1997 Minnesota Twins season

March 2026 November 2013 Minnesota Twins 1997 American League Central Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis 68 94 y 4th Carl Pohlad Terry Ryan Tom Kelly WCCO-TVMidwest Sports Channel (Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer, Ryan Lefebvre) 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon) The 1997 Minnesota Twins season was the 37th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 16th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 97th overall in the American League. Manager Tom Kelly's team consisted of a few solid players, but mainly past-their-prime veterans and never-to-be-established prospects. One of the few bright spots was pitcher Brad Radke's breakout season, in which he won 20 games, at one point had 12 consecutive victories, tying a record Scott Erickson set in 1991. The team finished with a 68–94 record, good enough for fourth place in what proved to be the league's weakest division that season. The Cleveland Indians, who won the division that year, made it all the way to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Florida Marlins. Offseason November 4: Signed Juan Rincón as an amateur free agent. December 5: Signed catcher and Minnesota native Terry Steinbach as a free agent. December 12: Signed pitcher Bob Tewksbury as a free agent. December 18: Signed pitcher Greg Swindell as a free agent.Greg Swindell Statistics Baseball-Reference.com Offense In 1996, catcher Terry Steinbach had a 35-home run, 100-RBI season with the Oakland Athletics in a contract year. Unfortunately for the Twins, he followed it up with a 12-home run, 54-RBI season with his hometown team. Scott Stahoviak played in half the games at first base but batted only .229. Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, the team's lone all-star, had a great year with the Twins, batting .291 and stealing a career-high 62 bases; he won his second Silver Slugger Award. The contrast between his season and his team's season led him to demand a trade, a demand the team obliged by sending him to the New York Yankees the following February. Ron Coomer had a competent year at third, with 13 home runs. He declined to "ride the pines" to protect a .301 batting average, and finished 1 for his last 8 to end at .298. Pat Meares hit .276, an above-average season for him. The primary outfielders – Marty Cordova, Rich Becker, and Matt Lawton – had mediocre seasons. This was disappointing, because Cordova and Becker were coming off of the best years in their careers. Designated hitter Paul Molitor had a good year, batting .305 with 89 RBI, but it did not match his stellar 1996 numbers. Veterans like Roberto Kelly and Greg Colbrunn performed reasonably well off the bench. + Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityHR Marty Cordova 15RBI Paul Molitor 89BA Paul Molitor .305Runs Chuck Knoblauch 117 Pitching Brad Radke had a breakout year, going 20–10 with an ERA of 3.87. His string of twelve consecutive wins in twelve consecutive starts had only been matched twice since 1950. Bob Tewksbury and Rich Robertson spent most of the year in the starting rotation, but both had losing records. In the final two spots, LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Aldred, and Frank Rodriguez respectively had 20, 15, and 15 starts. Of these three, Rodriguez was the only one with an ERA under 5. Rick Aguilera had a good year as the team's closer, earning 26 saves in not very many opportunities. Eddie Guardado, Mike Trombley, Greg Swindell, and Todd Ritchie had competent seasons in the bullpen. At the end of the season, Dan Serafini played well in six games, giving some hope for the future. + Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityERA Brad Radke 3.87Wins Brad Radke 20Saves Rick Aguilera 26Strikeouts Brad Radke 174 Defense Steinbach played well at catcher, backed up by Greg Myers. Stahoviak played in 81 games at first, with Colbrunn in 64. Knoblauch won a Gold Glove at second base in a season that gave no indication of his future throwing problems. Coomer (third base) and Meares (shortstop) were average at their positions. The three outfielders played well in the field. Regular season Season standings Minnesota Twins Record vs. opponents MIN Roster 1997 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers 38 Rick Aguilera 57 Scott Aldred 52 Shane Bowers 18 Eddie Guardado 32 LaTroy Hawkins 26 Kevin Jarvis 20 Travis Miller 31 Dan Naulty 30 Gregg Olson 23,22 Brad Radke 23 Todd Ritchie 47 Rich Robertson 33 Frankie Rodriguez 16 Dan Serafini 41 Dave Stevens 17 Greg Swindell 19 Bob Tewksbury 21 Mike Trombley Catchers 39 Damian Miller 24 Greg Myers 36 Terry Steinbach 26 Javier Valentín Infielders 28 Greg Colbrunn  8 Ron Coomer  7 Denny Hocking 11 Chuck Knoblauch  2 Pat Meares  4 Paul Molitor 27 David Ortiz 37 Scott Stahoviak 12 Todd Walker Outfielders 25 Rich Becker 51 Brent Brede 40 Marty Cordova 15 Darrin Jackson  5 Roberto Kelly 59 Chris Latham 50 Matt Lawton Other batters 48 Torii Hunter Manager 10 Tom Kelly Coaches 46 Terry Crowley (hitting) 35 Ron Gardenhire (third base) 43 Rick Stelmaszek (bullpen) 42 Dick Such (pitching) 45 Scott Ullger Notable transactions January 24: Signed first baseman Greg Colbrunn as a free agent. June 3: Drafted future major leaguers Michael Cuddyerhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cuddymi01.shtml Michael Cuddyer Stats (1st round, 9th pick), Matthew LeCroy (1st, 50th), Michael Restovich (2nd round), J. C. Romero (21st round), and Nick Punto (33rd round). (Punto did not sign with the team.) July 31: Relief pitcher Dave Stevens claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. August 14: Traded Colbrunn to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later. On October 1, the Braves sent the Twins minor leaguer Mark Lewis to complete the deal. August 20: Traded Roberto Kelly to the Seattle Mariners for players to be named later. On October 9, the Mariners sent the Twins Joe Mays and minor leaguer Jeromy Palki to complete the deal. November 18: Catcher Damian Miller and outfielder/first baseman Brent Brede lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the expansion draft. December 11: Signed outfielder Otis Nixon as a free agent.https://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nixonot01.shtml Otis Nixon Stats December 12: Traded outfielder Rich Becker to the New York Mets for outfielder Alex Ochoa.https://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ochoaal01.shtml Alex Ochoa Stats December 16: Signed pitcher Mike Morgan as a free agent. December 23: Signed infielder and Minnesota native Brent Gates as a free agent. December 24: Signed pitcher Mike Nakamura as a free agent. 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 C Terry Steinbach 122 447 111 .248 12 54 1B Scott Stahoviak 91 275 63 .229 10 33 2B Chuck Knoblauch 156 611 178 .291 9 58 SS Pat Meares 134 439 121 .276 10 60 3B Ron Coomer 140 523 156 .298 13 85 LF Marty Cordova 103 378 93 .246 15 51 CF Rich Becker 132 443 117 .264 10 45 RF Matt Lawton 142 460 114 .248 14 60 DH Paul Molitor 135 538 164 .305 10 89 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 Denny Hocking 115 253 65 .257 2 25 Roberto Kelly 75 247 71 .287 5 37 Greg Colbrunn 70 217 61 .281 5 26 Brent Brede 61 190 52 .274 3 21 Greg Myers 62 165 44 .267 5 28 Todd Walker 52 156 37 .237 3 16 Darrin Jackson 49 130 33 .254 3 21 Damian Miller 25 66 18 .273 2 13 David Ortiz 15 49 16 .327 1 6 Chris Latham 15 22 4 .182 0 1 Javier Valentín 4 7 2 .286 0 0 Torii Hunter 1 0 0 ---- 0 0 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 Brad Radke 35 239.2 20 10 3.87 174 Bob Tewksbury 26 168.2 8 13 4.22 92 Rich Robertson 31 147.0 8 12 5.69 69 LaTroy Hawkins 20 103.1 6 12 5.84 58 Scott Aldred 17 77.1 2 10 7.68 33 Dave Stevens 6 23.0 1 3 9.00 16 Shane Bowers 5 19.0 0 3 8.05 7 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 Frank Rodriguez 43 142.1 3 6 4.62 65 Travis Miller 13 48.1 1 5 7.63 26 Dan Serafini 6 26.1 2 1 3.42 15 Kevin Jarvis 6 13.0 0 0 12.46 9 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 Rick Aguilera 61 5 4 26 3.82 68 Eddie Guardado 69 0 4 1 3.91 54 Mike Trombley 67 2 3 1 4.37 74 Greg Swindell 65 7 4 1 3.58 75 Todd Ritchie 42 2 3 0 4.58 44 Dan Naulty 29 1 1 1 5.87 23 Gregg Olson 11 0 0 0 18.36 6 Miscellaneous The highest paid Twin in 1997 was Knoblauch at $6,150,000, followed by Molitor at $3,500,000. In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color-line, the Twins wore uniforms of the 1909 St. Paul Colored Gophers at home against Cleveland on July 13, 1997. Other post-season awards Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Brad Radke Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Brad Radke Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – none Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Brad Radke Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Denny Neagle The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Rick Aguilera Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Player) – David Ortiz All-Star Game: The lone representative of the Twins in the All-Star Game was second baseman Chuck Knoblauch. Knoblauch also won the Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. Paul Molitor won the Lou Gehrig Award, given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off. Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Salt Lake Buzz Pacific Coast League Phil Roof AA New Britain Rock Cats Eastern League Al Newman A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League John Russell A Fort Wayne Wizards Midwest League Mike Boulanger Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Jose Marzan Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Steve LiddleJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 References External links Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com Twins history through the 1990s, from www.mlb.com 1997 Standings Category:Minnesota Twins seasons Minnesota Twins Twins