1997–98 Melbourne Reds season

The 1997-98 Melbourne Reds season was the eighth season for the team. As was the case for the Red's previous seasons they competed in the Australian Baseball League (ABL).

Regular season

Standings

Record vs opponents Opponent W–LRecord Largest Victory Largest Defeat CurrentStreak Score Date Ground Score Date Ground 5-2 11–2 27 January 1998 Moorabbin Oval 4-5 16 January 1998 Norwood Oval L1 7–1 20–7 22 November 1997 ANZ Stadium 7–11 22 November 1997 ANZ Stadium W7 4–3 10–6 7 November 1997 Carrara Oval 3–6 7 November 1997 Carrara Oval L1 7–1 17–7 19 December 1997 Marathon Stadium 4–5 19 December 1997 Marathon Stadium W3 3–6 8–2 2 November 1997 Moorabbin Oval 4–14 10 January 1998 Moorabbin Oval W1 2–4 8–3 27 December 1997 WACA 6–13 26 December 1997 WACA L2 2–4 13–4 1 February 1998 Concord Oval 4–8 5 January 1998 Moorabbin Oval W1 Total 30–21 Brisbane Bandits Melbourne Monarchs W1 20–7 22 November 1997 ANZ Stadium 4–14 10 January 1998 Moorabbin Oval

Game log W Reds win L Reds loss T Reds tie   Game postponed Bold Reds team member

|- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 1 | 31 October | | 6–8

| 0-1

|- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 2 | 1 November (DH 1) | @ | 6–10

| 0-2 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 3 | 1 November (DH 2) | @ | 2–7

| 0-3 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 4 | 2 November | | 8–2

| 1-3 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 5 | 7 November (DH 1) | @ | 3–6

| 1-4 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 6 | 7 November (DH 2) | @ | 10–6

| 2-4 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 7 | 8 November (DH 1) | @ | 4–5

| 2-5 | |- bgcolor=#bbbbbb | 8 | 8 November (DH 2) | @ | Wash Out

| 2-5 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 9 | 14 November | | 4–1

| 3-5 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 10 | 15 November (DH 1) | | 6–2

| 4-5 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 11 | 15 November (DH 2) | | 3–2

| 5-5 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 12 | 16 November | | 1–2

| 5-6 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 13 | 21 November | @ | 7–11

| 5-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 14 | 22 November (DH 1) | @ | 20–7

| 6-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 15 | 22 November (DH 2) | @ | 12–7

| 7-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 16 | 23 November | @ | 12–8

| 8-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 17 | 28 November | | 12–8

| 9-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 18 | 29 November (DH 1) | | 12–1

| 10-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 19 | 29 November (DH 2) | | 11–7

| 11-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 20 | 30 November | | 11–7

| 12-7

|- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 21 | 5 December | | 2–1

| 13-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 22 | 6 December(DH 1) | | 10–6

| 14-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 23 | 6 December (DH 2) | | 7–6

| 15-7 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 24 | 7 December | | 8–1

| 16-7 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 25 | 19 December (DH 1) | @ | 4–5

| 16-8 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 26 | 19 December (DH 2) | @ | 17–7

| 17-8 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 27 | 21 December (DH 1) | @ | 8–7

| 18-8 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 28 | 21 December (DH 2) | @ | 7–0

| 19-8 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 29 | 26 December (DH 1) | @ | 6–13

| 19-9 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 30 | 26 December (DH 2) | @ | 0–1

| 19-10 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 31 | 27 December (DH 1) | @ | 3–2

| 20-10 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 32 | 27 December (DH 2) | @ | 8–3

| 21-10

|- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 33 | 3 January | | 1–4

| 21-11 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 34 | 4 January | | 10–1

| 22-11 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 35 | 5 January | | 4–8

| 22-12 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 36 | 8 January | | 2–6

| 22-13 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 37 | 9 January | | 7–3

| 23-13 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 38 | 10 January | | 4–14

| 23-14 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 39 | 16 January (DH 1) | @ | 4–5

| 23-15 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 40 | 16 December (DH 2) | @ | 10–6

| 24-15 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 41 | 17 January (DH 1) | @ | 10–8

| 25-15 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 42 | 17 December (DH 2) | @ | 11–10

| 26-15 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 43 | 22 January | | 0–2

| 26-16 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 44 | 23 January | | 6–9

| 26-17 | |- bgcolor=#bbbbbb | 45 | 24 January | | No Result

| 26-17 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 46 | 26 January | | 1–0

| 27-17 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 47 | 27 January | | 11–2

| 28-17 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 48 | 28 January | | 5–6

| 28-18 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 49 | 31 January | @ | 11–14

| 28-19

|- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 50 | 1 February | @ | 13–4

| 29-19 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 51 | 2 February | @ | 9–10

| 29-20 | |- bgcolor=#ffbbbb | 52 | 5 February | @ | 4–5

| 29-21 | |- bgcolor=#bbffbb | 53 | 6 February | @ | 5–4

| 30-21 | |- bgcolor=#bbbbbb | 54 | 7 February | @ | Wash Out

| 30-21

Postseason

Finals Series at Melbourne Ballpark In previous years the post season was played as home and away best of 3 games, with the two winner of each series meeting for a best of 5 series{fact}, in 1997-98 this was changed to a round robin play-off format with each team playing 3 games, 1 against each of the other 3 qualified teams, with the two highest places teams playing off in the Championship Series.

All games for the 9th ABL title were played at the Melbourne Ballpark from February, 10-12 with the best of three championship series February 14–15.

Finals Series (Reds games) Full series results

Game 2: 10 February 1998

Game 4: 11 February 1998

Game 6: 12 February 1998

Postseason Ladder

Championship Series

Game 1: 14 February 1998

Game 2: 15 February 1998

Award winners

ABL awards Award Name Stat refManager of the YearTom NietoAll-Star Game Home Run KingChris AshbyChampionship Series MVPShane Hogan

All-stars Position Name ref1st BaseAdam BurtonShort StopBen UttingManagerTom Nieto

Reds Awards Award Name Stat refBatting ChampionAdam Burton.388 (165 At Bats)RBI ChampionAdam Burton55Home Run KingAdam Burton21Base Path PirateAdam Burton18 of 19Pitching ChampionPat Ahearne3.36ERA 3–4, 56.1IPPitching WorkhorseJason Beverlin72.1IP 2–4, 6.22Strikeout KingJason Beverlin67Sigh of ReliefDavid SimpsonDavid White2 Saves

Roster

References