1997 Chicago Cubs season

1997 Chicago Cubs
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1876) Central Division (since 1994)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916) Chicago (since 1871)
1997 information
Owner(s)	Tribune Company
General manager(s)	Ed Lynch
Manager(s)	Jim Riggleman
Local television	WGN-TV/Superstation WGN/Chicagoland TV (Harry Caray, Steve Stone, Josh Lewin)
Local radio	WGN (Ron Santo, Pat Hughes, Harry Caray, Josh Lewin)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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The 1997 Chicago Cubs season was one of little success for the team. The Cubs never had a record above .500 at any point during the season, and finished last in their division. The season is probably best remembered for the miserable way in which the team began the season, losing their first 14 games before finally winning the second game of a double against the New York Mets. The 0-14 start brought the superstition of the "billy goat curse" to the forefront, and at one point a goat was actually led around Wrigley Field.

1 Offseason
2 Regular season
3 Player stats
- 3.1 Batting
  - 3.1.1 Starters by position
  - 3.1.2 Other batters
- 3.2 Pitching
4 Farm system
5 References

Offseason

December 10, 1996: Mel Rojas was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.^[1]

Regular season

June 16 - The first interleague game between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox took place at U.S. Cellular Field. The Cubs won the game by a score of 8-3.^[2]

Opening Day Starters

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

Notable Transactions

July 12, 1997: Carlos Zambrano was signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent.^[3]
August 8, 1997: Brian McRae was traded by the Chicago Cubs with Mel Rojas and Turk Wendell to the New York Mets for players to be named later and Lance Johnson. The New York Mets sent Mark Clark (August 11, 1997) and Manny Alexander (August 14, 1997) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.^[4]
August 11, 1997: Mark Clark was sent by the New York Mets to the Chicago Cubs to complete an earlier deal made on August 8, 1997. The New York Mets sent players to be named later and Lance Johnson to the Chicago Cubs for Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell. The New York Mets sent Mark Clark (August 11, 1997) and Manny Alexander (August 14, 1997) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.^[5]

Roster

1997 Chicago Cubs

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

5 Jim Riggleman

Coaches

43 Dave Bialas (bullpen)
40 Tony Muser (former hitting)
2 Mako Oliveras (first base)
55 Jeff Pentland (hitting)
3 Dan Radison (third base)
27 Phil Regan (pitching)
26 Billy Williams (bench)

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

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

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Cubs	American Association	Tim Johnson
AA	Orlando Rays	Southern League	Dave Trembley
A	Daytona Cubs	Florida State League	Steve Roadcap
A	Rockford Cubbies	Midwest League	Rubén Amaro, Sr.
Short-Season A	Williamsport Cubs	New York–Penn League	Bobby Ralston
Rookie	AZL Cubs	Arizona League	Terry Kennedy

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Cubs^[6]

References

1997 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference

1997 MLB season by team

AL East	Baltimore Boston Detroit New York Toronto

AL Central	Chicago Cleveland Kansas City Milwaukee Minnesota

AL West	Anaheim Oakland Seattle Texas

NL East	Atlanta Florida Montréal New York Philadelphia

NL Central	Chicago Cincinnati Houston Pittsburgh St. Louis

NL West	Colorado Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco

Chicago Cubs

Formerly the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Colts and the Chicago Orphans
Based in Chicago, Illinois

Franchise

Ballparks

Spring training: Plant Field
Blair Field
HoHoKam Park

Lore

Culture

Rivalries

Retired numbers

Key personnel

Owner: Family of Joe Ricketts; operated by Tom Ricketts
President of Baseball Operations: Theo Epstein
General Manager: Jed Hoyer
Manager: Vacant

World Series
championships (4)

1882
1885
1907
1908

National League
championships (16)

Division
championships

Eastern	1984 1989

Central	2003 2007 2008

Wild Card	1998

Minor league
affiliates

Other assets

Seasons (142)

1870s	1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879

1880s	1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889

1890s	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

1900s	1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

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1997 Chicago Cubs season