1997–98 Australian Baseball League season
The 1997–98 Australian Baseball League season was the 9th season of the original Australian Baseball League, contested between eight teams representing state and regional capitals:,,,,,, and. The Melbourne Reds became the first three-time champions defeating the Gold Coast Cougars 2 games to 0 in the Championship series, in front of a small home crowd of 600 at the Melbourne Ballpark.
Teams
Each of the 8 teams from the previous season returned, however the Sydney Blues changed their name to the Sydney Storm after legal action taken by Cricket NSW during the offseason.In the season opening press release, The league called for expressions of interest in a licence to reform the Canberra Bushrangers for the season, The Bushrangers previously folded at the end of the season.
Rosters
During the regular season each team made use of an active roster of 22–24 men, with a maximum of 4 import players.- 1997–98 Melbourne Monarchs season#Roster
- 1997–98 Melbourne Reds season#Roster
- 1997–98 Perth Heat season#Roster
- 1997–98 Sydney Storm season#Roster
Venues
| Team | City | State | Stadium | Ref |
| Adelaide | South Australia | Norwood Oval | ||
| Brisbane | Queensland | Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre | ||
| Gold Coast | Queensland | Carrara Oval | ||
| Newcastle | New South Wales | Newcastle International Sports Centre | ||
| Melbourne | Victoria | Melbourne Ballpark | ||
| Melbourne | Victoria | Moorabbin Oval | ||
| Perth | Western Australia | WACA Ground | ||
| Sydney | New South Wales | Concord Oval |
Regular season
Round 1: 31 October – 5 November 1997
Round 2: 7–9 November 1997
Round 3: 14–16 November 1997
Round 4: 21–23 November 1997
Round 5: 28–30 November 1997
Round 6: 5–7 December 1997
All Star Games: 12–13 December 1997
The series was held at Carrara Oval.Game 1 was played against the Japanese Industrial League Champions and Game 2 against combined team of Americans playing in the ABL.
Round 7: 14–16 December 1997
Round 8: 19–21 December 1997
Round 9: 26–28 December 1997
Round 10: 30 December 1997, 2–6 January 1998
Round 11: 9–11 January 1998
Round 12: 16–18 January 1998
Round 13: 22–25 January 1998
Round 14: 26–29 January 1998
Round 15: 30 January – 3 February 1998
Round 16: 6–8 February 1998
Ladder
Top 10 Stats
| Name | Wins | Losses | Saves | ERA |
| Mark Respondek | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 |
| Warren May | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4.96 |
| Robert Hogan | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5.97 |
| Pat Ahearne | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3.46 |
| David White | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7.79 |
| Jason Beverlin | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6.22 |
| Name | Avg | HR | RBI |
| Adam Burton | .388 | 21 | 55 |
| Ben Utting | .346 | 7 | 34 |
| Myles Barnden | .343 | 6 | 28 |
| Chris Ashby | .314 | 6 | 18 |
| Jeff Spencer | .306 | 7 | 41 |
| Shane Hogan | .298 | 18 | 49 |
Postseason
Finals Series at [Melbourne Ballpark]
In previous years the post season was played as home and away best of 3 games, with the two winner of each series meeting for a best of 5 series, in 1997–98 this was changed to a round robin play-off format with each team playing 3 games, 1 against each of the other 3 qualified teams, with the two highest places teams playing off in the Championship Series.All games for the 9th ABL title were played at the Melbourne Ballpark from February, 10-12 with the best of three championship series 14–15 February.