Ring the Bell: An Alternate MLB History

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1996-97 MLB Offseason

Construction on the new Giants ballpark in San Jose finishes in time for opening day of 1997, the stadium will seat 40,000 fans and will be known as Chevron Field. The franchise will also be re-named to the San Jose Giants.

- Tony Gwynn signed a 7 year deal with the San Diego Padres.

- Cliff Floyd signed a 2 year contract with the Montreal Expos.

- Pedro Martinez signed a 3 year deal with the San Diego Padres.

- Orel Hershiser signs a 2 year contract with the New York Yankees.

- Albert Belle signs a 4 year with the Cleveland Indians.

- Tony Fernandez signed a 2 year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

- Matt Williams signs a 2 year deal with the Montreal Expos.

- Franchises in Phoenix and Tampa Bay will begin play in 1998. There already is rumors of another round of expansion coming as soon as 2001.

- The Minnesota Twins, unable to find a site to replace the MetroDome, explore relocation options. Charlotte, Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Buffalo appear to be front-runners.

- Molson Brewery purchases the Montreal Expos from Claude Brochu for 103 million (in Canadian dollars)

 

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1997 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON

Headlines

- On August 17, 1997, Kevin Brown of the Florida Marlins hurled a perfect game against the Cubs at Wrigley. Brown had 11 K's en route to a 5-0 victory, 12th win of the season, and the defining moment of his career.

- Besides the Brown perfect game, there were 2 other no hitters:
May 10: Orel Hershiser of the New York Yankees (against the Boston Red Sox)
June 26: Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners (against the Milwaukee Brewers)

- Barry Bonds led the Majors with a 53 HR season.

- Greg Maddux had a 20 SO game on September 4th against the Vancouver A's.

- Interleague play begins this season with the Giants and Rangers playing at Chevron Field in San Jose, CA.

- Larry Walker is dealt to the Florida Marlins and Mark Grace is traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline.

- The expansion teams unveil their indenties: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks


AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST:
1.New York Yankees 102-60
2. Baltimore Orioles 95-67 (WC1)
3. Boston Red Sox 90-72
4. Detroit Tigers 61-101
5. Toronto Blue Jays 59-103

CENTRAL:
1. Cleveland Indians 100-62
2. Chicago White Sox 85-77
3. Milwaukee Brewers 79-83
4. Minnesota Twins 64-98
5. Kansas City Royals 64-98

WEST:
1. Seattle Mariners 94-68
2. Texas Rangers 91-71
3. Vancouver Athletics 74-88
4. California Angels 69-93


NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

EAST:
1. Atlanta Braves 98-64
2. Florida Marlins 93-69 (WC1)
3. Philadelphia Phillies 91-71
4. Montreal Expos 87-75
5. New York Mets 75-87

CENTRAL:
1. Cincinnati Reds 92-70
2. St Louis Cardinals 81-81
3. Houston Astros 76-86
4. Pittsburgh Pirates 69-93
5. Chicago Cubs 65-97

WEST:
1. San Diego Padres 94-68
2. Los Angeles Dodgers 88-74
3. Colorado Rockies 76-86
4. San Jose Giants 73-89


LDS matchups
ALDS
E1 NYY vs W1 SEA
C1 CLE vs WC BAL

NLDS
E1 ATL vs C1 CIN
W1 SD vs WC FLA

 

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1997 NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
ATLANTA BRAVES VS CINCINNATI REDS

Turner Field was rocking at the start of game 1 for their Braves. The stadium would only get louder as the night progressed as John Smoltz threw 7 and 1/3 innings of 1 run ball to lead Atlanta to a 3-0 victory to start the series. Game 2 would see an all out massacre of the Reds as Tom Glavine came within 3 outs of throwing a prefect game and Chipper Jones had a amazing night at the plate going 5 for 5 with a grand slam, two doubles and two singles as the Braves won 11-0 and had a chokehold on the series heading to Cincinnati where Atlanta would allow the Reds only run all series with a 6-1 triumph to close out the series.

SAN DIEGO PADRES VS FLORIDA MARLINS

For the first time since 1984, post-season baseball was in sunny San Diego. Meanwhile, the upstart Florida Marlins in just their 5th season, had made it to the playoffs for the first time in their short history.

Game 1 would see Pedro Martinez at his finest, striking out 16 Marlins in a complete game victory while Tony Gwynn hit a go ahead home run in the eighth to give the Pads a series opening victory. The Marlins would wake up in game 2, however as Jeff Conine and Larry Walker both hit homers to tie the series heading to South Beach. In the first post-season game ever to be played in Florida, the Marlins would not disappoint their hometown fans going away with a 7-3 win. But in game 4, Pedro Martinez and the Padres took home a W to stay alive and force game 5 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego with a 5-2 victory. Game 5 would be a repeat of game 4, with the Padres moving on to the NLCS by another 5-2 score.


1997 AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
NEW YORK YANKEES VS SEATTLE MARINERS

Heavily favored to win it all, the Yankees shockingly struggled in game 1, with Randy Johnson pitching 8 innings of 2 hit ball to silence Yankee Stadium as the Mariners went on to win 1-0 in extra innings thanks to a Ken Griffey Jr moonshot in the tenth. In game 2, when the Mariners jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the seventh, Yankees manager Jim Leyland gave a rousing pep talk that seemed to fire up his bunch, as they went on to score 5 runs in the bottom of the inning. Derek Jeter hit a two-run walk off double in the bottom of the ninth to tie the series heading to Seattle.

Game 3 in Seattle would see the Yankees be the ones to jump out to a lead, as they were up 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth, only to see Jay Buhner hit a grand slam to pull within a run. That was as close the Mariners would get however, as Mariano Rivera stuck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win. But, with Randy Johnson back on the mound in game 4, Seattle would force a deciding game 5 back at Yankee Stadium thanks to the Big Units 14 K's. This was all for naught however, as Derek Jeter hit three homers in the deciding game to give the Yankees the series 3 games to 2.

CLEVELAND INDIANS VS BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The defending champions are back in the playoffs and ready to defend their title. The Orioles, on the flip side, were ready to take out Cleveland for the second time in three years.

Greg Maddux would be rocked in game 1 for 7 runs in the first as the Indians set a post season record for runs scored in a post-season game with 25 runs in a complete drubbing. Game two would feature more fireworks from Cleveland, as Albert Belle and Sandy Alomar each hit homers in a 14-6 Indian victory. Game 3 would continue Cleveland's dominance as the Orioles post-season run ended before it got started with a 8-3 Cleveland victory for the sweep.

 

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1997 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ATLANTA BRAVES VS SAN DIEGO PADRES

In the 1997 NLCS, the Atlanta Braves looked to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1992, the San Diego Padres were looking to go to the fall classic for the first time since 84.

Atlanta got off to a strong start, winning game one 7-5, but went on to drop the next two as San Diego took a mildly surprising 2-1 series lead. In game four, an 9th inning home run from Chipper Jones tied the series. In game 5 the Braves were confident they could take the lead in the series, steal home field advantage and give themselves an opportunity to advance. They found themselves down early when Tony Gwynn and Manny Ramirez each hit homers to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. However, Atlanta battled back in the seventh inning, with Fred McGriff homering to bring the game to a 2-2 tie. The game would eventually go into extra innings, where disaster struck for Atlanta. Andruw Jones attempted to catch up a fly ball hit to him, but he dropped the ball. Two batters later, Tony Gwynn hit a walk off single for the win to give San Diego a 3-2 series lead heading to Atlanta. Game six at Turner Field was close, tied at 4-4 until the top of the eighth when Gwynn stuck again, hitting a homer off Mark Wolhers. Ken Caminiti sealed the win with a RBI double and the Padres moved on to the World Series.


1997 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
NEW YORK YANKEES VS CLEVELAND INDIANS

In the Junior Circuit, the New York Yankees were beginning to earn a reputation as a team that couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. The Yanks were determined to erase this reputation as they faced the defending champions, the Indians. Game one was decisive, as New York won 6-1. Cleveland clung to a 2-1 lead in game two until the bottom of the sixth when Bernie Williams tied it with a RBI Triple before Wade Boggs hit the eventual game-winning double moments later. In Cleveland, game three would go to extras, where Scott Brosuis hit a solo shot to give the Yankees the lead. Cleveland would try to rally in the bottom of the inning, but Jim Thome stuck out with the bases loaded to put the Tribe in a 3-0 hole. Cleveland managed to avoid a sweep with a 4-1 win in game four, but it was too little too late as the Yankees advanced to the World Series for the first time since their loss to the Expos in 1994.

 

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1997 WORLD SERIES
NEW YORK YANKEES VS SAN DIEGO PADRES

Entering the 1997 World Series, the Yankees were favorites, but nobody was willing to count the Padres out. Tony Gwynn was playing out of his mind and Manny Ramirez was playing awesome as well. But this was the New York Yankees, who looked unbeatable too. Like they say, something had to give.

Game 1 at Yankee Stadium would see Paul O'Neill hit a leadoff homer to give the Yanks an early lead they would never relinquish, taking it 7-3. Game 2 would be a different story, as Ramirez hit 2 round-trippers, including a go-ahead shot in the top of the 9th to give the Padres a 6-5 win heading to California.

In San Diego for game 3, Derek Jeter hit a grand slam in the first to give the Yanks an early lead. It wouldn't last long, as Tony Gwynn hit a grand slam of his own off of Andy Pettitte. From there, Pettitte and his counterpart, Tim Scott matched each-other out for out. The game went to the 12th inning still tied at 4 when Wally Joyner hit a walk off single to score Ruben Rivera to win it. Game 4 would see the Yankees recover, winning 6-2 on the strengh of a Scott Brosius two-run homer in the seventh that iced it. In game 5, Pedro Martinez was throwing a masterpiece for San Diego, allowing just 2 hits, but his team left 14 men on base and failed to score. In the 9th, Martinez left the game due to complaining of pain. The bullpen did not do there job, as the Yankees scored 6 runs, capped of by a Jeter three-run shot to put the Yankees one win away from there first title since 1978.

The celebration would have to wait, however, as the Padres won game 6 8-5 thanks to a pair of Tony Gwynn doubles that each scored two runs, as well as a Manny Ramirez homer in the eighth for insurance. Could the Padres do the unthinkable and beat the Yankees twice at Yankee Stadium and win their first title?

No. As we all know, the Padres are cursed.

San Diego basically forgot to show up for game 7, as the Yankees took it 7-1 to win their first crown in 19 years.


What else in Sports in 1997?

NFL: Brett Farve and the Green Bay Packers win their first Super Bowl in 29 years, knocking off the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars in Super Bowl XXXI 23-7. The Houston Oilers also announced a move to Tennessee.

NBA: Michael Jordan returns to the NBA, only to fall in the NBA Finals to the Houston Rockets in seven games.

NHL: In a rematch of the previous years Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers repeat as champions, beating the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The Hartford Whalers also announced they would be moving to Charlotte, NC for the 1997-98 season and beyond.

CFL: The Toronto Argonauts knock off the Baltimore Stallions in the 85th Grey Cup by a score of 26-23. The CFL also added teams in St Louis (the Rams stayed in LA) and Orlando.

MLS: DC United repeats as champs, beating the Dallas Burn in the MLS Cup 3-0.

NASCAR: Jeff Gordon wins his second Winston Cup, edging out Dale Jarrett.