1997 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1997 Pittsburgh Pirates
League	National League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Three Rivers Stadium
City	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Record	79–83 (.488)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Kevin McClatchy
General managers	Cam Bonifay
Managers	Gene Lamont
Television	WPGH-TV & WPTT-TV Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh
Radio	KDKA-AM (Steve Blass, Greg Brown, Lanny Frattare, Bob Walk)
Seasons

The 1997 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 116th season of the franchise; the 111th in the National League. This was their 28th season at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates finished second in the National League Central with a record of 79–83.

Offseason

• November 14, 1996: Dan Plesac, Carlos García and Orlando Merced were traded by the Pirates to the Toronto Blue Jays for José Silva, Brandon Cromer (minors), Jose Pett (minors), and players to be named later. The Blue Jays completed the deal by sending Abraham Núñez, Craig Wilson, and Mike Halperin (minors) to the Pirates on December 11.^[2]
• December 13, 1996: Jay Bell and Jeff King were traded by the Pirates to the Kansas City Royals for Jeff Granger, Joe Randa, Jeff Wallace, and Jeff Martin (minors).^[3]
• December 20, 1996: Kevin Elster was signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[4]

New stadium referendum

Perhaps the most interesting headline of the Pirates' 1997 season didn't occur on the field. In 1997 voters in Pittsburgh's Allegheny County and 10 surrounding counties were presented with a referendum, known as the Regional Renaissance Initiative, to raise their county sales tax by 1/2% for seven years to fund, among other things, new stadiums for the Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams were playing in Three Rivers Stadium, which at the time was considered by many to be obsolete. The unexpected pennant drive provided a backdrop for the question as it was debated throughout the summer, given the concern that the Pirates might leave the city if a new stadium wasn't procured.

The referendum failed badly in all 11 counties. Only in Allegheny County was it close (58-42), while being rejected by 2-1 to 3-1 margins in other counties. The next year what became known as "Plan B" was pursued by local and state government officials which called again for two new stadiums as well as an expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The new plan was eventually passed, this time without a referendum and despite polls showing the public was against this as well, resulting in the construction of PNC Park and Heinz Field, where both teams would start playing in 2001.

Regular season

The 1997 Pittsburgh Pirates were informally known as "The Freak Show,"^[5] as the team of rookies and cheap veterans (the team only had a $9 million payroll) unexpectedly competed with the Houston Astros for the division title until the final week of the season.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	84	78	.519	—	46‍–‍35	38‍–‍43
Pittsburgh Pirates	79	83	.488	5	43‍–‍38	36‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds	76	86	.469	8	40‍–‍41	36‍–‍45
St. Louis Cardinals	73	89	.451	11	41‍–‍40	32‍–‍49
Chicago Cubs	68	94	.420	16	42‍–‍39	26‍–‍55

Game log

1997 Game Log (79–83)
April (12–13) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 1 @ Giants 5–2 Ruebel (1–0) Rodriguez Ericks (1) 41,996 1–0 2 April 3 @ Giants 5–7 Fernandez Cooke (0–1) Beck 8,099 1–1 3 April 4 @ Dodgers 3–5 Candiotti Wainhouse (0–1) Worrell 37,284 1–2 4 April 5 @ Dodgers 3–1 Cordova (1–0) Park Ericks (2) 41,099 2–2 5 April 6 @ Dodgers 3–6 Dreifort Rincon (0–1) Worrell 37,493 2–3 6 April 7 @ Padres 2–3 (10) Veras Ruebel (1–1) — 29,895 2–4 7 April 8 @ Padres 2–0 Cooke (1–1) Bergman Ericks (3) 14,278 3–4 8 April 9 @ Padres 4–2 Loaiza (1–0) Worrell Ericks (4) 24,735 4–4 9 April 11 Dodgers 1–7 Martinez Cordova (1–1) — 43,126 4–5 10 April 13 Dodgers 5–14 Nomo Schmidt (0–1) — 14,885 4–6 11 April 15 Padres 3–2 Ericks (1–0) Ashby — 6,851 5–6 12 April 16 Padres 5–7 Valenzuela Cooke (1–2) Hoffman 6,777 5–7 13 April 17 Reds 3–2 Loaiza (2–0) Morgan Ericks (5) 6,039 6–7 14 April 18 Reds 1–6 Burba Cordova (1–2) — 9,082 6–8 15 April 19 Reds 6–5 Rincon (1–1) Remlinger — 11,457 7–8 16 April 20 Reds 5–3 Lieber (1–0) Mercker Ericks (6) 14,542 8–8 17 April 21 Phillies 2–10 Schilling Cooke (1–3) — 9,015 8–9 18 April 23 Phillies 3–2 Rincon (2–1) Spradlin — 8,850 9–9 19 April 24 @ Cubs 4–3 Loiselle (1–0) Rojas — 21,787 10–9 20 April 25 @ Cubs 1–11 Foster Lieber (1–1) — 18,333 10–10 21 April 26 @ Cubs 6–7 Patterson Rincon (2–2) Rojas 29,323 10–11 22 April 27 @ Cubs 7–0 Schmidt (1–1) Telemaco — 21,083 11–11 23 April 28 @ Phillies 9–4 (12) Wilkins (1–0) Mimbs — 12,017 12–11 24 April 29 @ Phillies 2–8 Maduro Ruebel (1–2) — 12,453 12–12 25 April 30 Giants 1–6 Gardner Lieber (1–2) — 10,073 12–13
May (14–14) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 26 May 1 Giants 3–2 Cooke (2–3) Estes Rincon (1) 10,507 13–13 27 May 2 @ Braves 3–2 Peters (1–0) Bielecki Loiselle (1) 37,577 14–13 28 May 3 @ Braves 3–0 Loaiza (3–0) Glavine Rincon (2) 46,602 15–13 29 May 4 @ Braves 1–3 Wade Cordova (1–3) Wohlers 42,037 15–14 30 May 5 @ Marlins 0–3 Helling Lieber (1–3) Nen 16,616 15–15 31 May 6 @ Marlins 4–0 Cooke (3–3) Fernandez — 18,063 16–15 32 May 7 @ Rockies 14–3 Wilkins (2–0) Thompson — 48,056 17–15 33 May 8 @ Rockies 10–8 Loaiza (4–0) Wright Loiselle (2) 48,050 18–15 34 May 9 Braves 9–0 Cordova (2–3) Wade — 18,006 19–15 35 May 10 Braves 3–9 Neagle Lieber (1–4) — 34,143 19–16 36 May 11 Braves 2–8 Smoltz Cooke (3–4) — 29,895 19–17 37 May 12 Braves 2–10 Maddux Schmidt (1–2) — 12,114 19–18 38 May 14 Rockies 15–10 Wilkins (3–0) Reed — 11,841 20–18 39 May 15 Rockies 4–3 Cordova (3–3) Bailey Rincon (3) 8,548 21–18 40 May 16 Marlins 1–3 Fernandez Lieber (1–5) Nen 17,156 21–19 41 May 17 Marlins 1–11 Rapp Cooke (3–5) — 32,066 21–20 42 May 18 Marlins 3–5 (10) Nen Loiselle (1–1) Stanifer 28,702 21–21 43 May 20 @ Cardinals 1–3 Jackson Loaiza (4–1) Eckersley 25,990 21–22 44 May 21 @ Cardinals 3–2 Ruebel (2–2) Fossas Loiselle (3) 34,738 22–22 45 May 22 @ Expos 9–3 Lieber (2–5) Perez Rincon (4) 12,620 23–22 46 May 23 @ Expos 1–4 Martinez Cooke (3–6) — 18,499 23–23 47 May 24 @ Expos 3–7 Juden Schmidt (1–3) Urbina 26,154 23–24 48 May 25 @ Expos 8–6 Wilkins (4–0) Daal Loiselle (4) 27,253 24–24 49 May 26 Cubs 1–2 Foster Cordova (3–4) Adams 20,609 24–25 50 May 27 Cubs 7–8 Gonzalez Lieber (2–6) Adams 9,641 24–26 51 May 28 Cubs 4–1 Cooke (4–6) Mulholland — 10,198 25–26 52 May 30 Expos 10–2 Peters (2–0) Juden — 14,676 26–26 53 May 31 Expos 2–4 Hermanson Loaiza (4–2) Urbina 14,628 26–27
June (11–16) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 54 June 1 Expos 11–2 Cordova (4–4) Bullinger — 25,752 27–27 55 June 2 @ Cubs 2–3 Mulholland Lieber (2–7) Adams 21,773 27–28 56 June 3 @ Cubs 3–1 Cooke (5–6) Trachsel Loiselle (5) 17,317 28–28 57 June 4 Cardinals 0–10 Benes Schmidt (1–4) — 19,181 28–29 58 June 5 Cardinals 9–3 Loaiza (5–2) Stottlemyre — 11,382 29–29 59 June 6 Phillies 5–4 (10) Wilkins (5–0) Spradlin — 15,165 30–29 60 June 7 Phillies 9–2 Lieber (3–7) Nye — 25,664 31–29 61 June 8 Phillies 2–3 Schilling Cooke (5–7) Bottalico 30,667 31–30 62 June 10 @ Reds 5–8 Remlinger Rincon (2–3) Shaw 18,556 31–31 63 June 11 @ Reds 1–2 Tomko Loaiza (5–3) Shaw 20,854 31–32 64 June 13 Royals 5–3 Cordova (5–4) Williams Loiselle (6) 33,253 32–32 65 June 14 Royals 3–8 Belcher Lieber (3–8) Montgomery 39,509 32–33 66 June 15 Royals 1–8 Appier Cooke (5–8) — 35,774 32–34 67 June 16 @ Twins 8–6 Schmidt (2–4) Aldred Loiselle (7) 16,007 33–34 68 June 17 @ Twins 1–13 Hawkins Loaiza (5–4) — 14,894 33–35 69 June 18 @ Twins 2–8 Radke Cordova (5–5) — 15,688 33–36 70 June 19 @ Mets 6–7 Franco Rincon (2–4) — 15,492 33–37 71 June 20 @ Mets 0–1 Jones Cooke (5–9) Franco 18,737 33–38 72 June 21 @ Mets 2–3 Mlicki Wilkins (5–1) McMichael 32,908 33–39 73 June 22 @ Mets 9–12 (10) Kashiwada Peters (2–1) — 23,247 33–40 74 June 23 @ Astros 6–0 Cordova (6–5) Garcia — 16,738 34–40 75 June 24 @ Astros 8–3 Lieber (4–8) Wall — 17,972 35–40 76 June 25 @ Astros 1–5 Kile Sodowsky (0–1) — 26,954 35–41 77 June 27 Mets 6–1 Schmidt (3–4) Mlicki — 18,103 36–41 78 June 28 Mets 3–8 Reynoso Loaiza (5–5) — 23,711 36–42 79 June 29 Mets 8–10 Jordan Peters (2–2) Franco 26,499 36–43 80 June 30 White Sox 3–1 Lieber (5–8) Darwin — 28,070 37–43
July (16–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 81 July 1 White Sox 3–0 Cooke (6–9) Baldwin Loiselle (8) 22,163 38–43 82 July 2 White Sox 3–1 Schmidt (4–4) Navarro — 25,772 39–43 83 July 3 @ Cardinals 6–4 Loaiza (6–5) Valenzuela Loiselle (9) 30,753 40–43 84 July 4 @ Cardinals 7–5 (10) Wilkins (6–1) Eckersley Loiselle (10) 33,885 41–43 85 July 5 @ Cardinals 4–3 Lieber (6–8) Morris Wilkins (1) 39,593 42–43 86 July 6 @ Cardinals 6–3 Cooke (7–9) Stottlemyre — 29,290 43–43 87 July 10 Astros 0–7 Kile Schmidt (4–5) — 17,335 43–44 88 July 11 Astros 0–10 Hampton Loaiza (6–6) — 21,913 43–45 89 July 12 Astros 3–0 (10) Rincon (3–4) Hudek — 44,119 44–45 90 July 13 Astros 5–3 Sodowsky (1–1) Springer Loiselle (11) 25,675 45–45 91 July 14 Mets 5–4 Rincon (4–4) McMichael Loiselle (12) 12,794 46–45 92 July 15 Mets 4–3 Christiansen (1–0) Acevedo Loiselle (13) 12,244 47–45 93 July 16 Reds 3–7 Burba Loaiza (6–7) — 30,698 47–46 94 July 17 Reds 5–9 Smiley Cordova (6–6) — 19,710 47–47 95 July 18 @ Phillies 6–8 Leiter Lieber (6–9) Bottalico 19,676 47–48 96 July 19 @ Phillies 13–3 Cooke (8–9) Green — 17,472 48–48 97 July 20 @ Phillies 1–4 Stephenson Schmidt (4–6) Bottalico 20,431 48–49 98 July 21 @ Phillies 3–2 Loaiza (7–7) Schilling Loiselle (14) 19,303 49–49 99 July 22 @ Padres 2–3 Hoffman Loiselle (1–2) — 18,306 49–50 100 July 23 @ Padres 1–9 Smith Lieber (6–10) — 16,151 49–51 101 July 24 @ Padres 6–8 Bruske Sodowsky (1–2) Hoffman 18,715 49–52 102 July 25 @ Giants 5–2 Schmidt (5–6) Rueter Loiselle (15) 14,236 50–52 103 July 26 @ Giants 10–3 Loaiza (8–7) Creek — 25,962 51–52 104 July 27 @ Giants 5–6 (13) Henry Wilkins (6–2) — 0 51–53 105 July 27 @ Giants 10–7 Cordova (7–6) VanLandingham — 38,866 52–53 106 July 28 @ Dodgers 2–4 Valdez Lieber (6–11) Worrell 53,503 52–54 107 July 29 @ Dodgers 1–3 Astacio Cooke (8–10) Worrell 43,791 52–55 108 July 31 Rockies 4–1 Schmidt (6–6) Bailey Loiselle (16) 16,654 53–55
August (15–14) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 109 August 1 Rockies 6–7 Reed Rincon (4–5) Dipoto 22,657 53–56 110 August 2 Rockies 6–5 Cordova (8–6) Swift Loiselle (17) 32,388 54–56 111 August 3 Rockies 8–4 Ruebel (3–2) Reed — 24,989 55–56 112 August 4 Braves 0–6 Smoltz Cooke (8–11) — 21,609 55–57 113 August 5 Braves 5–4 Schmidt (7–6) Glavine Loiselle (18) 20,069 56–57 114 August 6 Marlins 3–12 Brown Loaiza (8–8) — 32,594 56–58 115 August 7 Marlins 5–1 Wilkins (7–2) Leiter — 18,042 57–58 116 August 8 @ Rockies 3–5 Wright Lieber (6–12) Dipoto 48,262 57–59 117 August 9 @ Rockies 7–8 Munoz Rincon (4–6) — 48,323 57–60 118 August 10 @ Rockies 7–8 Leskanic Wilkins (7–3) Dipoto 48,018 57–61 119 August 12 @ Braves 5–2 Sodowsky (2–2) Wohlers Loiselle (19) 42,435 58–61 120 August 13 @ Braves 2–1 Lieber (7–12) Smoltz Loiselle (20) 40,793 59–61 121 August 15 @ Marlins 5–6 Powell Loiselle (1–3) — 26,092 59–62 122 August 16 @ Marlins 10–5 Cordova (9–6) Saunders — 40,031 60–62 123 August 17 @ Marlins 2–10 Brown Cooke (8–12) — 38,221 60–63 124 August 18 @ Marlins 7–2 Loaiza (9–8) Alfonseca — 30,200 61–63 125 August 19 Padres 5–3 Lieber (8–12) Smith Loiselle (21) 12,411 62–63 126 August 20 Padres 7–3 Schmidt (8–6) Ashby — 10,222 63–63 127 August 21 Padres 4–9 Hitchcock Cordova (9–7) — 13,129 63–64 128 August 22 Giants 3–2 Cooke (9–12) Rueter Loiselle (22) 18,562 64–64 129 August 23 Giants 6–4 Loaiza (10–8) Darwin Loiselle (23) 42,502 65–64 130 August 24 Giants 9–6 Christiansen (2–0) Henry Wilkins (2) 33,363 66–64 131 August 25 Dodgers 2–8 Martinez Schmidt (8–7) Guthrie 0 66–65 132 August 25 Dodgers 4–3 Wilkins (8–3) Worrell — 14,018 67–65 133 August 26 Dodgers 4–6 Dreifort Rincon (4–7) — 13,689 67–66 134 August 27 Dodgers 5–9 Reyes Cooke (9–13) — 48,032 67–67 135 August 29 @ Brewers 1–4 Karl Loaiza (10–9) Jones 17,539 67–68 136 August 30 @ Brewers 3–1 Lieber (9–12) Mercedes Loiselle (24) 23,673 68–68 137 August 31 @ Brewers 2–3 Jones Wilkins (8–4) — 32,541 68–69
September (11–14) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 138 September 1 Indians 5–7 Ogea Cooke (9–14) Mesa 45,298 68–70 139 September 2 Indians 6–4 Silva (1–0) Wright Loiselle (25) 43,380 69–70 140 September 3 Indians 3–7 Hershiser Loaiza (10–10) — 37,513 69–71 141 September 4 @ Reds 2–5 Morgan Lieber (9–13) Shaw 15,136 69–72 142 September 5 @ Reds 6–8 Sullivan Wilkins (8–5) Shaw 21,492 69–73 143 September 6 @ Reds 13–4 Cordova (10–7) Remlinger — 20,383 70–73 144 September 7 @ Reds 3–6 Burba Silva (1–1) Shaw 19,682 70–74 145 September 9 @ Expos 4–5 (10) Urbina Loiselle (1–4) — 8,782 70–75 146 September 10 @ Expos 4–5 Martinez Lieber (9–14) Urbina 10,139 70–76 147 September 12 Cubs 3–1 Schmidt (9–7) Batista Loiselle (26) 13,833 71–76 148 September 13 Cubs 1–4 Trachsel Cordova (10–8) Adams 21,505 71–77 149 September 14 Cubs 2–3 Clark Rincon (4–8) Adams 20,120 71–78 150 September 15 Expos 5–4 (10) Wilkins (9–5) Telford — 7,736 72–78 151 September 16 Expos 8–2 Lieber (10–14) Johnson — 8,010 73–78 152 September 17 Astros 4–8 Reynolds Schmidt (9–8) — 27,422 73–79 153 September 18 Astros 12–3 Cordova (11–8) Kile — 14,852 74–79 154 September 19 Cardinals 5–6 (11) King Loiselle (1–5) Eckersley 16,235 74–80 155 September 20 Cardinals 10–1 Loaiza (11–10) Beltran — 21,053 75–80 156 September 21 Cardinals 14–2 Lieber (11–14) Busby — 26,247 76–80 157 September 22 Cardinals 3–1 Schmidt (10–8) Morris Loiselle (27) 17,919 77–80 158 September 23 @ Mets 5–4 Silva (2–1) Lidle Loiselle (28) 14,670 78–80 159 September 24 @ Mets 5–7 Crawford Cooke (9–15) Rojas 13,195 78–81 160 September 26 @ Astros 0–2 Garcia Loaiza (11–11) Wagner 37,850 78–82 161 September 27 @ Astros 1–8 Reynolds Schmidt (10–9) — 36,170 78–83 162 September 28 @ Astros 5–4 (11) Christiansen (3–0) Henriquez Loiselle (29) 30,606 79–83
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member

Record vs. opponents

1997 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Atlanta	—	9–2	9–2	5–6	4–8	7–4	6–5	10–2	5–7	10–2	5–6	8–3	7–4	8–3	8–7
Chicago	2–9	—	7–5	2–9	2–9	3–9	5–6	4–7	6–5	6–5	7–5	6–5	5–6	4–8	9–6
Cincinnati	2–9	5–7	—	5–6	5–6	5–7	6–5	6–5	2–9	8–3	8–4	5–6	4–7	6–6	9–6
Colorado	6–5	9–2	6–5	—	7–4	5–6	5–7	7–4	6–5	4–7	4–7	4–8	4–8	7–4	9–7
Florida	8–4	9–2	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	7–4	7–5	4–8	6–6	7–4	5–6	5–6	5–6	12–3
Houston	4–7	9–3	7–5	6–5	4–7	—	7–4	8–3	7–4	4–7	6–6	6–5	3–8	9–3	4–11
Los Angeles	5–6	6–5	5–6	7–5	4–7	4–7	—	7–4	6–5	10–1	9–2	5–7	6–6	5–6	9–7
Montreal	2–10	7–4	5–6	4–7	5–7	3–8	4–7	—	5–7	6–6	5–6	8–3	6–5	6–5	12–3
New York	7–5	5–6	9–2	5–6	8–4	4–7	5–6	7–5	—	7–5	7–4	5–6	3–8	9–2	7–8
Philadelphia	2–10	5–6	3–8	7–4	6–6	7–4	1–10	6–6	5–7	—	5–6	7–4	3–8	6–5	5–10
Pittsburgh	6–5	5–7	4–8	7–4	4–7	6–6	2–9	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	5–6	8–3	9–3	7–8
San Diego	3–8	5–6	6–5	8–4	6–5	5–6	7–5	3–8	6–5	4–7	6–5	—	4–8	5–6	8–8
San Francisco	4–7	6–5	7–4	8–4	6–5	8–3	6–6	5–6	8–3	8–3	3–8	8–4	—	3–8	10–6
St. Louis	3–8	8–4	6–6	4–7	6–5	3–9	6–5	5–6	2–9	5–6	3–9	6–5	8–3	—	8–7

Detailed records

National League Opponent W L WP RS RA NL East Atlanta Braves 6 5 0.545 35 45 Florida Marlins 4 7 0.364 41 58 Montreal Expos 6 5 0.545 65 44 New York Mets 4 7 0.364 53 60 Philadelphia Phillies 6 5 0.545 55 50 Total 26 29 0.473 249 257 NL Central Chicago Cubs 5 7 0.417 41 44 Cincinnati Reds 4 8 0.333 53 65 Houston Astros 6 6 0.500 45 53 St. Louis Cardinals 9 3 0.750 68 43 Total 24 24 0.500 207 205 NL West Colorado Rockies 7 4 0.636 84 62 Los Angeles Dodgers 2 9 0.182 33 66 San Diego Padres 5 6 0.455 41 49 San Francisco Giants 8 3 0.727 62 47 Total 22 22 0.500 220 224 American League Chicago White Sox 3 0 1.000 9 2 Cleveland Indians 1 2 0.333 14 18 Kansas City Royals 1 2 0.333 9 19 Milwaukee Brewers 1 2 0.333 6 8 Minnesota Twins 1 2 0.333 11 27 Total 7 8 0.467 49 74 Season Total 79 83 0.488 725 760

Month Games Won Lost Win % RS RA April 25 12 13 0.480 91 123 May 28 14 14 0.500 127 122 June 27 11 16 0.407 119 135 July 28 16 12 0.571 123 122 August 29 15 14 0.517 136 147 September 25 11 14 0.440 129 111 Total 162 79 83 0.488 725 760 Games Won Lost Win % RS RA Home 81 43 38 0.531 365 395 Away 81 36 45 0.444 360 365 Total 162 79 83 0.488 725 760

Roster

1997 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 41 Jason Christiansen 26 Steve Cooke 67 Francisco Córdova 71 Elmer Dessens 57 John Ericks 39 Jeff Granger 36 Jason Johnson 47 Jon Lieber 34 Esteban Loaiza 51 Rich Loiselle 55 Ramón Morel 38 Chris Peters 73 Ricardo Rincón 49 Matt Ruebel 42 Jason Schmidt 56 José Silva 63 Clint Sodowsky 43 Paul Wagner 53 Dave Wainhouse 39 Jeff Wallace 35 Marc Wilkins		Catchers 18 Jason Kendall 15 Keith Osik Infielders  6 Lou Collier  3 Shawon Dunston 10 Kevin Elster 22 Freddy García 36 Mark Johnson 48 Abraham Núñez  2 Kevin Polcovich 16 Joe Randa 17 Dale Sveum 30 Eddie Williams  5 Tony Womack 29 Kevin Young		Outfielders 46 Jermaine Allensworth 13 Adrian Brown 19 Emil Brown 30 Midre Cummings 11 José Guillén 28 Al Martin 25 Mark Smith 12 Turner Ward		Manager 32 Gene Lamont Coaches 37 Joe Jones (first base) 45 Jack Lind (third base) 23 Lloyd McClendon (hitting) 44 Rick Renick (bench) 50 Pete Vuckovich (pitching) 54 Spin Williams (bullpen)

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
#	Name	Position
5	Tony Womack	2B
46	Jermaine Allensworth	CF
28	Al Martin	LF
36	Mark Johnson	1B
10	Kevin Elster	SS
18	Jason Kendall	C
11	José Guillén	RF
16	Joe Randa	3B
47	Jon Lieber	SP

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Regular Season[6] Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C. Sodowsky 45 2 1 0.500 0 0 S. Dunston 18 71 28 0.394 5 16 T. Ward 71 167 59 0.353 7 33 J. Randa 126 443 134 0.302 7 60 K. Young 97 333 100 0.300 18 74 J. Kendall 144 486 143 0.294 8 49 A. Martin 113 423 123 0.291 13 59 M. Smith 71 193 55 0.285 9 35 T. Womack 155 641 178 0.278 6 50 K. Polcovich 84 245 67 0.273 4 21 J. Guillén 143 498 133 0.267 14 70 D. Sveum 126 306 80 0.261 12 47 K. Osik 49 105 27 0.257 0 7 J. Allensworth 108 369 94 0.255 3 43 C. Peters 31 4 1 0.250 0 2 E. Williams 30 89 22 0.247 3 11 A. Núñez 19 40 9 0.225 0 6 K. Elster 39 138 31 0.225 7 25 M. Johnson 78 219 47 0.215 4 29 A. Brown 48 147 28 0.190 1 10 M. Cummings 52 106 20 0.189 3 8 E. Brown 66 95 17 0.179 2 6 E. Loaiza 33 60 10 0.167 0 5 F. García 20 40 6 0.150 3 5 J. Silva 11 7 1 0.143 0 0 L. Collier 18 37 5 0.135 0 3 J. Lieber 33 58 7 0.121 0 8 J. Schmidt 32 56 6 0.107 0 2 F. Córdova 29 56 5 0.089 0 0 S. Cooke 32 52 3 0.058 0 1 J. Johnson 3 1 0 0.000 0 0 R. Loiselle 72 1 0 0.000 0 0 R. Rincón 62 1 0 0.000 0 0 M. Ruebel 44 7 0 0.000 0 0 P. Wagner 14 1 0 0.000 0 0 D. Wainhouse 25 2 0 0.000 0 0 M. Wilkins 70 4 0 0.000 0 1 J. Christiansen 39 0 0 — 0 0 E. Dessens 3 0 0 — 0 0 J. Ericks 10 0 0 — 0 0 J. Granger 9 0 0 — 0 0 R. Morel 5 0 0 — 0 0 J. Wallace 11 0 0 — 0 0 Team Totals 162 5,503 1,440 0.262 129 686

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Regular Season[7] Player G IP W L ERA SO E. Dessens 3 31⁄3 0 0 0.00 2 J. Wallace 11 12 0 0 0.75 14 J. Ericks 10 91⁄3 1 0 1.93 6 J. Christiansen 39 332⁄3 3 0 2.94 37 R. Loiselle 72 722⁄3 1 5 3.10 66 R. Rincón 62 60 4 8 3.45 71 F. Córdova 29 1782⁄3 11 8 3.63 121 C. Sodowsky 45 52 2 2 3.63 51 M. Wilkins 70 752⁄3 9 5 3.69 47 P. Wagner 14 16 0 0 3.94 9 E. Loaiza 33 1961⁄3 11 11 4.13 122 S. Cooke 32 1671⁄3 9 15 4.30 109 J. Lieber 33 1881⁄3 11 14 4.49 160 C. Peters 31 371⁄3 2 2 4.58 17 J. Schmidt 32 1872⁄3 10 9 4.60 136 R. Morel 5 2⁄3 0 0 4.70 4 J. Silva 11 361⁄3 2 1 5.94 30 J. Johnson 3 6 0 0 6.00 3 M. Ruebel 44 622⁄3 3 2 6.32 50 D. Wainhouse 25 28 0 1 8.04 21 J. Granger 9 5 0 0 18.00 4 Team Totals 162 1,436 79 83 4.28 1,080

Awards and honors

The Sporting News Executive of the Year Award

• Cam Bonifay, GM

1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Tony Womack, 2B, reserve

Notable transactions

• July 8, 1997: Midre Cummings was selected off waivers from the Pirates by the Philadelphia Phillies.^[8]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Calgary Cannons	Pacific Coast League	Trent Jewett
AA	Carolina Mudcats	Southern League	Marc Hill and Jeff Banister
A	Lynchburg Hillcats	Carolina League	Jeff Banister and Jeff Richardson
A	Augusta Greenjackets	South Atlantic League	Jeff Richardson and Scott Little
A-Short Season	Erie SeaWolves	New York–Penn League	Marty Brown
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lynchburg

References

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
2. Dan Plesac at Baseball Reference
3. Jay Bell page at Baseball References
4. "Kevin Elster Stats".
5. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Pirates' 'Freak Show' hit zenith with July no-hitter"
6. "Major League Baseball Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
7. "Major League Baseball Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
8. Midre Cummings at Baseball Reference

• 1997 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1997 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.

Further reading

• September 1997 editorial