1997 Toronto Blue Jays season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Toronto Blue Jays
season = 1997
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1977
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1977
Uniform logo =
ballpark = SkyDome
y4 = 1989
city = Toronto, Ontario
y5 = 1977
owners = Interbrew,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
managers = Cito Gaston and Mel Queen
television = CBC Television
(Brian Williams
The Sports Network
(Buck Martinez, Dan Schulman)
radio = CJCL (AM)
(Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek)|The by|1997 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 5th in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses. With a massive re-design of their Logos and Uniforms, the Blue Jays attempted to re-esteblish themselves in the American League East by signing Roger Clemens via Free Agency and bringing All-Stars Carlos Garcia and Orlando Merced through trade. Although Clemens rejuvenated himself with the Blue Jays (en route to one of the best-ever single season by a starting pitcher, winning the Cy Young award and the pitchers' triple crown), both Garcia and Merced ended up being flops as dismal overall hitting and inconsistent bullpen doomed the Blue Jays once again to a last-place finish. 1997 also marked the end of the road for manager Cito Gaston, being fired near the end of the season (Gaston would eventually return to the team in 2008). A long time fan-favourite Joe Carter also played in his final season for the Blue Jays, as he was released at the end of the season.

Offseason

*October 2, 1996: Dane Johnson was selected off waivers by the Oakland Athletics from the Toronto Blue Jays. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/johnsda05.shtml]
* November 14, 1996: Dan Plesac was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates with Carlos Garcia and Orlando Merced to the Toronto Blue Jays for players to be named later, Jose Silva, Brandon Cromer (minors), and Jose Pett (minors). The Toronto Blue Jays sent Mike Halperin (minors) (December 11, 1996), Abraham Nunez (December 11, 1996), and Craig Wilson (December 11, 1996) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/plesada01.shtml Dan Plesac Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*November 27, 1996: Jeff Ware was selected off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Toronto Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wareje01.shtml Jeff Ware Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* December 9, 1996: Benito Santiago signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
* December 13, 1996: Roger Clemens signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/clemero02.shtml Roger Clemens Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*December 18, 1996: Juan Samuel was signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/samueju01.shtml Juan Samuel Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* December 20, 1996: John Olerud was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays with cash to the New York Mets for Robert Person. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olerujo01.shtml John Olerud Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Regular season

Opening Day starters

*Joe Carter
*Carlos Delgado
*Carlos Garcia
*Alex Gonzalez
*Shawn Green
*Pat Hentgen
*Orlando Merced
*Otis Nixon
*Benito Santiago
*Ed Sprague [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1997&t=TOR]

Interleague Play

*June 30 - The first interleague game between the Montreal Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays took place at SkyDome. The Expos won the game by a score of 2-1. [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1997&t=TOR]

Expos vs. Jays

June 30, SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario

[http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1997.shtml 1997 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Other batters

Relief pitchers

Award Winners

* Roger Clemens, Pitcher of the Month Award, May
* Roger Clemens, Pitcher of the Month Award, August
* Roger Clemens, Cy Young Award
* Roger Clemens, MLB Leader, 21 Wins
* Roger Clemens, AL Strikeout Crown, 292 Strikeouts
* Roger Clemens, AL ERA Crown, 2.05
* Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Complete Games (9)
* Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (3)
* Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Innings Pitched (264)

All-Star Game
* Roger Clemens, P
* Pat Hentgen, P [ [http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/history/all_stars.jsp Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History ] ]

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1997.shtml 1997 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1997&t=TOR 1997 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]