# 1997 Cleveland Indians season

The 1997 Cleveland Indians season was the 97th season for the franchise and the 4th season at Jacobs Field. It involved the Indians making their second World Series appearance in three years. The Indians finished in first place in the American League Central Division and hosted the 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

## Offseason

* November 13, 1996: Matt Williams was traded by the San Francisco Giants with a player to be named later to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later, Jeff Kent, Julián Tavárez, and José Vizcaíno. The Cleveland Indians sent Joe Roa (December 16, 1996) to the San Francisco Giants to complete the trade.
* December 10, 1996: Eric Plunk was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 13, 1996: Kevin Mitchell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 16, 1996: Trenidad Hubbard was sent by the San Francisco Giants to the Cleveland Indians to complete an earlier deal made on November 13, 1996.
* December 18, 1996: Chad Curtis was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 19, 1996: Les Norman was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* December 28, 1996: Tony Fernandez was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* January 1, 1997: Casey Candaele was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* January 31, 1997: Greg Cadaret was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.

## Regular season

* The season started with several new faces. The Indians acquired home run hitter Matt Williams. On March 25, 1997, the club traded All-Star Kenny Lofton and pitcher Alan Embree to the Atlanta Braves for Marquis Grissom and David Justice.
* June 16 – The first interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians took place at Jacobs Field. The rivalry would be known as the Battle of Ohio. The Reds won the game by a score of 4-1.

### Most Starts by Position

| Position | Name | # of Starts |
| C | Sandy Alomar Jr. | 119 |
| 1B | Jim Thome | 145 |
| 2B | Tony Fernández | 109 |
| 3B | Matt Williams | 151 |
| SS | Omar Vizquel | 152 |
| LF | Brian Giles | 82 |
| CF | Marquis Grissom | 144 |
| RF | Manny Ramírez | 146 |
| DH | David Justice | 61 |

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 86 | 75 | .534 | — | 44‍–‍37 | 42‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 80 | 81 | .497 | 6 | 45‍–‍36 | 35‍–‍45 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 78 | 83 | .484 | 8 | 47‍–‍33 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Minnesota Twins | 68 | 94 | .420 | 18½ | 35‍–‍46 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Kansas City Royals | 67 | 94 | .416 | 19 | 33‍–‍47 | 34‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1997 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 4–7 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–5 | 4–12 |
| Baltimore | 7–4 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 8–4 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 10–1 | 6–6 | 8–7 |
| Boston | 5–6 | 7–5 | — | 3–8 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 3–8 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 6–9 |
| Chicago | 5–6 | 6–5 | 8–3 | — | 5–7 | 4–7 | 11–1 | 4–7 | 6–6 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 8–7 |
| Cleveland | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 8–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 9–6 |
| Detroit | 6–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 5–6 | — | 6–5 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–10 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 8–7 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 1–11 | 3–8 | 5–6 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–8 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 6–9 |
| Milwaukee | 4–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–7 |
| Minnesota | 7–4 | 1–10 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 3–8 | 7–4 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 3–8 | 7–8 |
| New York | 7–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–2 | 6–5 | 10–2 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 8–3 | — | 6–5 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 5–10 |
| Oakland | 1–11 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 5–6 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 7–9 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 8–3 | 7–9 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 1–10 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 4–7 | 10–6 |
| Toronto | 5–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 7–4 | — | 4–11 |

### Notable transactions

* April 21, 1997: Ryan Thompson signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* May 20, 1997: Torey Lovullo was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* June 3, 1997: Kevin Mitchell was released by the Cleveland Indians.
* June 5, 1997: Ryan Thompson was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jeff Manto.
* June 9, 1997: Dave Weathers was traded by the New York Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for Chad Curtis.
* July 3, 1997: Greg Cadaret was released by the Cleveland Indians.
* July 25, 1997: Pat Listach was signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.
* July 31, 1997: John Smiley was traded by the Cincinnati Reds with Jeff Branson to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Crowell, Danny Graves, Damian Jackson, and Scott Winchester.
* July 31, 1997: Jeff Juden was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Kline.
* August 13, 1997: Julio Franco was released by the Cleveland Indians.

### Game log

1997 Game Log: 86–75 (Home: 44–37; Away: 42–38) :
April: 12–13 (Home: 5–6; Away: 7–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1April 2@ Athletics9–7Kline (1–0)Wengert (0–1)Shuey (1)Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum41,2351–0W1
2April 3@ Athletics4–5Lewis (1–0)Plunk (0–1)Taylor (1)Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum13,7071–1L1
3April 4@ Angels6–8 (11)Holtz (1–0)Shuey (0–1)–Anaheim Stadium17,7581–2L2
4April 5@ Angels7–5Ogea (1–0)Hasegawa (0–1)Shuey (2)Anaheim Stadium23,9132–2W1
5April 6@ Angels10–8Kline (2–0)Percival (0–2)Jackson (1)Anaheim Stadium29,3633–2W2
6April 7@ Mariners8–3Nagy (1–0)Sanders (0–2)–Kingdome22,0124–2W3
7April 8@ Mariners8–14Hurtado (1–0)Lopez (0–1)–Kingdome24,3484–3L1
8April 9@ Mariners1–11Wolcott (1–1)Colon (0–1)–Kingdome28,3024–4L2
9April 11Angels15–3Ogea (2–0)Gubicza (0–1)–Jacobs Field42,6435–4W1
–April 12AngelsPostponed (rain, makeup July 28)
10April 13Angels3–8Langston (1–1)McDowell (0–1)–Jacobs Field41,2185–5L1
11April 14Mariners1–6Martinez (1–0)Nagy (1–1)–Jacobs Field41,1845–6L2
12April 15Mariners4–8Wells (1–0)Jackson (0–1)Charlton (3)Jacobs Field40,1185–7L3
13April 16@ Red Sox6–11Avery (1–1)Ogea (2–1)–Fenway Park21,3055–8L4
14April 17@ Red Sox4–3Kline (3–0)Trlicek (2–3)Mesa (1)Fenway Park17,9886–8W1
15April 18Brewers2–10McDonald (2–1)McDowell (0–2)–Jacobs Field40,3436–9L1
16April 19Brewers11–6Nagy (2–1)Eldred (2–1)–Jacobs Field40,2377–9W1
17April 20Brewers6–4Hershiser (1–0)Wickman (2–1)Mesa (2)Jacobs Field42,2858–9W2
18April 22Red Sox2–8Avery (2–1)Ogea (2–2)Henry (3)Jacobs Field41,8008–10L1
19April 23Red Sox11–7McDowell (1–2)Trlicek (2–4)–Jacobs Field42,4309–10W1
20April 24@ Brewers6–3Nagy (3–1)Eldred (2–2)Mesa (3)County Stadium7,13510–10W2
21April 25@ Brewers11–4Hershiser (2–0)Karl (0–4)–County Stadium11,15011–10W3
22April 26@ Brewers8–9Jones (1–0)Mesa (0–1)–County Stadium13,02811–11L1
23April 27@ Brewers5–6Jones (2–0)Plunk (0–2)–County Stadium19,70911–12L2
24April 29Athletics10–4Nagy (4–1)Prieto (2–1)Jackson (2)Jacobs Field40,42112–12W1
25April 30Athletics9–11 (10)Taylor (1–1)Mesa (0–2)Wengert (1)Jacobs Field40,46312–13L1 :
May: 15–11 (Home: 9–3; Away: 6–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
26May 1Athletics7–1McDowell (2–2)Adams (1–3)–Jacobs Field42,39813–13W1
–May 2TigersPostponed (rain, makeup August 13)
27May 3Tigers7–6Plunk (1–2)Brocail (0–3)–Jacobs Field42,26914–13W2
28May 4Tigers0–2Blair (3–2)Nagy (4–2)Brocail (1)Jacobs Field42,38714–14L1
–May 5RangersPostponed (rain, makeup August 9)
29May 6Rangers5–4Hershiser (3–0)Pavlik (2–3)Jackson (3)Jacobs Field40,45115–14W1
30May 7Blue Jays7–1McDowell (3–2)Person (0–2)–Jacobs Field42,46316–14W2
31May 8Blue Jays3–4Guzman (3–2)Ogea (2–3)Quantrill (1)Jacobs Field42,56716–15L1
32May 9@ Tigers5–0Nagy (5–2)Sager (2–2)–Tiger Stadium20,39317–15W1
33May 10@ Tigers0–6Olivares (2–2)Colon (0–2)–Tiger Stadium30,57817–16L1
34May 11@ Tigers3–11Thompson (3–2)Hershiser (3–1)–Tiger Stadium19,86917–17L2
35May 12@ Rangers2–4Burkett (2–2)McDowell (3–3)Wetteland (9)The Ballpark in Arlington25,32717–18L3
36May 13@ Rangers7–3Ogea (3–3)Oliver (1–4)Morman (1)The Ballpark in Arlington31,79818–18W1
37May 14@ Rangers3–4 (10)Wetteland (2–0)Lopez (0–2)–The Ballpark in Arlington30,26818–19L1
38May 16@ Blue Jays2–5Clemens (7–0)Hershiser (3–2)Timlin (5)SkyDome35,19518–20L2
39May 17@ Blue Jays8–1Lopez (1–2)Williams (1–3)–SkyDome36,22019–20W1
40May 18@ Blue Jays8–6Ogea (4–3)Carpenter (0–2)Jackson (4)SkyDome31,13720–20W2
41May 20Royals4–3Shuey (1–1)Walker (2–2)Jackson (5)Jacobs Field43,16721–20W3
42May 21Royals1–0Hershiser (4–2)Appier (4–3)Jackson (6)Jacobs Field42,29022–20W4
43May 22Royals9–1Lopez (2–2)Rosado (3–3)–Jacobs Field42,96223–20W5
44May 23Orioles6–1Ogea (5–3)Key (8–1)–Jacobs Field41,15424–20W6
45May 24Orioles3–8Mussina (6–1)Kline (3–1)–Jacobs Field41,04024–21L1
46May 25Orioles7–6Nagy (6–2)Rhodes (2–2)Morman (2)Jacobs Field42,94425–21W1
47May 26@ White Sox10–4Hershiser (5–2)Navarro (4–3)–Comiskey Park26,38326–21W2
48May 27@ White Sox2–8Drabek (4–3)Lopez (2–3)–Comiskey Park20,84726–22L1
49May 28@ Royals10–3Assenmacher (1–0)Belcher (5–6)–Kauffman Stadium13,38027–22W1
–May 29@ RoyalsPostponed (rain, makeup September 19)
50May 30@ Orioles0–3Mussina (7–1)Nagy (6–3)–Oriole Park at Camden Yards47,75927–23L1
51May 31@ Orioles5–8Boskie (3–2)Mesa (0–3)Myers (17)Oriole Park at Camden Yards47,73927–24L2 :
June: 13–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
–June 1@ OriolesPostponed (rain, makeup September 15)
–June 2@ OriolesPostponed (rain, makeup September 16)
52June 3White Sox5–9Darwin (2–2)Ogea (5–4)–Jacobs Field42,99427–25L3
53June 4White Sox4–9Baldwin (3–7)Lopez (2–4)–Jacobs Field42,99227–26L4
54June 5White Sox5–4 (11)Shuey (2–1)Castillo (0–1)–Jacobs Field42,94828–26W1
55June 6@ Red Sox7–3Hershiser (6–2)Gordon (3–6)–Fenway Park30,20229–26W2
56June 7@ Red Sox9–5Colon (1–2)Sele (6–5)–Fenway Park32,78030–26W3
57June 8@ Red Sox6–12Hudson (1–0)Ogea (5–5)–Fenway Park32,15530–27L1
58June 10Brewers5–4Nagy (7–3)Eldred (6–6)Jackson (7)Jacobs Field42,88231–27W1
59June 11Brewers4–3 (11)Assenmacher (2–0)Jones (3–3)–Jacobs Field42,86432–27W2
60June 12Brewers2–6Mercedes (3–2)Anderson (0–1)–Jacobs Field41,97532–28L1
–June 13@ CardinalsPostponed (rain, makeup June 14)
61June 14 (1)@ Cardinals8–3Lopez (3–4)Mathews (2–3)–Busch Stadium43,58233–28W1
62June 14 (2)@ Cardinals2–5Morris (5–3)Ogea (5–6)Eckersley (13)Busch Stadium44,53233–29L1
63June 15@ Cardinals9–2Nagy (8–3)Stottlemyre (4–5)–Busch Stadium46,64634–29W1
64June 16Reds1–4Tomko (3–1)Hershiser (6–3)–Jacobs Field42,96134–30L1
65June 17Reds5–1Anderson (1–1)Smiley (5–8)–Jacobs Field42,90135–30W1
66June 18Reds2–5Remlinger (2–3)Ogea (5–7)–Jacobs Field42,86535–31L1
67June 20Yankees1–7Gooden (2–0)Nagy (8–4)–Jacobs Field43,01935–32L2
68June 21Yankees13–4Hershiser (7–3)Pettitte (8–5)–Jacobs Field43,00636–32W1
69June 22Yankees5–2Anderson (2–1)Wells (8–4)Jackson (8)Jacobs Field42,91237–32W2
70June 23Twins2–7Radke (8–5)Ogea (5–8)–Jacobs Field42,86137–33L1
71June 24Twins10–5Wright (1–0)Stevens (0–1)–Jacobs Field42,90238–33W1
–June 25TwinsPostponed (rain, makeup September 27)
72June 27@ Yankees2–3Gooden (3–0)Hershiser (7–4)Rivera (26)Yankee Stadium35,83738–34L1
73June 28@ Yankees12–8Plunk (2–2)Rogers (4–4)–Yankee Stadium41,08539–34W1
74June 29@ Yankees10–11Rivera (2–2)Mesa (0–4)–Yankee Stadium39,75639–35L1
75June 30@ Astros6–4Mesa (1–4)Martin (2–2)Jackson (9)Astrodome29,05140–35W1 :
July: 14–13 (Home: 7–10; Away: 7–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
76July 1@ Astros8–6Plunk (3–2)Lima (1–4)Jackson (10)Astrodome23,99841–35W2
77July 2@ Astros2–6Hampton (4–7)Hershiser (7–5)–Astrodome25,66141–36L1
78July 4Royals7–6Anderson (3–1)Pichardo (2–4)Jackson (11)Jacobs Field42,98442–36W1
79July 5Royals8–4Nagy (9–4)Pittsley (2–6)–Jacobs Field42,89243–36W2
80July 6Royals8–7Jackson (1–1)Casian (0–2)–Jacobs Field42,86344–36W3
–July 868th All-Star GameNational League vs. American League (Jacobs Field, Cleveland, Ohio)
81July 10@ Twins2–8Radke (11–5)Nagy (9–5)–Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome13,60544–37L1
82July 11@ Twins5–1Jacome (1–0)Robertson (7–7)–Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome14,40045–37W1
83July 12@ Twins7–2Hershiser (8–5)Tewksbury (4–8)–Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome30,05546–37W2
84July 13@ Twins12–5Colon (2–2)Hawkins (1–5)–Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome16,73447–37W3
85July 14@ Yankees3–2 (10)Jackson (2–1)Rivera (2–3)–Yankee Stadium27,81248–37W4
86July 15@ Yankees6–12Irabu (2–0)Nagy (9–6)Mendoza (1)Yankee Stadium34,50348–38L1
87July 16@ Brewers4–3Wright (2–0)McDonald (8–7)Jackson (12)County Stadium23,04749–38W1
88July 17@ Brewers3–2Hershiser (9–5)Eldred (9–9)Jackson (13)County Stadium23,38350–38W2
89July 18Red Sox0–7Wakefield (4–10)Colon (2–3)–Jacobs Field43,03750–39L1
90July 19Red Sox3–6Suppan (4–0)Clark (0–1)Slocumb (14)Jacobs Field43,07050–40L2
91July 20Red Sox7–2Nagy (10–6)Gordon (5–8)–Jacobs Field42,93251–40W1
92July 21Red Sox1–3Avery (4–2)Wright (2–1)Slocumb (15)Jacobs Field42,85151–41L1
93July 22Mariners6–2Weathers (1–1)Fassero (8–6)Jackson (14)Jacobs Field42,95152–41W1
94July 23Mariners3–6Olivares (6–6)Colon (2–4)Holzemer (1)Jacobs Field43,04952–42L1
95July 24Mariners1–11Johnson (14–2)Clark (0–2)–Jacobs Field42,98452–43L2
96July 25Athletics1–2Small (7–4)Jackson (2–2)Taylor (19)Jacobs Field42,94552–44L3
97July 26Athletics6–3Wright (3–1)Karsay (3–10)–Jacobs Field42,92553–44W1
98July 27Athletics4–2Jacome (2–0)Haynes (0–1)Assenmacher (1)Jacobs Field42,88554–44W2
99July 28 (1)Angels0–2Springer (6–4)Colon (2–5)–Jacobs Field43,03354–45L1
100July 28 (2)Angels7–10Harris (2–2)Weathers (1–2)Holtz (2)Jacobs Field42,85754–46L2
101July 29Angels2–7Finley (10–6)Clark (0–3)–Jacobs Field42,97554–47L3
102July 30Angels2–5Hill (6–8)Nagy (10–7)James (7)Jacobs Field42,89854–48L4 :
August: 16–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 7–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
103August 1@ Rangers8–5Mesa (2–4)Gunderson (2–1)Assenmacher (2)The Ballpark in Arlington44,85955–48W1
104August 2@ Rangers7–3Smiley (10–10)Witt (10–7)–The Ballpark in Arlington23,26656–48W2
105August 3@ Rangers7–8Wetteland (6–2)Jackson (2–3)–The Ballpark in Arlington42,30356–49L1
106August 4@ Tigers7–2Nagy (11–7)Sanders (3–9)–Tiger Stadium26,83257–49W1
107August 5@ Tigers4–6Thompson (10–8)Plunk (3–3)Jones (22)Tiger Stadium24,82457–50L1
108August 6@ Blue Jays3–6Hentgen (12–7)Lopez (3–5)Escobar (7)SkyDome36,46357–51L2
109August 7@ Blue Jays0–4Clemens (17–4)Smiley (10–11)–SkyDome35,19457–52L3
110August 8Rangers5–6Bailes (1–0)Jackson (2–4)Wetteland (23)Jacobs Field43,11057–53L4
111August 9 (1)Rangers3–4Clark (1–3)Nagy (11–8)Wetteland (24)Jacobs Field42,96457–54L5
112August 9 (2)Rangers4–2Assenmacher (3–0)Moody (0–1)Mesa (4)Jacobs Field41,33058–54W1
113August 10Rangers6–7Whiteside (2–1)Juden (11–6)Wetteland (25)Jacobs Field42,90258–55L1
114August 12Tigers7–4Plunk (4–3)Keagle (0–2)Mesa (5)Jacobs Field32,99259–55W1
115August 13 (1)Tigers3–13Blair (12–5)Smiley (10–12)–Jacobs FieldN/A59–56L1
116August 13 (2)Tigers9–1Hershiser (10–5)Dishman (1–1)–Jacobs Field42,67360–56W1
117August 14Tigers12–1Nagy (12–8)Sanders (4–10)–Jacobs Field42,93661–56W2
118August 15Blue Jays5–4 (10)Assenmacher (4–0)Crabtree (2–3)–Jacobs Field43,01162–56W3
119August 16Blue Jays8–4Shuey (3–1)Quantrill (5–5)–Jacobs Field42,90863–56W4
120August 17Blue Jays5–10Clemens (19–4)Wright (3–2)–Jacobs Field42,86163–57L1
121August 18Blue Jays5–3Hershiser (11–5)Williams (7–11)Mesa (6)Jacobs Field42,47164–57W1
122August 19@ Mariners7–5Smiley (11–12)Cloude (1–2)Mesa (7)Kingdome33,64565–57W2
123August 20@ Mariners0–1Johnson (17–4)Nagy (12–9)Slocumb (20)Kingdome32,54665–58L1
124August 21@ Mariners6–7Moyer (13–4)Colon (2–6)Slocumb (21)Kingdome30,39565–59L2
125August 22@ Athletics5–3Wright (4–2)Prieto (6–8)Mesa (8)Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum11,45166–59W1
126August 23@ Athletics7–4Hershiser (12–5)Rigby (0–5)Mesa (9)Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum17,06667–59W2
127August 24@ Athletics1–4Haynes (2–3)Smiley (11–13)Mathews (1)Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum20,07467–60L1
128August 26@ Angels7–8May (1–1)Plunk (4–4)–Anaheim Stadium21,01267–61L2
129August 27@ Angels10–4Wright (5–2)Watson (11–8)–Anaheim Stadium20,14068–61W1
130August 29Cubs7–6Mesa (3–4)Stevens (1–4)–Jacobs Field43,06069–61W2
131August 30Cubs4–9Tapani (4–3)Smiley (11–14)–Jacobs Field43,04469–62L1
132August 31Cubs9–5Nagy (13–9)Batista (0–3)Assenmacher (3)Jacobs Field43,01370–62W1 :
September: 16–13 (Home: 7–5; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
133September 1@ Pirates7–5Ogea (6–8)Cooke (9–14)Mesa (10)Three Rivers Stadium45,29871–62W2
134September 2@ Pirates4–6Silva (1–0)Wright (5–3)Loiselle (25)Three Rivers Stadium43,38071–63L1
135September 3@ Pirates7–3Hershiser (13–5)Loaiza (10–10)–Three Rivers Stadium37,51372–63W1
136September 5White Sox11–1Nagy (14–9)Bere (3–1)–Jacobs Field43,09373–63W2
137September 6White Sox9–7Colon (3–6)Baldwin (11–14)Mesa (11)Jacobs Field43,05574–63W3
138September 7White Sox5–2Wright (6–3)Drabek (10–10)Mesa (12)Jacobs Field43,05175–63W4
139September 8Orioles2–1Assenmacher (5–0)Mills (2–2)Mesa (13)Jacobs Field43,00976–63W5
140September 9Orioles3–9 (8)Krivda (4–0)Ogea (6–9)–Jacobs Field43,04576–64L1
141September 11@ White Sox5–7Foulke (3–5)Nagy (14–10)Karchner (14)Comiskey Park22,62076–65L2
142September 12@ White Sox9–0Wright (7–3)Drabek (10–11)–Comiskey Park31,24977–65W1
143September 13@ White Sox6–7Sirotka (2–0)Hershiser (13–6)Karchner (15)Comiskey Park32,30677–66L1
144September 14@ White Sox8–3Shuey (4–1)Darwin (0–1)–Comiskey Park32,48578–66W1
145September 15 (1)@ Orioles5–6Benitez (4–4)Plunk (4–5)Myers (42)Oriole Park at Camden Yards41,60278–67L1
146September 15 (2)@ Orioles4–1Ogea (7–9)Krivda (4–1)Mesa (14)Oriole Park at Camden Yards47,11079–67W1
147September 16 (1)@ Orioles4–2Nagy (15–10)Rodriguez (0–1)Mesa (15)Oriole Park at Camden Yards38,02280–67W2
148September 16 (2)@ Orioles2–7Key (16–9)Weathers (1–3)–Oriole Park at Camden Yards46,18580–68L1
149September 17@ Twins7–6Wright (8–3)Miller (0–4)Mesa (16)Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome9,51281–68W1
150September 18@ Twins4–1Hershiser (14–6)Tewksbury (6–13)Jackson (15)Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome9,56482–68W2
151September 19 (1)@ Royals3–10Belcher (13–12)Colon (3–7)–Kauffman StadiumN/A82–69L1
152September 19 (2)@ Royals6–2Anderson (4–1)Bones (3–8)Assenmacher (4)Kauffman Stadium16,97383–69W1
153September 20@ Royals2–5Olson (4–3)Lopez (3–6)Montgomery (14)Kauffman Stadium19,12583–70L1
154September 21@ Royals0–1Bevil (1–2)Jackson (2–5)–Kauffman Stadium15,27483–71L2
–September 22@ RoyalsCancelled (rain)
155September 23Yankees10–9Mesa (4–4)Nelson (3–7)–Jacobs Field43,03984–71W1
156September 24Yankees4–8Gooden (9–5)Anderson (4–2)–Jacobs Field42,97684–72L1
157September 25Yankees4–5 (10)Mendoza (8–6)Shuey (4–2)Stanton (3)Jacobs Field43,00484–73L2
158September 26Twins7–2Ogea (8–9)Radke (20–10)–Jacobs Field42,89585–73W1
159September 27 (1)Twins10–6Colon (4–7)Miller (1–5)–Jacobs Field42,85486–73W2
160September 27 (2)Twins4–6 (10)Aguilera (5–4)Lopez (3–7)–Jacobs Field42,86786–74L1
161September 28Twins1–5Tewksbury (8–13)Nagy (15–11)–Jacobs Field42,94086–75L2 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Indians team member :

## All-Star game

The 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 68th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL). There were no members of the Indians in the starting lineup although three Indians (Sandy Alomar Jr., Jim Thome, and David Justice) were named to the team. The game was held on July 8, 1997, and the first pitch was thrown by former Indian Larry Doby. The American League were victorious 3 – 1, with the go ahead HR coming courtesy of Alomar Jr.

## 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 | Sandy Alomar Jr. | 125 | 451 | 146 | .324 | 21 | 83 |
| 1B | Jim Thome | 147 | 496 | 142 | .286 | 40 | 102 |
| 2B | Tony Fernández | 120 | 409 | 117 | .286 | 11 | 44 |
| SS | Omar Vizquel | 153 | 565 | 158 | .280 | 5 | 49 |
| 3B | Matt Williams | 151 | 596 | 157 | .263 | 32 | 105 |
| LF | Brian Giles | 130 | 377 | 101 | .268 | 17 | 61 |
| CF | Marquis Grissom | 144 | 558 | 146 | .262 | 12 | 66 |
| RF | Manny Ramirez | 150 | 561 | 184 | .328 | 26 | 88 |
| DH | David Justice | 139 | 495 | 163 | .329 | 33 | 101 |

#### 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 |
| Julio Franco | 78 | 289 | 82 | .284 | 3 | 25 |
| Kevin Seitzer | 64 | 198 | 53 | .268 | 2 | 24 |
| Pat Borders | 55 | 159 | 47 | .296 | 4 | 15 |
| Bip Roberts | 23 | 85 | 23 | .271 | 3 | 8 |
| Jeff Branson | 29 | 72 | 19 | .264 | 2 | 7 |
| Kevin Mitchell | 20 | 59 | 9 | .153 | 4 | 11 |
| Jeff Manto | 16 | 30 | 8 | .267 | 2 | 7 |
| Chad Curtis | 22 | 29 | 6 | .207 | 3 | 5 |
| Casey Candaele | 14 | 26 | 8 | .308 | 0 | 4 |
| Bruce Aven | 13 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 2 |
| Enrique Wilson | 5 | 15 | 5 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Trent Hubbard | 7 | 12 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Richie Sexson | 5 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Casey | 6 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Damian Jackson | 8 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Einar Díaz | 5 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Charles Nagy | 34 | 227.0 | 15 | 11 | 4.28 | 149 |
| Orel Hershiser | 32 | 195.1 | 14 | 6 | 4.47 | 107 |
| Chad Ogea | 21 | 126.1 | 8 | 9 | 4.99 | 80 |
| Bartolo Colón | 19 | 94.0 | 4 | 7 | 5.65 | 66 |
| Jaret Wright | 16 | 90.1 | 8 | 3 | 4.38 | 63 |
| Brian Anderson | 8 | 48.0 | 4 | 2 | 4.69 | 22 |
| John Smiley | 6 | 37.1 | 2 | 4 | 5.54 | 26 |
| Terry Clark | 4 | 26.1 | 0 | 3 | 6.15 | 13 |

#### 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 |
| Albie Lopez | 37 | 76.2 | 3 | 7 | 6.93 | 63 |
| Jason Jacome | 21 | 42.2 | 2 | 0 | 5.27 | 24 |
| Jack McDowell | 8 | 40.2 | 3 | 3 | 5.09 | 38 |
| Jeff Juden | 8 | 31.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.46 | 29 |
| David Weathers | 9 | 16.2 | 1 | 2 | 7.56 | 14 |

#### 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 |
| José Mesa | 66 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 2.40 | 69 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 75 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2.94 | 53 |
| Mike Jackson | 71 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 3.24 | 74 |
| Eric Plunk | 55 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4.66 | 66 |
| Paul Shuey | 40 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6.20 | 46 |
| Alvin Morman | 34 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.89 | 13 |
| Steve Kline | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5.81 | 17 |
| Danny Graves | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 4 |

## American League Division Series
### Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees
#### Game 1

September 30, Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| W: Ramiro Mendoza (1-0) L: Eric Plunk (0-1) SV: Mariano Rivera (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Sandy Alomar Jr. (1) NYY – Tino Martinez (1) Tim Raines (1) Derek Jeter (1) Paul O'Neill (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 2

October 2, Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| New York | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| W: Jaret Wright (1-0) L: Andy Pettitte (0-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Matt Williams (1) NYY – Derek Jeter (2) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

October 4, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| W: David Wells (1-0) L: Charles Nagy (0-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – None NYY – Paul O'Neill (2) |||||||||||||

#### Game 4

October 5, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Mike Jackson (1-0) L: Ramiro Mendoza (1-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – David Justice (1) Sandy Alomar Jr. (2) NYY – None |||||||||||||

#### Game 5

October 6, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| W: Jaret Wright (2-0) L: Andy Pettitte (0-2) SV: José Mesa (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – None NYY – None |||||||||||||

## American League Championship Series
### Game 1

October 8, Camden Yards
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Baltimore | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| WP: Scott Erickson (1-0) LP: Chad Ogea (0-1) SV: Randy Myers (1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: BAL – Brady Anderson (1) Roberto Alomar (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 9, Camden Yards
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Baltimore | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| WP: Paul Assenmacher (1-0) LP: Armando Benítez (0-1) SV: José Mesa (1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: CLE – Manny Ramírez (1) Marquis Grissom (1) BAL – Cal Ripken (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 11, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| WP: Eric Plunk (1-0) LP: Randy Myers (0-1) ||||||||||||||||
| HRs: None ||||||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 12, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
| WP: José Mesa (1-0) LP: Alan Mills (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: CLE – Sandy Alomar Jr. (1) Manny Ramírez (2) BAL – Brady Anderson (2) Harold Baines (1) Rafael Palmeiro (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 13, Jacobs Field
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| WP: Scott Kamieniecki (1-0) LP: Chad Ogea (0-2) |||||||||||||
| HRs: BAL – Eric Davis (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 15, Camden Yards
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| WP: Brian Anderson (1-0) LP: Armando Benítez (0-2) S: José Mesa (1) |||||||||||||||
| HRs: CLE: – Tony Fernández (1) |||||||||||||||

## World Series
### Game 1

October 18, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Liván Hernández (1-0) L: Orel Hershiser (0-1) S: Robb Nen (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Manny Ramírez (1), Jim Thome (1) FLA – Moisés Alou (1), Charles Johnson (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 19, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Chad Ogea (1-0) L: Kevin Brown (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Sandy Alomar Jr. (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 21, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 3 |
| Cleveland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| W: Dennis Cook (1-0) L: Eric Plunk (0-1) S: Robb Nen (2) |||||||||||||
| HR: FLA – Gary Sheffield (1), Darren Daulton (1), Jim Eisenreich (1) CLE – Jim Thome (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 22, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Cleveland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | X | 10 | 15 | 0 |
| W: Jaret Wright (1-0) L: Tony Saunders (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HR: FLA – Moisés Alou (2) CLE – Manny Ramírez (2), Matt Williams (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 23, 1997, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Florida | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Liván Hernández (2-0) L: Orel Hershiser (0-2) S: Robb Nen (3) |||||||||||||
| HR: FLA – Moisés Alou (3) CLE – Sandy Alomar Jr. (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 25, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Chad Ogea (2-0) L: Kevin Brown (0-2) S: José Mesa (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 7

October 26, 1997, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Jay Powell (1-0) L: Charles Nagy (0-1) |||||||||||||||
| HR – FLA: Bobby Bonilla (1) |||||||||||||||

## Award winners

* Marquis Grissom, Outfield, ALCS MVP
All-Star Game
* Sandy Alomar Jr., catcher, reserve
* Jim Thome, first baseman, reserve
* David Justice, Outfield, elected to start, but was unable to play due to an injury.

## Minor league affiliates

| Classification level | Team | League | Season article |
| AAA | Buffalo Bisons | International League | 1997 Buffalo Bisons season |
| AA | Akron Aeros | Eastern League | 1997 Akron Aeros season |
| Advanced A | Kinston Indians | Carolina League | |
| A | Columbus RedStixx | South Atlantic League | |
| Short Season A | Watertown Indians | New York–Penn League | |
| Rookie | Burlington Indians | Appalachian League | |