1997 American League Division Series
| 1997 American League Division Series | |||||||||||||
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| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 1 – 5 | ||||||||||||
| Television |
NBC (Game 1) ESPN (Games 2, 4) Fox (Game 3) |
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| TV announcers |
Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and Joe Morgan (Game 1) Jon Miller and Joe Morgan (Games 2, 4) Thom Brennaman and Bob Brenly (Game 3) |
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| Radio | CBS | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | John Rooney and Al Downing | ||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | September 30 – October 6 | ||||||||||||
| Television |
Fox (Games 1–2, 4–5) NBC (Game 3) |
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| TV announcers |
Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Bob Brenly (Games 1–2, 4–5) Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and Joe Morgan (Game 3) |
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| Radio | CBS | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Ernie Harwell and Jeff Torborg | ||||||||||||
| Umpires |
Tim McClelland, Dale Ford, Ken Kaiser, Greg Kosc, Dave Phillips, Rocky Roe (Orioles–Mariners, Games 1–2; Indians–Yankees, Games 3–5) Tim Tschida, Dan Morrison, Rick Reed, Dale Scott, Rich Garcia, Derryl Cousins (Indians–Yankees, Games 1–2; Orioles–Mariners, Games 3–4) |
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles (3) | Davey Johnson | 98–64, .605, GA: 2 | |
| Seattle Mariners (1) | Lou Piniella | 90–72, .556, GA: 6 |
| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians (3) | Mike Hargrove | 86–75, .534, GA: 6 | |
| New York Yankees (2) | Joe Torre | 96–66, .593, GB: 2 |
The 1997 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1997 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Monday, October 6, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was not tied to playing record but was predetermined—a highly unpopular arrangement which was discontinued after the conclusion of the 1997 playoffs. Also, the team with home field advantage was required to play the first two games on the road, with potentially the last three at home, in order to reduce travel. The Orioles played the Mariners, rather than the wild card Yankees, because the Orioles and Yankees are in the same division. Had the 1997 ALDS been played under the post-1997 arrangement, then Baltimore (1) would have faced off against Cleveland (3) and New York (4) would have faced off against Seattle (2).
The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The Indians became the American League champion, and lost to the National League champion Florida Marlins in the 1997 World Series.
Baltimore won the series, 3–1.
Cleveland won the series, 3–2.
Kingdome in Seattle, Washington
The Orioles had gone wire-to-wire and the Mariners had won the AL West for the second time in the decade. In Game 1, both teams had their best on the mound: Mike Mussina for the Orioles and Randy Johnson for the Mariners. The game was scoreless until Mike Bordick hit the go-ahead RBI double for the Orioles in the third, but Edgar Martínez's homer tied the game in the fourth. In the fifth the Orioles looked to put the game away. They would score four runs on two RBI singles by Brady Anderson and Eric Davis and a homer by Gerónimo Berroa. In the sixth, the Orioles would score four more runs on a rally capped by B. J. Surhoff's two-run double. The Orioles appeared to be the better team as they rolled to a 9–3 win. The Mariners would get their final two runs on solo homers by Jay Buhner and Alex Rodriguez in the seventh and ninth, respectively.
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