MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1997

[Music] [Applause] welcome to baseball seasons 1997 something wild in every baseball city heroes of the game are remembered but there's only one legacy honored in every major league ballpark April 15 1997 marked the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic breaking of the game's color barrier and to commemorate the event acting commissioner Bud Selig alongside President Clinton and Robinson's Widow Rachel made a landmark announcement in honor of Jackie major league baseball is taking the unprecedented step of retiring his uniform number number 42 in perpetuity [Music] number 42 belongs to Jackie Robinson for the ages jacqui deserved to be honored Jackie Robinson coming to baseball was our most powerful and proudest moment when every ballpark I go and see that number 42 it really makes me feel good and I was very proud to do that that night and while that night gave the beginning of the 1997 season the meaningful backdrop on the diamond the Atlanta Braves were focused on continuing to make a different kind of history Atlanta had won the World Series in 1995 the highlight of a run that started in 91 and included four and L pennants [Applause] [Music] [Applause] but there was a sense that there could have been there particularly following the Braves loss and then 86 series to the Yankees when they'd squandered the two games to none lead their team had changed its course and destiny losing in 96 made some trades and lead in spring training the Atlanta front office made a move to shape the team up trading the 35 world series hero David Justice and all-star marquise grissom to Cleveland for leadoff hitter extraordinaire Kenny Lofton Lofton can do an awful lot of things not to say our two guys couldn't because they could and they were very very big favorites of mine I just maintained that if we won in 96 it would have been hard to change a good thing and a lot of those changes wouldn't have been made still the backbone of the Braves success pitching remaining and would say on the award winners John Smoltz Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine at the top of the rotation alongside lefty Denny Neagle the Braves search for another World Series title would be comprised of mostly familiar ingredients they could all be number one starters in any given day the Braves weren't the only team making changes around their foundation and west the Giants were coming off a last place finish in 96 and had acquired the veteran pair of Jeff Kent and JT snow to provide support in the lineup for Barry Bonds the move seemed to pay early dividends and San Francisco got off to a hot start [Music] in Florida nothing about what the Marlins had done in the offseason was lowkey the five year old franchise went on a free agency spending spree acquiring all-star sluggers Bobby Bonilla and Moises Alou and ready Alex Fernandez who joined an already talented roster that included Kevin Brown [Applause] they had spent a lot of money and acquired a lot of players and we knew that team was put together to knock us off the grades are the champs and we have to respect that but we played them well last year without these guys so I can imagine what we're going to do with these guys expectations were very high you're talking about put together a bunch of all-star guys he doesn't matter if all of us wasn't come together and play together as a team the men tasked with accomplishing that goal was to time manager of the Year Jim Leyland in south after eleven years and three division titles in Pittsburgh on a quest for a World Series ring everything has to be done within the parameters of the team concept and we're not willing to pay that price and that goes for everybody we're not gonna get the job done Leyland was really the guy that not only was helpful for a veteran team but also a winner the new week mark was left out of the April gates ruining eight of their first nine games in Chicago with their eyes firmly set on reaching the franchise's first postseason a few months after they paraded down the Canyon of Heroes the Yankees went to Florida intent on repeating in 97 I think we feel pretty good about 97 we'd get back to the playoffs and have a chance to defend our championship we went into 97 with a very big question answered our World Series MVP John Wetteland moved on to another ball club and our setup man so to speak Mariano Rivera was going to be our closer [Applause] Mariano didn't take to it very easily I remembered one game against Oakland and Yankee Stadium this game is I said I don't care how long it takes oh my goodness you're our closer the quicker you get your mind set in that direction the better off you're gonna be not making excuses for me certainly not done the job and so begin the 1997 season for the Yankees with a shaky young closer and also a rotation influx with the steady Jimmy key having departed for Baltimore and replacement David wells struggling to find his way [Applause] it all added up to the reigning champs losing 10 of their first 15 meanwhile another team in the AL East was flying high and the Baltimore Orioles were led by an iron man here comes Cal Ripken ladies and gentlemen Cal Ripken has delivered hopes were high for Ripken and company but like their rivals in New York the birds were in the midst of a major transition playing second-best next year they're gonna move the second base not exactly but Baltimore had acquired Mike bordick to do the unthinkable play shortstop for the Orioles so after nearly 2300 games it sure the iconic Ripken was shifting to third he took it as a challenge to go over there and become a great third base when any and he did with their new looking field sparkly the O's race to the best record in the AL in April even as baseball's win his team over the past two seasons learned in this century but World Series glory had eluded the Indians now in 97 big changes were afoot a slugger Albert Bell had departed Cleveland and free agency and decided to take his massive power numbers to a familiar place division rival Chicago the Indians made a series of moves to fill the void starting with moving an emerging Slugger across the diamond I was a third baseman moved to first base back in 97 pitch to Tommy he drills it taking to this place at third was former giant all-star Matt Williams Williams belts it down the left-field line we had tremendous balance and good hitters we had a big off and say year if you go back and look the offense also included new acquisitions David justice and marquise grissom as well as means stays Manny Ramirez and Sandy Alomar junior could enjoy a career year you thought you had a ballclub that obviously had a chance to play deep into October the tribe built a late spring lead with their eyes on a Division III beat the 1997 season was marked by a seminal change in the game baseball breaks its long-standing tradition is an ancient tradition of the two leagues never playing one another except of course the World Series the historic occasion featured plenty of pageantry salvation for Willie Mays - of course never played in interleague play has certainly injected a lot of life into baseball that means we're doing the exact right thing we're playing the game for our fans and this ability mitzvah we certainly got what they wanted to see and their teams in early debut a memorable win in aprox it is 279 elsewhere in the NL East the Marlins dominated their interleague competition the whole interleague thing obviously was good for us that year we had a team that was really suited for an American League club with better guys we had some against some of the ales top teams Florida went 12 and 3 tied for the best interleague mark in the majors while interleague play offered something new there was once his own personal interleague experience offered something historic he crunches the center [Applause] Mark McGwire hit 34 homers with the Oakland A's and then after a midseason trade 24 more in st. Louis as a cardinal [Applause] and there were other national leaders enjoying tremendous seasons as well including a catcher in LA setting a new standard for offense at his position in 97 piazza eclipsed the incredible benchmarks he'd already set what he brought to the game was a different side of it he brought an offensive side to this game 97 piazza really established himself as the greatest hitting catcher of all the time this is beyond Vera Campanella this is beyond Johnny Bench but despite the odds a sensational season it would be Larry Walker who'd win MVP honors becoming the first national leaguer since 1951 with 400 total bases Larry Walker one of my favorite players to watch because he did everything good he hit for average [Applause] he hit four power Walker's MVP counterpart in the AL often appeared to have the world in his hands and in 97 Seattle's Ken Griffey jr. dominated and had fun doing it he was like the kid that had on backwards a young guy this into the game doing everything including blasting a league-leading 56 warriors [Music] he just goes up there and just [Music] [Applause] griffey also led the majors in RBIs Junior you could see it his face would light up and you'd be like [Music] and the Mariners boasted another of baseball's brightest young stars as well Alex obviously when we were teammates in Seattle he brought great range but on top of it offensively he would use all parts of the diamond with power system and as Seattle's high-powered offense led the way on the mound veterans Jeff acero and Jamie Moyer combined for 33 wins alongside the team's overpowering very few guys have years like that where they win 20 strikeout over 290 highlights 19 strikeouts in a game on two occasions for Johnson and the loungers it was a remarkable season did you ever have thorn in your side they were just so good while the Mariners captured the AL West with a surge in late summer the AL East champion Orioles rolled through the entire CC [Music] [Applause] [Music] alongside Cal Ripken Roberto Alomar and Brandi ends and had all-star years for Baltimore and on the mound ace Mike Mussina headed a formidable pitching staff that only the American League's second-best er a and closer Randy Myers with sensation tops in the lead with 45 saves it all added up to the O's leading the AL East wired a wire on route to a league-best 98 wins on the season a mild celebration from Baltimore their first division championship in 14 years poised to start what I think we all thought was going to be a dynasty there in Baltimore they weren't satisfied in New York the Yankees first year closer found his groove after some early season struggles I don't think Marianna was ever wavered from the fact that he has a great deal of confidence in himself and the fact that he conserved a very important role Rivera and the Yankees quickly bounce back from their slow start to finish with the second best record in the American and that easily secured a wild-card spot for the team in the playoffs season in the central the Indians offense was bolstered by new acquisition David Justice who hit 33 homers with a hundred one RBIs just one piece of evidence the Indians were as strong as ever and postseason bound once again [Applause] the trade that had brought justice and marquise grissom to Cleveland was also paying dividends in Atlanta as Kenny Lofton the Braves finished with baseball's best record this still hungry to do some damage in October 97 we were I thought as determined as ever be get back for the World Series do what we needed to do this is really what we expected I mean I can't say that we expected to finish second or third we expect to be celebrating three or four times in the postseason though they beat the Braves and eight of their 12 regular season meetings the Marlins had fallen behind in the division race after their fast start manager Jim Leyland ball had kept his team's attention on the wild card Leland did a great job as far as keeping us balanced and keeping us focus on winning ball games the club has gelled and all under the leadership of Jim Leyland the guys that he knew he needed to stay away from guys that he could prod and mess with he was on everything and knew about everyone and personality and for the first time in baseball history there will be seafood on the postseason menu in Houston broadcaster turned manager Larry Dierker had enjoyed a terrific rookie season [Applause] and behind the MVP caliber seasons of Jeff Bagwell and Craig bgl Houston grabbed its first division title in 11 years [Applause] in the NL West the Giants had led the Dodgers through much of the season but found themselves two games back in late September when the rivals met in a critical - game series the beat LA chance were echoing all over the ballpark and we knew it was gonna be pretty special we didn't know how the games are gonna turn out but we knew that if they turned out like we wanted them to the place is going to go crazy Barry bomb who's first-inning Homer propelled San Francisco to a game one win and then in the bottom of the 12th of gay - it was catcher Brian Johnson's turn to play hero [Music] [Applause] when riot Johnson hit the homerun the immortalize himself in jazz history into all Giants fan from there the giant screws to the NL West title earning a chance with seven other teams for the biggest prize of all a World Series championship as the 1997 playoffs got underway in Atlanta Houston had a problem as the Astro bats were easily dispatched by the Braves trio of aces now Bijou hits the comeback the nice play by Maddux to get it [Applause] to his left has it thrust on the first and the Atlanta Braves advanced to their sixth Street League Championship Series it will be I guess tied to the Marlins or the Giants and as the other NLDS began it did so amid debate over how postseason rules dictated where the series would start we didn't think it was right that you win your division you got to go to the wild cards home field for the first two games they did have a better record but they changed that next year where if you have won your division you automatically get home-field advantage the first couple games but in Game one with a score tied at one in the bottom of the nudies playing at home allowed the Marlins 21 year old shortstop to showcase his clutch credentials and your Renteria the entire year had been one of our best clutch hitters he had come to the plate so many times and found a way to get the job done [Applause] game-2 was also a thrilling affair that again he came down to the Marlins last at-bat [Applause] [Music] [Applause] she wins in the bottom of the ninth day we fought we had no regrets pretty Marlins kind of broke our hearts and when the Syrians shifted to San Francisco the Giants weren't able to find a spark at home and the Marlins finished the job with ease in the American they were compelling matchups as well the difference in Orioles Mariners proved to be Mike Mussina as Baltimore's ace out pitched Seattle counterpart Randy Johnson twice in a four-game series win [Applause] and taking the best of the marriage meanwhile the other AOL division series matched the past two league champions the Yankees and Indians with Joe Tory's Club making plans for a new dynasty in the Bronx and said to my players I don't want to win one I want to win three straight we expected to win even though we were playing against the Yankees we believed that we had an edge when you have that feeling that you are unbeatable I think there is no team that really can give you any trouble [Music] big first inning 40 my first thought was gonna lose Game one of the playoffs against a really tough matchup in the Cleveland Indians and to see our team come back it was a huge lift [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the Yanks climbed all the way back and then in the 8th called on Mariano Rivera to put the finishing touches on the comeback eight six Yankee victory and some of the Indian players can't believe what hit up we got to stay focused when we got stay positive and kind of go out with that no die attitude and this series is split one game apiece and though the Indians won Game two they dropped Game three and one night later at the brink of elimination they were down a run in the eighth with one out when the Yanks emerging superstar closer was brought in again to complete the job with Mariano Rivera on the mound it looked over that year we come so far to lose light I just I just stepped in there visualizing where the balls going to be Midway enough [Music] [Applause] [Music] we knew if we take my random out of the game we had a great opportunity to win that game that was an unbelievable moment because we felt that it's a huge chance for us to win this series the Indians have a 4-3 lead the Yankees are down to their last out [Applause] oh it's awesome Wow after beating the Yankees in the ALDS Cleveland's hopes in the 97 postseason were soaring after the Yankee series it was gonna be hard for any team to Beatles even though the Baltimore Orioles had a great team and at Camden Yards the Orioles looked to sweep the first two games of the ALCS [Applause] Cleveland's confidence booth after Baltimore made a pitching change he was tipping his pitches in such a way that we all know it at two on two out we may be able to take advantage of this and the number nine hitter marquise grissom notoriously a dangerous hitter in October the Indians had their chance here they swaying at a high flyball centerfield Brady Anderson on the run an inning later Grissom Amanda's had even the series but when play resumed in Cleveland for game 3 action of the bats was nowhere to be seen [Applause] certainly not with Mike Mussina in absolutely vintage he was a fun picture watching at that particular time you know we're on the edge of our seats I pitched really well the strikeouts we just couldn't we just couldn't get a lead that was because Baltimore was being stalked by a bulldog hey the big game pitchers they even want his record at postseason [Applause] both starters were brilliant but both were gone by the time the game went into extra innings and with one out in the 12th Grissom was at third against Baltimore closer Randy Myers which left it to Omar Vizquel this gal a chance to [Music] [Applause] Davey Johnson was everybody was caught off guard like what the heck just happened [Music] we won that game and I think that was the biggest turnaround in this serious game before Broadmoor stomach-turning attention demondo Bonita is on the mound again trying to preserve the tie tries to endgame for [Music] a victory for the Indians in Game four and A three games to one lead for Cleveland in the 1997 ALCS the Orioles managed to win Game five which sent this series back to Baltimore ALCS who spent like a good heavyweight fight and in year six Mike Mussina's right hook was again overpowering allowing just one hit striking out 10 over eight shutout innings but for the second straight start you see could do no better than a draw but the two games I pitched you know the other guy pitch ball two this time it was Charles and he matches for substance if not style I always have runners on base and Mike didn't so I felt like it was a little tougher on me the Orioles have nine hits the Indians won but with Nagy working out in trouble neither team had a rotten [Music] we're going to the 11th inning Indians now they knew Orioles nothing Tony Fernandes comes to bat facing Armando Benitez two out nobody fernanda drive deep right field [Applause] theories we've had it's Jose Mesa with a one-run lead on the Indians is fine to close out this way [Applause] their opponents would be the victors of an NLCS featuring a longtime league powerhouse and a wild-card upstart the team has split the first two contests and then in Game three the Braves look to smalls to gain the minute we had the lead going into the sixth inning we got it through one ball game Braves on top Andruw Jones is playing right field I remember a play and right field it was kind of a tough play [Applause] we just didn't execute when we needed to and Smoltz still needed to get out of the sixth but the matchup favored him decidedly I scuffle good smokes I tell you what I got I can't hear hit hit him for nothing coming into this at-bat Charles Johnson is old for 15 lifetime with 11 strikeouts against smokes including two tonight [Applause] 22 year old rookie Livan Hernandez picked up the victory in relief and Florida was halfway to its first-ever World Series [Applause] [Music] escaping four of the 1997 NLCS began Atlanta was down into the water but southpaw Denny Neagle the team's fourth starter and loan 20 game winner swinging the momentum back to the bridge [Applause] the series even at two games apiece and for Game five the next grave to take the mound was a four times Young award-winner 19 and four for the year 220 n run average of Greg Maddux the Marlins rotation meanwhile was decimated with ace Kevin Brown ill and the team's number two starter also sidelined Alex Fernandez torn right rotator cuff he is obviously out for the rest of the postseason and so Florida handed the ball to their precocious rookie who come a long way to enter the postseason spotlight doing the pitcher having risked his life to flee his native Cuba in 1995 his courage on and off the field gave fans confidence that he would prevail in his first post-season start but alarmingly Hernandez began Game five by promptly putting two runners on at Schiphol Jones will come up with runners at first and third I can remember going to Levon and tell him hey fastball here for the call strike two we throw nothing inside to stay away because zones a very big out there even with a large strike zone Hernandez still needed control of his breaking ball to get out of trouble suddenly Levon had found his groove we're animation emerging names and he eventually settled in and masterfully worked through the rest of the game [Applause] Championship Series record Hernandez is an out away from going the distance but if he's to finish it now [Applause] one of the most dangerous late getting hitters of the past decade Fred McGrath [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for him to Guam do what he did it definitely was left in a peaceful whole team the adrenaline from Hernandez wouldn't continue to surge in Game six with the Marlins holding a 3-2 series lead and a healthy Kevin Brown over matching the Braves he has not had a ball above the belt in the last or any got him looking [Applause] Browns wins at the Marlins to the World Series and the Braves to ponder what could have been I still maintain that we had that series won but the Marlins went on to you know a much better season than we did so in the Fall Classic it would be Florida a franchise in just its fifth season of existence against Cleveland which hadn't won a title since 1948 I think I said at one point there are people in Cleveland who've been waiting for this for half a century and there are people in Florida who've been waiting for this since Thursday in Game one the experience didn't faze the Marlins NLCS MVP who picked up right where he left off an anticipation of Hernandez striking out the side what she does behind her name is and two homers the Marlins grab this series opener but the next night the Indians were unfazed and by the sixth inning the ball wasn't doing that Kevin Brown wanted it to she's trailing four to one and he hasn't had anything close to his usual mastery Danny Alomar at the plate [Applause] and a few innings later a World Series knotted at one the series was now headed to Cleveland where very different conditions awaited we were playing like in this really really cold weather in Cleveland so it was a completely different war series for everybody you didn't know what to expect Game three was a whole lot of fun bounce to lighter he backs up the standards I was part of this seesaw affair of crooked numbers [Applause] [Music] Gary Sheffield tie is the game the ninth inning featured I don't know how many runs the Marlins got they're starting to resemble a Batman's picnic and when the fat lady finally Sully the Marlins led to series Florida beat Cleveland 1411 shoe nakai we got pests out the next night brought more offensive fireworks amid more frigid temperatures this is baseball at 35 degrees that coldest game in World Series history with players left to keep warm by any means this he's not exactly stylin but I think rather than fashion is your number one concern here here comes Santa Claus forget about the socks it's the way that baseball the batter Cleveland rolled in game for telling the series at 2:00 [Applause] the 1997 World Series was headed for a classic Finnish orel hershiser against Levon Hernandez for Game five of the 1997 World Series the series was tied and here we have a kid from Cuba that had just come over from basically came over on a boat and facing Orel Hershiser and one of the best competitors to ever throw that mound and Game five evolved as might have been predicted with the former World Series MVP Hershiser gaining traction and the Cuban rookie Hernandez appearing to finally will in this spotlight [Applause] but then just as quickly Hernandez found a way to settle down look different Levon Hernandez going into the dugout this time he's got to come out throwing strikes and shut the Indians down else he's gonna be gone very quickly he pitched well beyond his years both as a baseball player and as a human being he bent but he never broke and Levon did what he did best he kept us off-balance and in the sixth Hershiser began to do one the matter [Applause] water and with Hernandez pitching into the night the Indians found themselves one game from the abyss Game five in Cleveland was a pivotal game that we lost there with a chance to go down to Florida 3-2 lead and we had our work cut out the matchup going into Game six was Chad OJ and Kevin Brown remember Chad going out he said hey we'll be just fine against the Marlins ace the Indians needed OJ's very best on the mound but it was in the batter's box where he offered the biggest surprise particularly after just seven plate appearances all season and it is to to nothing in favor of wavin with two hits two RBIs and a run scored and only one run allowed over five innings o Jays fingerprints were all over Cleveland's biggest win of the season and the Indians are very much alive we are going for a seven-game Fame money all that stuff is all nice but ultimately it's about the competition and being the person in that situation in Game seven of the World Series [Music] it doesn't get any more compelling in our sport than a Game seven he's pitched a great game but three days rest any story down to nothing in the scanner [Music] [Applause] heading into the bottom of the ninth the Marlins still trailed by irani while the union's stood on the precipice of history since nineteen the Indians to be world champions in the ninth inning my owner and I were called to come down for the potential trophy presentation I'm very superstitious I was sitting in one seat I didn't want to get up so I immediately thought I was going to jinx the club [Music] I no sooner got down there than I was watching the monitor and [Applause] [Music] it's not always the superstar guy there's moments when you need the correct councils and boy did we need him simply make it to the major leagues [Music] and in the eleventh with two out counsel was 90 feet away from home plate representing the winning run when Edgar rentería stepped up yeah I was out of the game at that point and I could barely stand to watch I was so nervous [Music] [Applause] to be able to call yourself a World Series champion is you know not many guys can say that [Music] the Marlins Second World Series title becomes six years later in the 2003 winning in six games over the Yankees and in similar fashion the O three club took the title by virtue of the National League wild card and the Florida Marlins who to this day have never finished first in any season have their two World Championships and the Cleveland Indians are still waiting since 1948 once again reach the summit of the sports world by contrast following their 97 playoff loss a new Yankee dynasty rose with wins in three straight World Series the celebration the team of the 20th century with interleague play and wildcard champions the 1997 season showed some things in baseball do change while others like the thrill of the seventh game of a World Series owned status [Applause] [Music]

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Id: TPSyQs98PoY

Length: 44min 52sec (2692 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 08 2020