynolds 31 Russ Springer 21 Greg Swindell 13 Billy Wagner 56 Donne Wall		Catchers 11 Brad Ausmus 20 Tony Eusebio  9 Randy Knorr  4 Tony Peña Infielders  5 Jeff Bagwell 17 Sean Berry  7 Craig Biggio 27 Tim Bogar 12 Ricky Gutiérrez 19 Russ Johnson  4 Pat Listach  2 Luis Rivera 28 Bill Spiers		Outfielders 53 Bobby Abreu 14 Derek Bell 21 Chuck Carr 26 Luis Gonzalez 22 Thomas Howard 39 Ray Montgomery  6 James Mouton 29 J. R. Phillips 29 Ken Ramos		Manager 49 Larry Dierker Coaches  8 Alan Ashby 25 José Cruz 16 Tom McCraw 48 Vern Ruhle 18 Bill Virdon

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
CF	Carr, ChuckChuck Carr	63	192	53	.276	4	17

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

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

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

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

National League Divisional Playoffs

Main article: 1997 National League Division Series

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros, three games to none.

Game Home Score Visitor Score Date Series 1 Atlanta 2 Houston 1 September 30 1-0 (ATL) 2 Atlanta 13 Houston 3 October 1 2-0 (ATL) 3 Houston 1 Atlanta 4 October 3 3-0 (ATL) Farm system See also: Minor league baseball Level Team League Manager AAA New Orleans Zephyrs American Association Steve Swisher and Matt Galante AA Jackson Generals Texas League Dave Engle A Kissimmee Cobras Florida State League John Tamargo A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Manny Acta Short-Season A Auburn Doubledays New York-Penn League Mike Rojas Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Bobby Ramos Notes References 1997 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.  Preceded by St. Louis Cardinals 1996 NL Central Championship Season 1997 Succeeded by Houston Astros 1998