The 1997 Minnesota Twins will not be remembered as the strongest team the Twins ever fielded. Manager Tom Kelly's team consisted of a few solid players, but mainly past-their-prime veterans and never-to-be-established prospects. One of the few bright spots was pitcher Brad Radke's breakout season, in which he won 20 games, at one point had 12 consecutive victories, tying a record Scott Erickson set in 1991. The team finished with a 68-94 record, good enough for fourth place in what proved to be the league's weakest division that season. The Cleveland Indians, who won the division that year, made it all the way to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Florida Marlins.
December 5: Signed catcher and Minnesota native Terry Steinbach as a free agent.
December 12: Signed pitcher Bob Tewksbury as a free agent.
December 18: Signed pitcher Greg Swindell as a free agent.
Offense
In 1996, catcher Terry Steinbach had a 35-home run, 100-RBI season with the Oakland Athletics in a contract year. Unfortunately for the Twins, he followed it up with a 12-home run, 54-RBI season with his hometown team. Scott Stahoviak played in half the games at first base but batted only.229. Second basemanChuck Knoblauch, the team's lone all-star, had a great year with the Twins, batting.291 and stealing a career-high 62 bases; he won his second Silver Slugger Award. The contrast between his season and his team's season led him to demand a trade, a demand the team obliged by sending him to the New York Yankees the following February. Ron Coomer had a competent year at third, with 13 home runs. He declined to "ride the pines" to protect a.301 batting average, and finished 1 for his last 8 to end at.298. Pat Meares hit.276, an above-average season for him. The primary outfielders – Marty Cordova, Rich Becker, and Matt Lawton – had mediocre seasons. This was disappointing, because Cordova and Becker were coming off of the best years in their careers. Designated hitterPaul Molitor had a good year, batting.305 with 89 RBI, but it did not match his stellar 1996 numbers. Veterans like Roberto Kelly and Greg Colbrunn performed reasonably well off the bench.
had a breakout year, going 20-10 with an ERA of 3.87. His string of twelve consecutive wins in twelve consecutive starts had only been matched twice since 1950. Bob Tewksbury and Rich Robertson spent most of the year in the starting rotation, but both had losing records. In the final two spots, LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Aldred, and Frank Rodriguez respectively had 20, 15, and 15 starts. Of these three, Rodriguez was the only one with an ERA under 5. Rick Aguilera had a good year as the team's closer, earning 26 saves in not very many opportunities. Eddie Guardado, Mike Trombley, Greg Swindell, and Todd Ritchie had competent seasons in the bullpen. At the end of the season, Dan Serafini played well in six games, giving some hope for the future.
Steinbach played well at catcher, backed up by Greg Myers. Stahoviak played in 81 games at first, with Colbrunn in 64. Knoblauch won a Gold Glove at second base in a season that gave no indication of his future throwing problems. Coomer and Meares were average at their positions. The three outfielders played well in the field.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster
Notable transactions
January 24: Signed first baseman Greg Colbrunn as a free agent.
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
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Other pitchers
Relief pitchers
Miscellaneous
The highest paid Twin in 1997 was Knoblauch at $6,150,000, followed by Molitor at $3,500,000.
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color-line, the Twins wore uniforms of the 1909 St. Paul Colored Gophers at home against Cleveland on July 13, 1997.
All-Star Game''': The lone representative of the Twins in the All-Star Game was second baseman Chuck Knoblauch. Knoblauch also won the Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. Paul Molitor won the Lou Gehrig Award, given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exhibits the character and integrity of Lou Gehrig, both on the field and off.
