1997 Baltimore Orioles: Birds Back to Flying

June 17th, 2026
By Marneen Zahavi
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Coming off a disappointing and controversial end to their 1996 campaign, the Baltimore Orioles were looking to correct what appeared to be an obvious error on the part of the umpiring crew, and most of the 1996 Orioles would be kept in tact for 1997.

The Baltimore Orioles went 98-64 in 1997 to win the American League East division by just 2 games over their bitter rivals the New York Yankees. The Orioles went 8-4 against the Yankees in head-to-head play. The Orioles went 46-35 at home and 52-29 on the road. Though they slowed down in September, the Birds were solid on a monthly basis as they went 16-7 in April, 20-8 in May, 15-12 in June, 16-11 in July and 18-10 in August.

Second baseman Roberto Alomar batted .333 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI’s off 137 hits, 23 doubles and 9 stolen bases in 112 games. Center fielder Brady Anderson batted .288 with 18 home runs and 73 RBI’s off 170 hits, 39 doubles, 7 triples and 18 stolen bases. Left fielder William James “B.J.” Surhoff batted .284 with 18 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 150 hits, 30 doubles and 4 triples. Third baseman Cal Ripken Jr. batted .270 with 17 home runs and 84 RBI’s off 166 hits and 30 doubles. First baseman Rafael Palmeiro had 38 home runs and 110 RBI’s off 156 hits and 24 doubles.

Right fielder Jeffrey Hammonds had 21 home runs, 105 hits, 19 doubles, 3 triples and 15 stolen bases in 118 games. Catcher Chris Hoiles had 12 home runs, 83 hits and 15 doubles in 99 games. Signed by the Orioles in free agency on December 13, 1996, shortstop Mike Bordick had 7 home runs, 120 hits and 19 doubles. Designated Hitter Geronimo Berroa had 10 home runs, 78 hits and 13 doubles in 83 games. Catcher Lenny Webster had 7 home runs, 66 hits and 8 doubles in 98 games. Right fielder Tony Tarasco had 7 home runs and 8 doubles in 100 games. Signed by the Orioles in free agency on December 19, 1996, right fielder Eric Davis had 8 home runs and 11 doubles in 42 games. Davis would win the Roberto Clemente Award and the Hutch Award.

Starting pitcher Scott Erickson went 16-7 with 131 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Signed by the Orioles in free agency on December 10, 1996, Jimmy Key went 16-10 with 141 strikeouts and a 3.43 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Mike Mussina went 15-8 with 218 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA, recording 4 complete games and 1 shutout. Scott Kamieniecki went 10-6 with 109 strikeouts. Shawn Boskie went 6-6 in 9 starts with 1 save. Rick Krivda went 4-2 in 10 starts.

Closer Randy Myers had 45 saves and a 1.51 ERA. Relief pitcher Armando Benitez had 9 saves, 106 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA, Arthur Rhodes went 10-3 with 1 save, 102 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA. Terry Matthews went 4-4 with 1 save. Jesse Orosco went 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA. Mike Johnson had 2 saves from the bullpen.

The 1997 MLB All-Star Game had plenty of representation from Baltimore as Cal Ripken Jr., Roberto Alomar and Brady Anderson all started for the American League while Mike Mussina and Randy Myers would be used as reserves.

The Orioles went on an impressive 7-game winning streak which began on May 26 with an 8-6 win over the New York Yankees, and the streak ended on June 4 with a 9-7 victory over the same Yankees.

The Orioles took on the surprise of Major League Baseball in 1997, the Seattle Mariners, in the American League Division Series. Thankfully for the Orioles they were not taken by surprise as they would eliminate the Mariners 3 games to 1. In Game 1 on October 1 at the Kingdome, the Orioles beat the Mariners 9-3. Mike Mussina pitched 7 innings and gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 9 strikeouts. In the top of the 3^rd inning Mike Bordick had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 4^th designated hitter Edgar Martinez hit a solo home run. In the top of the 5^th Brady Anderson had an RBI single, Eric Davis had a 2-run single, and then Geronimo Berroa hit a solo home run. In the top of the 6^th Chris Hoiles hit a solo home run, Bordick had an RBI single, and B.J. Surhoff had a 2-run double. In the bottom of the 7^th right fielder Jay Buhner tried to keep Seattle in the game with a solo home run, and shortstop Alex Rodriguez hit his own solo home run in the bottom of the 9^th, but it was too little too late.

In Game 2 on October 2 the Orioles beat the Mariners again by the score of 9-3. In the bottom of the 1^st inning center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and Martinez struck first for Seattle as they had RBI groundouts. In the top of the 2^nd designated hitter Harold Baines hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 5^th Roberto Alomar had a 2-run double. In the top of the 7^th Anderson smacked a 2-run home run, and in the bottom of the 7^th pinch hitting outfielder Rob Ducey had an RBI single. Baltimore ran away with the game in the top of the 8^th as Lenny Webster drew a bases loaded walk to score Jeffrey Hammonds, Bordick had a 2-run single, and then Anderson finished the scoring with an RBI double.

The Mariners got their only win of the series with a 4-2 victory in Game 3 on October 4 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jeff Fassero pitched 8 innings and gave up 3 hits, 4 walks and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. Left fielder Roberto Kelly had an RBI double in the top of the 3^rd inning, and then Griffey Jr. had an RBI single in the top of the 5^th. In the top of the 9^th Buhner and pinch hitting first baseman Paul Sorrento both hit solo home runs. Hammonds had a 2-run double in the bottom of the 9^th for the Orioles, but it was much too late.

Thanks to Mike Mussina’s bold performance on the mound, the Orioles eliminated the Mariners in Game 4 on October 5 with a 3-1 victory. Mussina pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks and 1 run while recording 7 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1^st inning second baseman Jeff Reboulet hit a solo home run, and Ripken Jr. followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 2^nd Martinez hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 5^th Berroa hit his own solo home run.

The American League Championship Series in 1997 was not at all controversial, unlike the ALCS in 1996, but the better team simply emerged triumphant. Unfortunately for the Orioles, that would turn out to be the Cleveland Indians as the Tribe eliminated the Birds 4 games to 2, claiming the American League pennant for the 2^nd time in 3 seasons.

The initial signs were promising for Baltimore, however. In Game 1 on October 8 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Orioles blanked the Indians 3-0. Scott Erickson pitched 8 innings and gave up only 4 hits while recording 3 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1^st Brady Anderson hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 3^rd Roberto Alomar smacked a 2-run home run.

Down 3 games to 1 and facing elimination, the Birds went back to flying and kept the series going. The Orioles beat the Indians 4-2 in Game 5 on October 13 at Jacobs Field. Scott Kamieniecki pitched 5 innings and gave up 4 hits and 1 walk while recording 4 strikeouts. Jimmy Key then provided solid relief, pitching 3 innings and giving up 1 walk while recording 3 strikeouts. In the top of the 3^rd inning Geronimo Berroa had a 2-run single, and in the top of the 9^th Eric Davis hit a solo home run, and Cal Ripken Jr. followed with an RBI single. Cleveland tried to rally back in the bottom of the 9^th as third baseman Matt Williams and pinch hitting second baseman Tony Fernandez both had RBI doubles, but they would be too late.

While the mid 1990’s saw the Birds go back to flying in the postseason air, the Baltimore Orioles and their fans wouldn’t experience a similar run for over a decade as it took 15 years to get the team back on to the postseason stage, which finally happened in 2012.