1997 New York Mets season
| 1997 New York Mets | |
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| Owner(s) | Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Jr. |
| General manager(s) | Joe McIlvaine, Steve Phillips |
| Manager(s) | Bobby Valentine |
| Local television |
WWOR-TV/SportsChannel New York (Ralph Kiner, Tim McCarver, Fran Healy, Howie Rose, Gary Thorne) |
| Local radio |
WFAN (Bob Murphy, Gary Cohen, Ed Coleman) WADO (spanish) (Juan Alicea, Billy Berroa) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The New York Mets' 1997 season was the 36th regular season for the Mets. They went 88-74 and finished 3rd in the NL East. They were managed by Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.
For the first time since 1990 the Mets finished the regular season with a winning record. Their offensive output was led by their corner infielders, the 23-year old third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and the two-time former world champion first baseman John Olerud, the latter of whom was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Alfonzo, in his first full season as a starter, led the team with a .315 average and 163 hits while Olerud notched a .294 average and drove in 102 runs to lead the Mets in that category. Catcher Todd Hundley, a year removed from his record setting 1996 campaign, led the team in home runs with thirty and added 86 RBI, one of five Mets to record 70 or more (joining Alfonzo, Olerud, Bernard Gilkey, and Butch Huskey).
After a year out of baseball, Rick Reed joined the Mets' starting rotation and led them with a 2.89 ERA. Bobby Jones led with fifteen wins, with Reed recording thirteen. John Franco saved 36 games, his most since 1988.
On April 15 the Mets hosted ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers before their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium. The ceremony was attended by President Bill Clinton and commissioner Bud Selig announced that Robinson's jersey number, 42, would be retired permanently across baseball. The Mets won the game 5-0.
Interleague play was brought to MLB in 1997 and the Mets played New York Yankees in June as part of the first ever regular season games that counted in the standings between the two teams (they had previously an exhibition game until 1983 during the season). The series took place at Yankee Stadium, and Mets won the first game by a score of 6-0.
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