| Chicago Cubs | |
| Season: | 1997 |
| League: | National League |
| Division: | Central |
| Ballpark: | Wrigley Field |
| City: | Chicago |
| Record: | 68–94 (.420) |
| Divisional Place: | 5th |
| General Managers: | Ed Lynch |
| Managers: | Jim Riggleman |
| Television: | WGN-TV/Superstation WGN/Chicagoland TV (Harry Caray, Steve Stone, Josh Lewin) |
| Radio: | WGN (Pat Hughes, Ron Santo, Harry Caray, Josh Lewin) |
| Espntn: | chc |
| Brtn: | CHC |
The 1997 Chicago Cubs season was the 126th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 122nd in the National League and the 82nd at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth and last in the National League Central with a record of 68–94. The team never had a record above .500 at any point during the season.
The Cubs lost the first 14 games of the season, before finally winning the second game of a double-header against the New York Mets. The 0–14 start brought the superstition of the "billy goat curse" to the forefront, and at one point a goat was actually led around Wrigley Field in an effort to end the curse.
This was also Harry Caray's final season as broadcaster for the Cubs, as he died on February 18, 1998 (two months after his grandson Chip Caray was hired to share play-by-play duties with him). The team would wear a patch with his likeness that year.
| 1997 Chicago Cubs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| |||||||
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 | 122 | 385 | 100 | .260 | 6 | 45 | ||
| 1B | 151 | 555 | 177 | .319 | 13 | 78 | ||
| 2B | 135 | 447 | 118 | .264 | 12 | 64 | ||
| SS | 114 | 419 | 119 | .284 | 9 | 41 | ||
| 3B | 114 | 364 | 100 | .275 | 8 | 44 | ||
| LF | 146 | 474 | 142 | .300 | 4 | 35 | ||
| CF | 108 | 417 | 100 | .240 | 6 | 28 | ||
| RF | 162 | 642 | 161 | .251 | 36 | 119 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | 205 | 51 | .249 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 72 | 196 | 51 | .260 | 2 | 28 | ||
| 121 | 183 | 50 | .273 | 7 | 26 | ||
| 90 | 151 | 47 | .311 | 3 | 21 | ||
| 39 | 145 | 44 | .303 | 4 | 15 | ||
| 102 | 143 | 43 | .301 | 5 | 32 | ||
| 46 | 137 | 32 | .234 | 5 | 15 | ||
| 33 | 99 | 29 | .293 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 39 | 90 | 18 | .200 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 29 | 64 | 13 | .203 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 16 | 29 | 7 | .241 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 9 | 14 | 4 | .286 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 201.1 | 8 | 12 | 4.51 | 160 | ||
| 25 | 157.0 | 6 | 12 | 4.07 | 74 | ||
| 26 | 146.1 | 10 | 7 | 4.61 | 118 | ||
| 23 | 144.0 | 11 | 9 | 4.25 | 93 | ||
| 20 | 98.0 | 6 | 9 | 5.42 | 67 | ||
| 13 | 85.0 | 9 | 3 | 3.39 | 55 | ||
| 9 | 63.0 | 6 | 1 | 2.86 | 51 | ||
| 2 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 4 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 38.0 | 0 | 3 | 6.16 | 29 | ||
| 11 | 36.1 | 0 | 5 | 5.70 | 27 | ||
| 5 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 6 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 2 | 9 | 18 | 4.62 | 64 | ||
| 76 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3.34 | 58 | ||
| 64 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.86 | 74 | ||
| 56 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.34 | 33 | ||
| 54 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4.42 | 61 | ||
| 52 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.20 | 54 | ||
| 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.18 | 21 | ||
| 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.45 | 7 | ||
| 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9.64 | 13 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 3 |
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Cubs[5]