The Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

' 1997 season

1997 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Florida Marlins over Cleveland Indians ; Liván Hernández, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marquis Grissom**American League Division Series*National League Championship Series MVP: Liván Hernández...

was the 5th for the Rockies. They tried to win the National League West

National League West

The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...

. Don Baylor

Don Baylor

Donald Edward Baylor is a Major League Baseball coach currently the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a former player and manager. During his 19-year playing career, he was a power hitter who played as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter...

 was their manager. They played home games at Coors Field

Coors Field

Coors Field, located in Denver, Colorado, is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. It is named for the Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado, which purchased the naming rights to the park prior to its completion in 1995...

. They finished with a record of 83-79, third in the NL West.

Offseason

• November 28, 1996: Armando Reynoso was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the New York Mets for Jerry DiPoto.
• December 9, 1996: Kirt Manwaring was signed as a Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.
• January 15, 1997: Juan Uribe
  Juan Uribe
  Juan C. Uribe Tena is a Dominican Republic professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. He began his career in 1997 when he was signed to the Colorado Rockies, and played with the team until December 3, 2003 when he was traded to the Chicago White Sox...
  
   was signed as an Amateur Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.
• January 24, 1997: Darnell Coles was signed as a Free Agent by the Colorado Rockies.
• March 26, 1997: Steve Decker was released by the Colorado Rockies.

Regular season

Larry Walker had a career season came in , when he hit .366 with 49 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s, 130 RBI, 33 stolen bases, and 409 total bases

Total bases

In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....

, en route to becoming the first Canadian player to win the MVP Award

MLB Most Valuable Player Award

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

.

Combined with 12 outfield

Outfield

The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...

 assist

Assist (baseball)

In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...

s, the season remains one of the finest all around performances in recent baseball history. Even more impressively, Walker's breakout season came just one year after various injuries limited him to 83 games and 272 at-bats, although the NL Comeback Player of the Year award went to Darren Daulton

Darren Daulton

Darren Arthur Daulton , nicknamed Dutch, is a former catcher in Major League Baseball best remembered for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies...

.

Transactions

• May 23, 1997: Darnell Coles was purchased by the Hanshin Tigers (Japan Central) from the Colorado Rockies.
• June 3, 1997: Aaron Cook was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed July 13, 1997.
• June 3, 1997: Chone Figgins
  Chone Figgins
  Desmond DeChone "Chone" Figgins is an American Major League Baseball third baseman for the Seattle Mariners. Figgins is a utility player, playing all positions except catcher, pitcher, and first base.-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:...
  
   was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4th round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 9, 1997.
• July 27, 1997: Craig Counsell was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Marlins for Mark Hutton.
• August 19, 1997: Eric Young was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pedro Astacio.
• August 20, 1997: Bill Swift was released by the Colorado Rockies.

Major League debuts

• Batters:
  • Todd Helton (Aug 2)
• Pitchers:
  • Mike DeJean (May 2)
  • John Thomson (May 11)
  • Bobby Jones (May 18)

Roster

1997 Colorado Rockies
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders Other batters		Manager Coaches (bullpen) (pitching) (third base) (hitting/first base) (bench)

Game log

1997 Game Log

Starters by position

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Kirt Manwaring Kirt Manwaring Kirt Dean Manwaring , is a former Major League baseball catcher. He played thirteen seasons in the major leagues, from 1987 until 1999....	104	337	76	.226	1	27
1B	Andrés Galarraga Andrés Galarraga Andrés José Padovani Galarraga is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Colorado Rockies , Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels...	154	600	191	.318	41	140
2B	Eric Young	118	468	132	.282	6	45
SS	Walt Weiss Walt Weiss Walter William Weiss is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball.Weiss was a member of the National League All-Star Team...	121	393	106	.270	4	38
3B	Vinny Castilla Vinny Castilla Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria is a former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves...	159	612	186	.304	40	113
LF	Dante Bichette Dante Bichette Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.-Career:...	151	561	173	.308	26	118
CF	Quinton McCracken Quinton McCracken Quinton Antoine McCracken is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of twelve seasons in Major League Baseball, and was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise's first center fielder and batter on March 31, 1998....	147	325	95	.292	3	36
RF	Larry Walker Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos , Colorado Rockies , and St. Louis Cardinals...	153	568	208	.366	49	130

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	119	424	123	.290	32	82
	83	313	91	.291	5	31
	90	256	76	.297	17	47
	62	121	29	.240	3	11
	35	93	26	.280	5	11
	76	92	16	.174	1	11
	21	22	7	.318	1	2

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	29	191.0	9	10	4.29	84
	27	166.1	7	9	4.71	106
	26	149.2	8	12	6.25	59
	18	107.1	6	8	5.87	56
	14	86.1	6	3	5.42	59
	14	65.1	4	6	6.34	29

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	42	89.1	9	2	5.34	70
	17	59.0	2	5	6.56	39
	7	48.2	5	1	4.25	51
	33	40.2	1	4	4.43	19
	23	22.0	0	2	5.32	31

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	74	5	3	16	4.70	74
	64	3	3	2	4.53	26
	63	4	6	6	4.04	43
	55	5	0	2	3.99	38
	55	4	0	2	5.55	53

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Portland