1997 American League Championship Series

28th edition of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series

The 1997 American League Championship Series (ALCS) pitted the Cleveland Indians, who won coming back against the defending World Series champion New York Yankees in the AL Division Series, and the Baltimore Orioles, who went wire to wire and beat the Seattle Mariners in the Division Series. In a role reversal from their 1996 ALDS encounter, the Indians stunned the Orioles, winning on bizarre plays or remarkable comebacks, and won the Series four games to two, but went on to lose to the Florida Marlins in the well fought, seesaw, seven game battle of the 1997 World Series. The Orioles had home field advantage, which was predetermined and assigned to either the East Division champions or their opponents in the Division Series.

As Davey Johnson had a porous relationship with Reds owner Marge Schott, which led to his ousting as manager despite success, the same situation would occur in Baltimore. The relationship between Johnson and owner Peter Angelos had always seemed poor, but it hit a boiling point in April 1997 when Johnson fined Roberto Alomar for missing a team banquet and that Alomar's fine would go to Johnson's wife's charity. Angelos let it be known that he was considering firing Johnson for the Alomar fine, believing his conduct to not be appropriate. After just two successful seasons that to led to Baltimore's first back to back postseason appearances since 1973 1974, Johnson offered his resignation by fax (after failing to reach owner Angelos by phone), which Angelos accepted on the same day that Johnson was named the 1997 American League Manager of the Year on November 5. The Orioles hired Ray Miller as manager for the 1998 season, but the team would not have another winning season, let alone garner a postseason berth, until 2012. Two years later after mutually parting ways with Baltimore, Johnson returned to the majors as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999. Roberto Alomar joined his brother Sandy in Cleveland a year later, via free agency. Despite just three seasons in Baltimore, Alomar was a key figure in the Orioles resurgence in the mid 1990s. On August 3, 2013, Alomar was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, two years after being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.