1997 Southern League season

1997 Southern League season Southern League Baseball April 3 – September 1 140 10 Regular season Huntsville Stars Ben Grieve, Huntsville Stars Playoffs Greenville Braves Huntsville Stars List of Southern League seasons SL 1996 Southern League season 1996 1998 Southern League season 1998 The 1997 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 3 and September 1. Ten teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season. The Greenville Braves won the Southern League championship, as they defeated the Huntsville Stars in the playoffs. Team changes The Port City Roosters relocated to Mobile, Alabama and were renamed to the Mobile BayBears. The team moved from the East Division to the West Division. The club ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners and began a new affiliation with the San Diego Padres. The Knoxville Smokies moved from the West Division to the East Division. The Memphis Chicks ended their affiliation with the San Diego Padres and began a new affiliation with the Seattle Mariners. The Orlando Cubs are renamed to the Orlando Rays. The club remained affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. Teams 1997 Southern League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium East Carolina Mudcats Zebulon, North Carolina Pittsburgh Pirates Five County Stadium Greenville Braves Greenville, South Carolina Atlanta Braves Greenville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville Suns Jacksonville, Florida Detroit Tigers Wolfson Park Knoxville Smokies Knoxville, Tennessee Toronto Blue Jays Bill Meyer Stadium Orlando Rays Orlando, Florida Chicago Cubs Tinker Field West Birmingham Barons Birmingham, Alabama Chicago White Sox Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Chattanooga Lookouts Chattanooga, Tennessee Cincinnati Reds Engel Stadium Huntsville Stars Huntsville, Alabama Oakland Athletics Joe W. Davis Stadium Memphis Chicks Memphis, Tennessee Seattle Mariners Tim McCarver Stadium Mobile BayBears Mobile, Alabama San Diego Padres Hank Aaron Stadium Map of teams left 10px East Division 10px West Division 915 445 370 190 545 USA 1750 USA 35.82 -78.27 Blue pog.svg 80 top Carolina #ffe USA 34.78 -82.35 Blue pog.svg 80 top Greenville #ffe USA 30.33 -81.64 Blue pog.svg 80 top Jackson-ville #ffe USA 35.98 -83.91 Blue pog.svg 80 top Knoxville #ffe USA 28.54 -81.40 Blue pog.svg 80 top Orlando #ffe USA 33.34 -86.85 Red pog.svg 80 top Birming-ham #ffe USA 35.05 -85.29 Red pog.svg 80 top Chattan-ooga #ffe USA 34.70 -86.59 Red pog.svg 80 top Huntsville #ffe USA 35.12 -89.98 Red pog.svg 80 top Memphis #ffe USA 30.65 -88.12 Red pog.svg 80 top Mobile #ffe Regular season Summary The Huntsville Stars finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1994. Standings 1997 SOUL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed March 14, 2025 East Division Team Win Loss % GB Knoxville Smokies 75 63 75 63 – Greenville Braves 74 66 74 66 2 Jacksonville Suns 66 73 66 73 9.5 Orlando Rays 63 75 63 75 12 Carolina Mudcats 55 82 55 82 19.5West Division Huntsville Stars 77 62 77 62 – Birmingham Barons 76 62 76 62 0.5 Chattanooga Lookouts 70 69 70 69 7 Mobile BayBears 69 68 69 68 7 Memphis Chicks 67 72 67 72 10 League Leaders Batting leaders 1997 SL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 14, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Mike Neill, Huntsville Stars .340 H D. T. Cromer, Huntsville Stars 176 R Mike Neill, Huntsville Stars 129 2B D. T. Cromer, Huntsville Stars 40 3B Brian Simmons, Birmingham Barons 12 HR Mike Coolbaugh, Huntsville Stars Luis Raven, Birminghan Barons Kevin Witt, Knoxville Smokies 30 RBI Mike Coolbaugh, Huntsville Stars 132 SB Earl Johnson, Mobile / Jacksonville 42 Pitching leaders 1997 SL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 14, 2025 Stat Player Total W Scott Eyre, Birmingham Barons Russ Herbert, Birmingham Barons 13 ERA Russ Herbert, Birmingham Barons 3.63 CG Brett Hinchliffe, Memphis Chicks 5 SHO Ken Cloude, Memphis Chicks Ryan Franklin, Memphis Chicks Jason Stevenson, Knoxville Smokies 2 SV Todd Williams, Chattanooga Lookouts 31 IP Bill King, Huntsville Stars Brandon Reed 176.0 SO Earl Byrne, Orlando Rays 128 Playoffs The Greenville Braves won their second Southern League championship, defeating the Huntsville Stars in five games. Playoff bracket Division finals Finals E1 Knoxville 1 E2 Greenville 3 W1 Huntsville 3 W2 Mobile 2 E2 Greenville 3 W1 Huntsville 2 Awards Southern League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Ben Grieve, Huntsville Stars Pitcher of the Year Scott Eyre, Birmingham Barons Manager of the Year Randy Ingle, Greenville Braves See also 1997 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website Southern League season Category:1997 in sports in Alabama Category:1997 in sports in Florida Category:1997 in sports in North Carolina Category:1997 in sports in South Carolina Category:1997 in sports in Tennessee