1997 New Britain Rock Cats Roster
Team Record: 70-72
Finished 3rd in the EL's North Division
Manager: Al Newman (70-72)
Affiliation: Minnesota Twins
Location: New Britain, Connecticut
Ballpark: New Britain Stadium
Attendance: 151,718, Avg. 2,408 in 63 home dates
The New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League ended the 1997 season with a record of 70 wins and 72 losses, finishing third in the league's North Division.
The Rock Cats scored 670 runs and yielded 666 runs. Corey Koskie led New Britain with 23 home runs, while Doug Mientkiewicz walloped 15 or more also. Corey Koskie drove in 79 runs and topped all qualifying hitters on the roster with a .286 average. Jason Bell paced the squad with 11 wins and a team-best 3.4 ERA, best among regularly-used pitchers.
Players from the 1997 New Britain Rock Cats who spent time in Major League Baseball during their careers included Travis Baptist, Mike Moriarty, Shane Bowers, Benj Sampson, David Ortiz, Gus Gandarillas, Javier Valentín, Doug Mientkiewicz, Corey Koskie, Jeff Harris, Fred Rath, Dan Perkins, Chad Allen and Torii Hunter.
Al Newman served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Allen | R | R | February 6, 1975 | 6'1" | 195 | Dallas, TX US |
| Rafael Alvarez | L | L | January 22, 1977 | 6'0" | 220 | Valencia, Carabobo VE |
| Travis Baptist | L | L | December 30, 1971 | 6'0" | 195 | Forest Grove, OR US |
| Marc Barcelo | R | R | January 10, 1972 | 6'3" | 220 | Van Nuys, CA US |
| Jason Bell | R | R | September 30, 1974 | 6'3" | 210 | Ocala, FL US |
| Shane Bowers | R | R | July 27, 1971 | 6'4" | 215 | Glendora, CA US |
| Armann Brown | R | R | September 10, 1972 | 6'1" | 163 | Austin, TX US |
| Troy Carrasco | S | L | January 27, 1975 | 5'11" | 177 | Tampa, FL US |
| Trevor Cobb | L | L | July 13, 1973 | 6'2" | 190 | Everett, WA US |
| Chris Cumberland | R | L | January 15, 1973 | 6'1" | 189 | Clearwater, FL US |
| Jeff Ferguson | R | R | June 18, 1973 | 5'10" | 184 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Troy Fortin | R | R | February 24, 1975 | 5'11" | 209 | Winnipeg, MB CA |
| Joe Fraser | R | R | August 23, 1974 | 6'0" | 205 | Long Beach, CA US |
| Gus Gandarillas | R | R | July 19, 1971 | 6'0" | 190 | Coral Gables, FL US |
| Tom Gourdin | R | R | May 24, 1973 | 6'3" | 220 | Price, UT US |
| Shane Gunderson | R | R | October 16, 1973 | 6'0" | 205 | Faribault, MN US |
| Jeff Harris | R | R | July 4, 1974 | 6'1" | 190 | Alameda, CA US |
| Jeff Horn | R | R | August 23, 1970 | 6'1" | 213 | Baltimore, MD US |
| Torii Hunter | R | R | July 18, 1975 | 6'2" | 220 | Pine Bluff, AR US |
| J. J. Johnson | R | R | August 31, 1973 | 6'0" | 204 | Sharon, CT US |
| Corey Koskie | L | R | June 28, 1973 | 6'3" | 215 | Anola, MB CA |
| Ryan Lane | R | R | July 6, 1974 | 6'1" | 185 | Bellefontaine, OH US |
| Kevin Legault | R | R | March 5, 1971 | 6'1" | 195 | Troy, NY US |
| Keith Legree | L | R | December 26, 1971 | 6'2" | 195 | Statesboro, GA US |
| Keith Linebarger | R | R | May 11, 1971 | 6'6" | 220 | Fort Belvoir, VA US |
| Alan Mahaffey | L | L | February 2, 1974 | 6'1" | 200 | Altus, OK US |
| Doug Mientkiewicz | L | R | June 19, 1974 | 6'2" | 195 | Toledo, OH US |
| Mike Moriarty | R | R | March 8, 1974 | 6'0" | 195 | Camden, NJ US |
| Paul Morse | R | R | February 27, 1973 | 6'2" | 185 | Mount Vernon, OH US |
| Tom Mott | R | R | October 9, 1973 | 6'3" | 217 | San Luis Obispo, CA US |
| David Ortiz | L | L | November 18, 1975 | 6'3" | 230 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| David Perez | R | R | May 23, 1968 | 5'11" | 170 | San Antonio, TX US |
| Dan Perkins | R | R | March 15, 1975 | 6'2" | 193 | Miami, FL US |
| Fred Rath | R | R | January 5, 1973 | 6'3" | 220 | Dallas, TX US |
| Will Rushing | L | L | November 8, 1972 | 6'3" | 193 | Statesboro, GA US |
| Benj Sampson | R | L | April 27, 1975 | 6'2" | 210 | Des Moines, IA US |
| Jon Schaeffer | R | R | January 20, 1976 | 6'1" | 205 | Tarzana, CA US |
| Jeff Smith | L | R | June 17, 1974 | 6'3" | 210 | Akron, OH US |
| Hector Trinidad | R | R | September 8, 1973 | 6'2" | 190 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Javier Valentín | S | R | September 19, 1975 | 5'10" | 198 | Manati, PR |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
