Offseason

• November 20, 1996: John Smoltz was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
• November 25, 1996: Paul Byrd
  Paul Byrd
  Paul Gregory Byrd is an American professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2009. He is known as being the "nicest guy in baseball"...
  
   was traded by the New York Mets with a player to be named later to the Atlanta Braves for Greg McMichael. The New York Mets sent Andy Zwirchitz (minors) (May 25, 1997) to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade.
• December 19, 1996: Mike Bielecki was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
• March 25, 1997: Kenny Lofton was traded by the Cleveland Indians with Alan Embree to the Atlanta Braves for Marquis Grissom and David Justice.

Roster

1997 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters

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

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Turner Field

In 1997, the Braves moved into Turner Field. The ballpark was built across the street from the former home of the Braves, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, often shortened to "Fulton County Stadium," was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.-History:...

, which was demolished in the summer of 1997.

The most popular name choice among Atlanta residents for the new stadium at the time of its construction (according to a poll in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) was Hank Aaron Stadium. After the ballpark was instead named after Ted Turner

Ted Turner

Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

, the city of Atlanta renamed the section of Capitol Avenue on which the stadium sits Hank Aaron Drive, giving Turner Field the street number 755, after Aaron's home run total.

After the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 were complete the stadium was officially given as a gift to the Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. (the Atlanta Braves.) Ted Turner

Ted Turner

Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

, then owner of the Braves, agreed to pay a large sum of the cost to build Centennial Olympic Stadium (approximately $170 million of the $209 million bill), if in turn, the stadium was built in a way that it could be converted to a new baseball stadium and that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) paid for the conversion. This was considered a good agreement for both the Olympic Committee and the Braves, because there would be no use for a permanent 85,000 seat track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 stadium in Downtown Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...

 (as the 71,000 seat Georgia Dome

Georgia Dome

The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...

 was completed 4 years earlier by the state of Georgia) and the Braves had already been exploring opportunities for a new stadium.

Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves

Atlanta wins the series, 3-0

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Houston Astros - 1, Atlanta Braves - 2	September 30	Turner Field Turner Field Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...	46,467
2	Houston Astros - 3, Atlanta Braves - 13	October 1	Turner Field Turner Field Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...	49,200
3	Atlanta Braves - 4, Houston Astros - 1	October 3	Astrodome Reliant Astrodome Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, USA. The stadium is part of the Reliant Park complex...	53,688

1997 National League Championship Series

1997 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 7, 1997 at Turner Field in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Marlins scored three unearned runs in the first inning off Greg Maddux, thanks to a Fred McGriff error, when Moisés Alou hit a bases-clearing double to left...

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (FLA-ATL)	Attendance
1	October 7	Florida	5	Atlanta	3	1-0	49,244
2	October 8	Florida	1	Atlanta	7	1-1	48,933
3	October 10	Atlanta	2	Florida	5	2-1	53,857
4	October 11	Atlanta	4	Florida	0	2-2	54,890
5	October 12	Atlanta	1	Florida	2	3-2	46,496
6	October 14	Florida	7	Atlanta	4	4-2	50,466
Florida wins series 4–2 and advance to the World Series 1997 World Series -Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greenville