The 1997 Boston Red Sox season was the 97th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, 20 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. It was the last time the Red Sox had a losing record until 2012. The Red Sox had 5,781 at bats, a single-season major league record. They also hit 373 doubles, which tied a single-season major league record set by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930, which they later tied during their World Series championship curse-breaking season in 2004 and later surpassed by the Texas Rangers in 2008 with 376.

Offseason December 9, 1996: Bret Saberhagen was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.Bret Saberhagen Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com January 22, 1997: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.Steve Avery Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com January 27, 1997: José Canseco was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics for John Wasdin and cash. January 31, 1997: Mike Benjamin was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.Mike Benjamin Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

Prior to the season, three large Coca-Cola bottles were placed on the left light tower of the Green Monster as an advertisement (they were removed prior to the 2008 season).

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

+Red Sox vs. National League East TeamATLFLAMONNYMPHIBoston0–31–20–32–13–0

Notable Transactions July 31, 1997: Heathcliff Slocumb was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek. August 30, 1997: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.Curtis Pride Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

Opening Day lineup   5 Nomar Garciaparra     SS13 John Valentin 2B42 Mo Vaughn 1B20 Mike Stanley DH11 Tim Naehring 3B12 Wil Cordero LF44 Rudy Pemberton RF37 Bill Haselman C 24 Shane Mack CF36 Tom Gordon P

Roster 1997 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager

Coaches (First base) (Pitching) (Third base) (Bullpen catcher) (Bench) (Hitting) (Bullpen)

Wally the Green Monster

Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox. His name is derived from the Green Monster nickname of the 37-foot wall in left field at Fenway Park. Wally debuted in 1997 to the chagrin of many older Red Sox fans. Although he was a hit with children, the older fans did not immediately adopt him as part of the franchise. According to the Red Sox promotions department, Wally was a huge Red Sox fan who decided to move inside the left field wall of Fenway Park since it "eats up" hits that would easily be home runs at other parks in 1947. Apparently, he was very shy and lived the life of a hermit for 50 years. On the 50th anniversary of the Green Monster in 1997, he came out of the manual scoreboard and has been interacting with players and fans ever since. Thanks to former Red Sox second baseman and broadcaster Jerry Remy, those older fans have adored him.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position Note: Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI SB C 114 350 97 .277 10 44 0 1B 141 527 166 .315 35 96 2 2B 143 575 176 .306 18 77 7 SS 153 684 209 .306 30 98 22 3B 70 259 74 .286 9 40 1 LF 140 570 160 .281 18 72 1 CF 153 513 132 .257 9 57 10 RF 146 499 154 .309 15 80 0 DH 136 489 156 .319 13 67 1

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI SB Jeff Frye 127 404 126 .312 3 51 19 Mike Stanley 97 260 78 .300 13 53 0 Bill Haselman 67 212 50 .236 6 26 0 Shane Mack 60 130 41 .315 3 17 2 Mike Benjamin 49 116 27 .233 0 7 2 Jesus Tavarez 42 69 12 .174 0 7 0 Rudy Pemberton 27 63 15 .238 2 10 0 Michael Coleman 8 24 4 .167 0 2 1 Arquimedez Pozo 4 15 4 .267 0 3 0 Jose Malave 4 4 0 .000 0 0 0 Walt McKeel 5 3 0 .000 0 0 0 Curtis Pride 2 2 1 .500 1 1 0 Jason Varitek 1 1 1 1.000 0 0 0

Pitching Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Starting pitchers Player G GS IP W L SV ERA SO 35 29 201.1 12 15 0 4.25 151 42 25 182.2 6 10 11 3.74 159 33 33 177.1 13 12 0 5.38 122 23 22 112.1 7 3 0 5.69 67 22 18 96.2 6 7 0 6.42 51

Main relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G GS IP W L SV ERA SO 49 0 46.2 0 5 17 5.79 36 53 7 124.2 4 6 0 4.40 84 36 5 84.1 7 3 6 3.52 51 52 0 57.2 5 3 2 3.43 40 33 0 45.2 1 1 3 6.11 18

Other pitchers and secondary relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G GS IP W L SV ERA SO Chris Hammond 29 8 65.1 3 4 1 5.92 48 Vaughn Eshelman 21 6 42.2 3 3 0 6.33 18 Mark Brandenburg 31 0 41.0 0 2 0 5.49 34 Joe Hudson 26 0 35.2 3 1 0 3.53 14 Bret Saberhagen 6 6 26.0 0 1 0 6.58 14 Ron Mahay 28 0 25.0 3 0 0 2.52 22 Ricky Trlicek 18 0 23.1 3 4 0 4.63 10 Derek Lowe 8 0 16.0 0 2 0 3.38 13 Rich Garcés 12 0 13.2 0 1 0 4.61 12 Robinson Checo 5 2 13.1 1 1 0 3.38 14 Pat Mahomes 10 0 10.0 1 0 0 8.10 5 Toby Borland 3 0 3.1 0 0 0 13.50 1 Ken Grundt 2 0 3.0 0 0 0 9.00 0 Brian Rose 1 1 3.0 0 0 0 12.00 3 Mike Benjamin 1 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.00 0

Game log Red Sox Win Red Sox Loss Game postponed

|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 1 || April 2 || @ Angels || 6–5 || Mahomes (1–0) || Percival (0–1) || Slocumb (1) || Anaheim Stadium || 30,874 || 1–0 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 2 || April 3 || @ Angels || 0–2 || Dickson (1–0) || Wakefield (0–1) || — || Anaheim Stadium || 17,323 || 1–1 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 3 || April 4 || @ Mariners || 10–5 || Sele (1–0) || Wolcott (0–1) || Henry (1) || Kingdome || 40,716 || 2–1 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 4 || April 5 || @ Mariners || 8–6 || Trlicek (1–0) || Charlton (0–1) || Slocumb (2) || Kingdome || 57,110 || 3–1 || W2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 5 || April 6 || @ Mariners || 7–8 (10)|| Charlton (1–1) || Trlicek (1–1) || — || Kingdome || 33,450 || 3–2 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 6 || April 7 || @ Athletics || 2–6 || Lewis (2–0) || Gordon (0–1) || Taylor (4) || Oakland Coliseum || 8,482 || 3–3 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 7 || April 8 || @ Athletics || 13–7 || Trlicek (2–1) || Wengert (0–2) || Henry (2) || Oakland Coliseum || 9,010 || 4–3 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb" | 8 || April 9 || @ Athletics || 3–4 (10)|| Small (1–0) || Trlicek (2–2) || — || Oakland Coliseum || 11,057 || 4–4 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb" | 9 || April 11 || Mariners || 3–5 || Johnson (1–0) || Avery (0–1) || Charlton (2) || Fenway Park || 34,210 || 4–5 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb" | 10 || April 12 || Mariners || 1–5 (10)|| Fassero (2–0) || Corsi (0–1) || — || Fenway Park || 15,358 || 4–6 || L3 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb" | 11 || April 13 || Mariners || 7–1 || Gordon (1–1) || Sanders (0–3) || — || Fenway Park || 30,300 || 5–6 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb" | 12 || April 14 || Athletics || 10–1 || Wakefield (1–1) || Adams (0–1) || — || Fenway Park || 18,166 || 6–6 || W2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb" | 13 || April 15 || Athletics || 7–2 || Sele (2–0) || Karsay (0–1) || — || Fenway Park || 17,862 || 7–6 || W3 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb" | 14 || April 16 || Indians || 11–6 || Avery (1–1) || Ogea (2–1) || — || Fenway Park || 21,305 || 8–6 || W4 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 15 || April 17 || Indians || 3–4 || Kline (3–0) || Trlicek (2–3) || Mesa (1) || Fenway Park || 17,988 || 8–7 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bbb" | — || April 18 || Orioles || colspan=8|Postponed (rain). Makeup date June 10. |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bbb" | — || April 19 || Orioles || colspan=8|Postponed (rain). Makeup date June 12. |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 16 || April 20 || Orioles || 1–11 || Key (3–0) || Gordon (1–2) || — || Fenway Park || 32,290 || 8–8 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 17 || April 21 || Orioles || 4–2 || Sele (3–0) || Erickson (2–1) || Slocumb (3) || Fenway Park || 33,608 || 9–8 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 18 || April 22 || @ Indians || 8–2 || Avery (2–1) || Ogea (2–2) || Henry (3) || Jacobs Field || 41,800 || 10–8 || W2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 19 || April 23 || @ Indians || 7–11 || McDowell (1–2) || Trlicek (2–4) || — || Jacobs Field || 42,430 || 10–9 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 20 || April 24 || @ Orioles || 2–1 (12)|| Trlicek (3–4) || Mathews (0–1) || Henry (4) || Camden Yards || 40,000 || 11–9 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 21 || April 25 || @ Orioles || 0–2 || Erickson (3–1) || Gordon (1–3) || Myers (9) || Camden Yards || 45,227 || 11–10 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 22 || April 26 || @ Orioles || 5–14 || Key (4–0) || Sele (3–1) || Johnson (1) || Camden Yards || 47,727 || 11–11 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 23 || April 27 || @ Orioles || 13–7 || Henry (1–0) || Rhodes (2–1) || — || Camden Yards || 47,307 || 12–11 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 24 || April 29 || Angels || 4–5 || Holtz (2–0) || Henry (1–1) || James (2) || Fenway Park || 19,347 || 12–12 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 25 || April 30 || Angels || 11–2 || Hammond (1–0) || Dickson (4–1) || — || Fenway Park || 20,322 || 13–12 || W1

|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bbb" | — || May 1 || Angels || colspan=8|Postponed (rain). Makeup date July 25. |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb" | 26 || May 2 || @ Rangers || 5–4 || Henry (2–1) || Patterson (2–3) || Slocumb (4) || The Ballpark in Arlington || 35,338 || 14–12 || W2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb" | 27 || May 3 || @ Rangers || 6–7 || Vosberg (1–1) || Slocumb (0–1) || — || The Ballpark in Arlington || 43,577 || 14–13 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 28 || May 4 || @ Rangers || 6–7 || Patterson (3–3) || Henry (2–2) || Wetteland (7) || The Ballpark in Arlington || 37,294 || 14–14 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 29 || May 5 || Royals || 0–2 || Appier (4–1) || Hammond (1–1) || — || Fenway Park || 19,061 || 14–15 || L3 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 30 || May 6 || Royals || 2–7 || Rosado (3–0) || Gordon (1–4) || Pichardo (5) || Fenway Park || 20,178 || 14–16 || L4 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#bfb;" | 31 || May 7 || Twins || 11–3 || Sele (4–1) || Radke (2–2) || — || Fenway Park || 19,075 || 15–16 || W1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 32 || May 8 || Twins || 7–10 || Robertson (3–1) || Garcés (0–1) || Aguilera (6) || Fenway Park || 24,959 || 15–17 || L1 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 33 || May 9 || Rangers || 1–5 || Witt (6–0) || Wasdin (0–1) || — || Fenway Park || 23,514 || 15–18 || L2 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;" | 34 || May 10 || Rangers || 5–11 || Patterson (4–3) || Slocumb (0–2) || — || Fenway Park || 25,084 || 15–19 || L3 |- style="text-align:center; background-color:#fbb;"