| 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft | |
|---|---|
 The logo for the 1997 MLB expansion draft | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Date | November 18, 1997 |
| Location | Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Network | ESPN[a] |
| Overview | |
| 70 total selections | |
| League | Major League Baseball[b] |
| Expansion teams | Arizona Diamondbacks Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
| Expansion season | 1998 |
| First selection | Tony Saunders (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) |
The 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft was held on November 18, 1997, at the Phoenix Civic Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] The expansion draft allowed two expansion teams in Major League Baseball (MLB)—the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays[c]—to build their rosters prior to their inaugural seasons.
Both teams subsequently began play in the 1998 season, increasing the size of the American League and National League from 14 to 15 teams each. Arizona was placed in the National League West division and Tampa Bay was played in the American League East division. This remains the most recent expansion draft conducted by MLB.
Background
Following the success of the 1993 expansion, which added the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins, Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1994 set up an expansion committee to add two expansion teams.[4] The Tampa Bay area in Florida and the city of Phoenix, Arizona, were chosen for the two expansion franchises.[5]
Procedures
Similar to the 1992 expansion draft, both expansion teams selected 35 players.[6] The draft was divided into three rounds. Each team would select 14 players in round 1, 14 players in round 2, and 7 players in round 3. Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar and Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. oversaw their teams' selections.
The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks could pick any player not on the protected lists of the 28 other teams, although no team could lose more than one player in a given round. The protected list for each team consisted of:
- For the first round, 15 players from the rosters of their entire organization—both their 40-man roster, plus all minor league affiliates.[6]
- Each team could add three more players to its protected list after each round.[6]
- All players in an organization were eligible to be drafted, except those with no prior major league experience who had less than three years service if signed at age 19 or older, or had less than four years of service if signed at age 18 or younger.[7]
- Players who were free agents after the end of the 1997 season need not be protected.
As with the 1992 expansion draft, the order was determined by a coin toss. The winner of the toss could choose either: (a) The first overall pick in the expansion draft or (b) allow the other team to pick first and receive both the second and third overall expansion draft picks and the right to pick first in the subsequent rounds of the expansion draft. Arizona won the toss and chose to select second.
Results
The Devil Rays reportedly considered trading the player they were to select first.[8] They chose Tony Saunders from the Florida Marlins.[9]
‡
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All-Star |
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Note, each noted All-Star player achieved that status in later season(s).
Post-draft trades
Once the draft was completed a number of trades were made. Teams had to wait until after the draft or risk losing their newly acquired players because they were not on their protected lists.[9]
- The Devil Rays traded Bobby Abreu to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker
- The Devil Rays traded Andy Sheets and Brian Boehringer to the San Diego Padres for John Flaherty
- The Devil Rays traded Dmitri Young to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Kelly
- The Devil Rays purchased Fred McGriff from the Atlanta Braves
- The Diamondbacks traded Gabe Alvarez, Joe Randa, and Matt Drews to the Detroit Tigers for Travis Fryman
- The Diamondbacks traded Scott Winchester to the Cincinnati Reds for Félix Rodríguez
- The Diamondbacks traded Jesus Martinez to the Florida Marlins for Devon White
- The Diamondbacks traded Chuck McElroy to the Colorado Rockies for Harvey Pulliam
Aftermath
The Diamondbacks intended to make their team competitive as soon as possible by signing free agents.[10] The day prior to the expansion draft, they signed Jay Bell to a $34 million contract across five years.[10] Two weeks following the draft, the Diamondbacks traded Fryman and Martin to the Indians for Matt Williams.[11]
The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks had differing results in their first years in MLB. Both teams altered their initial plans of developing youth; the Devil Rays acquired future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and pitcher Wilson Alvarez along with sluggers Jose Canseco, Vinny Castilla, and Greg Vaughn while the Diamondbacks added Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Luis Gonzalez, Todd Stottlemyre, Steve Finley, Armando Reynoso, Greg Swindell, Tony Womack, Mark Grace, Reggie Sanders, Craig Counsell and Greg Colbrunn.[12]
While the Devil Rays consistently finished last in the AL East for the next decade, the Diamondbacks won the NL West title in 1999, 2001, and 2002, and won the 2001 World Series.[12]
Notes
- ^ The first two hours of the draft were broadcast on ESPN, followed by four hours on ESPN2.[1]
- ^ While the National League and American League are commonly referred to collectively as Major League Baseball, across many decades, Major League Baseball has only existed as a legal entity since 2000.[2]
- ^ The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were renamed as the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2008 season.
References
- ^ "Expansive coverage". The Baltimore Sun. November 18, 1997. p. 2D. Retrieved December 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Nowlin, Bill. "Did MLB Exist Before the Year 2000?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ Gintonio, Jim (November 16, 1997). "Party on draft day to have a glittering guest list". The Arizona Republic. p. C10. Retrieved December 3, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Justice, Richard (March 3, 1994). "Baseball eyes addition of its 29th, 30th teams". The Washington Post. p. D1. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ Lipton, Eric; Maske, Mark (March 10, 1995). "Virginia gets no promise - Locals eye existing teams - Tampa, Phoenix get new ones". The Washington Post. p. F1. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c Topkin, Marc (November 16, 1996). "Expansion team feels another draft coming Series: DEVIL RAYS REPORT; COUNTDOWN to OPENING DAY: 505 days". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ "NowHitting".
- ^ Beaton, Rod (November 18, 1997). "Devil Rays weighing offers for first choice in the draft". USA Today. p. 2C. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ a b Diaz, George (November 19, 1997). "DEVIL RAYS GRAB MCGRIFF, SAUNDERS TAMPA BAY TRADED FOR ATLANTA'S FRED MCGRIFF AND TOOK FLORIDA'S TONY SAUNDERS WITH ITS TOP PICK". Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ a b Chass, Murray (November 18, 1997). "BASEBALL EXPANSION DRAFT; Arizona Gives Bell $34 Million For 5 Years". The New York Times.
- ^ Kepner, Tyler (October 29, 2001). "World Series; Williams Ends Boos With Just One Swing". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ a b Chass, Murray (October 26, 2001). "WORLD SERIES PREVIEW; Arizona, Tampa Bay: One Is Up, The Other..." The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
External links
- "sabr.org Reprint of Boston Baseball article with draft rules". Retrieved March 17, 2006.
- "Expansion Draft List". McCook Daily Gazette. Associated Press. November 19, 1997. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
