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1997 Colorado Rockies season

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1997 Colorado Rockies
File:ColoradoRockies 1000.png
DivisionWestern Division
BallparkCoors Field
CityDenver, Colorado
Record83–79 (.512)
OwnersJerry McMorris
ManagersDon Baylor
TelevisionKWGN-TV
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
(Dave Campbell, Dave Armstrong)
RadioKOA (AM)
(Wayne Hagin, Jeff Kingery)
KCUV
(Francisco Gamez, Antonio Guevara)
← 1996 Seasons 1998 →

The Colorado Rockies' 1997 season was the fifth for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Denver, Colorado, their fifth in the National League (NL), and third at Coors Field. The team competed in the National League West, finishing in third place with a record of 83-79. Right fielder Larry Walker won the NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP), becoming the first Rockies player and Canadian-born player to do so in MLB.

In a season of contrasting dynamics, the Rockies led the NL in attendance, runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage (OBP), and slugging percentage. However, the club was last in earned run average (ERA), as only Roger Bailey and John Thomson pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title and produced an ERA under 5.00. Walker, Vinny Castilla, and Andrés Galarraga each hit at least 40 home runs. Walker led the NL in home runs with 49 and OBP (.452), and the major leagues in on-base plus slugging (1.172), while Galarraga led the NL in runs batted in (140).

Offseason

  • November 28, 1996: Armando Reynoso was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the New York Mets for Jerry DiPoto.[1]
  • December 9, 1996: Kirt Manwaring was signed as a Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.[2]
  • January 15, 1997: Juan Uribe was signed as an Amateur Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.[3]
  • January 24, 1997: Darnell Coles was signed as a Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.[4]
  • March 26, 1997: Steve Decker was released by the Colorado Rockies.[5]

Regular season

The Rockies commenced the 1997 season on the road. Larry Walker hit two home runs in the season-opening series against the Reds in Cincinnati,[6] and, on April 5, hit three more versus the Montreal Expos in Montreal[7] for his first career three home run game. His first week accomplishments included a .440 batting average with six home runs in 25 at bats[6] and the Player of the Week Award for the second time in his career on April 6.[8] Walker concluded the month of April batting .456 with 41 hits, 29 runs scored, 11 home runs, 29 runs batted in (RBI), seven stolen bases, .538 on-base percentage (OBP), .911 slugging percentage (SLG), and 1.449 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).[9] His 29 runs scored set a major league record for the month of April, until surpassed by Bryce Harper in 2017.[10] Walker was named NL Player of the Month for the first time.[11] The Rockies concluded the month of April with a 17–7 record for a .708 winning percentage, their most successful month of 1997.[12]

Perhaps the most famous home run first baseman Andrés Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium. It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at 573 feet (175 m) and then 529 feet (161 m). At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium.[13] In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to 468 feet (143 m).[14]

In the June 20 contest versus the San Diego Padres, Walker collected his 108th hit of the season and the 1,000th of his career while batting against Andy Ashby.[15]

Walker continued to hit near or above .400 in July, when he was selected to play in the All-Star Game.[16] His remarkable season continued: as late as July 17,[17] he was hitting .402.[18] The Rockies struggled in the month of July, losing 19 of 27 games for a .296 winning percentage.[12]

Third baseman Vinny Castilla replicated the exact totals in batting average (.304), home runs (40), and RBI (113) as he had produced in 1996, with one fewer game played (159) and point in slugging percentage (.547).[19]

The Rockies led the NL in attendance at more than 3.88 million. They also led the league in runs scored (923), home runs (239), batting (.288), OBP (.357), and SLG (.478). They were last in ERA at 5.25.[20]

The career season for Walker was 1997, when he hit .366 with 49 home runs, 130 RBI, 33 stolen bases, and 409 total bases, en route to becoming the first Canadian-born and Colorado Rockies player to win the MVP Award in MLB. Combined with 12 outfield assists, the season remains one of the finest all around performances in recent baseball history. Even more impressively, Walker's breakout season came just one year after various injuries limited him to 83 games and 272 at-bats, although the NL Comeback Player of the Year award went to Darren Daulton.

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Francisco Giants 90 72 .556 — 48‍–‍33 42‍–‍39
Los Angeles Dodgers 88 74 .543 2 47‍–‍34 41‍–‍40
Colorado Rockies 83 79 .512 7 47‍–‍34 36‍–‍45
San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 14 39‍–‍42 37‍–‍44

Record vs. opponents

1997 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LA MTL 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


Transactions

  • May 23, 1997: Darnell Coles was purchased by the Hanshin Tigers (Japan Central) from the Colorado Rockies.[4]
  • June 3, 1997: Aaron Cook was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed July 13, 1997.[21]
  • June 3, 1997: Chone Figgins was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4th round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 9, 1997.[22]
  • July 27, 1997: Craig Counsell was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Marlins for Mark Hutton.[23]
  • August 19, 1997: Eric Young was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pedro Astacio.[24]
  • August 20, 1997: Bill Swift was released by the Colorado Rockies.[25]

Major League debuts

  • Batters:
    • Todd Helton (Aug 2)
  • Pitchers:
    • Mike DeJean (May 2)
    • John Thomson (May 11)
    • Bobby Jones (May 18) [26]
    • Marshall Z. Richards (Jul 21)

Roster

1997 Colorado Rockies
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

Player statistics

Batting

Legend
 Pos  Position   R  Runs scored  HR  Home runs   SB Stolen bases  AVG  Batting average
  G Games played   H  Hits  RBI  Runs batted in   CS Caught stealing  OBP  On-base percentage
 PA  Plate appearances  2B  Doubles  BB  Bases on balls  HBP  HBP  SLG  Slugging percentage
 AB  At bats  3B  Triples  SO  Strikeouts  GIDP  GIDP  OPS  On-base plus slugging percentage
Pos Player G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS TB AVG OBP SLG OPS
C Kirt Manwaring 104 375 337 22 76 6 4 1 27 30 78 1 5 93 .226 .291 .276 .567
1B Andrés Galarraga 154 674 600† 120† 191† 31 3 41† 140 54 141† 15 8 351† .318† .389 .585† .974†
2B Eric Young 118 543 468 78 132 29 6† 6 45 57 37 32† 12† 191 .282 .363 .408 .771
SS Walt Weiss # 121 469 393 52 106 23 5 4 38 66 56 5 2 151 .270 .377 .384 .761
3B Vinny Castilla 159† 668 612† 94 186† 25 2 40† 113† 44 108 2 4 335† .304 .356 .547† .904†
LF Dante Bichette 151 602 561 81 173 31 2 26 118† 30 90 6 5 286 .308 .343 .510 .853
CF Quinton McCracken # 147 375 325 69 95 11 1 3 36 42 62 28 11 117 .292 .374 .360 .734
RF Larry Walker * 153 664 568 143† 208† 46† 4 49 130† 78 90 33† 8 409 .366† .452 .720 1.172
OF Ellis Burks 119 478 424 91 123 19 2 32 82 47 75 7 2 242 .290 .363 .571 .934
MI Neifi Pérez # 83 344 313 46 91 13 10† 5 31 21 43 4 3 139 .291 .333 .444 .777
C Jeff Reed * 90 298 256 43 76 10 0 17 47 35 55 2 1 137 .297 .386 .535 .921
IF Jason Bates # 62 139 121 17 29 10 0 3 11 15 27 0 1 48 .240 .338 .397 .735
UT John Vander Wal * 76 102 92 7 16 2 0 1 11 10 33 1 1 21 .174 .255 .228 .455
UT Todd Helton * 35 101 93 13 26 2 1 5 11 8 11 0 1 45 .280 .337 .484 .821
OF Harvey Pulliam 59 72 67 15 19 3 0 3 9 5 15 0 1 31 .284 .333 .463 .796
UT Darnell Coles 21 23 22 1 7 1 0 1 2 0 6 0 0 11 .318 .348 .500 .848
OF Angel Echevarria 15 22 20 4 5 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 7 .250 .318 .350 .668
Team totals 162 6338 5603 923 1611 269 40 239 869 562 1060 137 65 2677 .288 .357 .478 .835
NL rank of 14 teams 2 1 1 8 2 1 6 4 6 11 1 1 1 1 1
Pos Player G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS TB AVG OBP SLG OPS
References:[27][28][29]

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
Roger Bailey 29 191.0 9 10 4.29 84
John Thomson 27 166.1 7 9 4.71 106
Jamey Wright 26 149.2 8 12 6.25 59
Kevin Ritz 18 107.1 6 8 5.87 56
Frank Castillo 14 86.1 6 3 5.42 59
Bill Swift 14 65.1 4 6 6.34 29

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
Darren Holmes 42 89.1 9 2 5.34 70
John Burke 17 59.0 2 5 6.56 39
Pedro Astacio 7 48.2 5 1 4.25 51
Jeff McCurry 33 40.2 1 4 4.43 19
Bruce Ruffin 23 22.0 0 2 5.32 31

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
Jerry DiPoto 74 5 3 16 4.70 74
Mike Munoz 64 3 3 2 4.53 26
Steve Reed 63 4 6 6 4.04 43
Mike DeJean 55 5 0 2 3.99 38
Curtis Leskanic 55 4 0 2 5.55 53

Awards, league leaders, and accomplishments

National League leaders

Offensive statistics

Defensive statistics

  • Assists at third base: Vinny Castilla (323)
  • Double plays turned:
    • at first base: Andrés Galarraga (176)
    • at third base: Vinny Castilla (41)
    • all outfielders and at right field: Larry Walker (4)
    • at center field: Quinton McCracken (3)
  • Fielding percentage:
  • Putouts for all fielders and at first base: Andrés Galarraga (1,458)
  • Range factor per game:
    • at first base: Andrés Galarraga (10.23)
    • at shortstop: Walt Weiss (4.73)
  • Range factor per nine innings:
    • at first base: Andrés Galarraga (10.69)
    • at shortstop: Walt Weiss (5.22)
    • at pitcher: Roger Bailey (3.06)
  • References:[30]

Awards

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox Pacific Coast League Paul Zuvella
AA New Haven Ravens Eastern League Bill Hayes
A Salem Avalanche Carolina League Bill McGuire
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Ron Gideon
A-Short Season Portland Rockies Northwest League Jim Eppard
Rookie AZL Rockies Arizona League Tim Blackwell
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Portland[38]

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reynoar02.shtml
  2. ^ Kirt Manwaring Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  3. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/uribeju01.shtml
  4. ^ a b Darnell Coles Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  5. ^ Steve Decker Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ^ a b Crothers, Tim; Farber, Michael (April 14, 1997). "Kevin Mitchell and Deion Sanders return in style; Spring flings; Home run barrage by Larry Walker". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Chass, Murray (June 22, 1997). "Three cheers for the Rockies' Walker (He prefers it that way)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Major League Baseball Players of the Week". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Larry Walker 1997 batting splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  10. ^ Macklin, Oliver (April 30, 2017). "Harper sets MLB record for runs in April". MLB.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Major League Baseball Players of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "1997 Colorado Rockies schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  13. ^ Eckhouse, Morris A. "The Ballplayers – Andrés Galarraga". BaseballLibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  14. ^ Renck, Troy (June 13, 2015). "Rockies legend Andres Galarraga talks about his famous homer vs. Marlins". Denver Post. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Cohen, Alan (December 21, 2015). "Larry Walker". Society of American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Gwynn, Tony (August 20, 2002). "Baserunning big part of Walker's greatness". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  17. ^ Knisley, Michael (July 14, 1997). "Preheat to .400". The Sporting News. p. 14.
  18. ^ "Larry Walker 1997 batting gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "Vinny Castilla statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  20. ^ "1997 Colorado Rockies statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  21. ^ Aaron Cook Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  22. ^ Chone Figgins Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  23. ^ Craig Counsell Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  24. ^ Eric Young Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  25. ^ Bill Swift Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  26. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/debut.php?y=1997&l=NL
  27. ^ "1997 Colorado Rockies statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  28. ^ a b "1997 National League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  29. ^ a b "1997 Major League Baseball batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  30. ^ "1997 National League fielding leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  31. ^ "1997 All-Star Game box score, July 8". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  32. ^ "Baseball Digest Player of the Year Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  33. ^ "Rockies awards". Colorado Rockies. MLB.com. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  34. ^ Smith, Claire (November 14, 1997). "Walker is first Canadian M.V.P." The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  35. ^ "MLB National League Gold Glove Award winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  36. ^ "MLB Silver Slugger Award winners − National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  37. ^ "Tip O'Neill Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  38. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

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