1987 American League

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1987 American League
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AmericanLeague.jpg

The 1987 season of the American League was the eighty-seventh season of the league.

BR page

Season summary[edit]

Standings[edit]

Bold indicates league champion, Italics indicates World Series champion
Rank Team G W L T WPCT GB RS (RS/G) RA (RA/G) AVG OBP SLG ERA FPCT
Eastern Division
1 Detroit Tigers 162 98 64 0 .605 -.- 896 (5.53) 735 (4.54) 0.272 0.347 0.451 4.02 0.980
2 Toronto Blue Jays 162 96 66 0 .593 2.0 845 (5.22) 655 (4.04) 0.269 0.334 0.446 3.74 0.982
3 Milwaukee Brewers 162 91 71 0 .562 7.0 862 (5.32) 817 (5.04) 0.276 0.345 0.428 4.62 0.976
4 New York Yankees 162 89 73 0 .549 9.0 788 (4.86) 758 (4.68) 0.262 0.335 0.418 4.36 0.983
5 Boston Red Sox 162 78 84 0 .481 20.0 842 (5.20) 825 (5.09) 0.278 0.349 0.430 4.77 0.982
6 Baltimore Orioles 162 67 95 0 .414 31.0 729 (4.50) 880 (5.43) 0.258 0.321 0.418 5.01 0.982
7 Cleveland Indians 162 61 101 0 .377 37.0 742 (4.58) 957 (5.91) 0.263 0.322 0.422 5.28 0.975
Western Division
1 Minnesota Twins 162 85 77 0 .525 -.- 786 (4.85) 806 (4.98) 0.261 0.326 0.430 4.63 0.984
2 Kansas City Royals 162 83 79 0 .512 2.0 715 (4.41) 691 (4.27) 0.262 0.326 0.412 3.86 0.979
3 Oakland Athletics 162 81 81 0 .500 4.0 806 (4.98) 789 (4.87) 0.260 0.332 0.428 4.32 0.977
4 Seattle Mariners 162 78 84 0 .481 7.0 760 (4.69) 801 (4.94) 0.272 0.333 0.428 4.49 0.980
5 Chicago White Sox 162 77 85 0 .475 8.0 748 (4.62) 746 (4.60) 0.258 0.318 0.415 4.30 0.981
6 Texas Rangers 162 75 87 0 .463 10.0 823 (5.08) 849 (5.24) 0.266 0.334 0.430 4.63 0.976
7 California Angels 162 75 87 0 .463 10.0 770 (4.75) 803 (4.96) 0.252 0.324 0.401 4.38 0.981

League leaders[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Games Played Cal Ripken Baltimore Orioles 162
At Bats Ruben Sierra Texas Rangers 643
Runs Scored Paul Molitor Milwaukee Brewers 114
Hits Kirby Puckett
Kevin Seitzer
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
207
Doubles Paul Molitor Milwaukee Brewers 41
Triples Willie Wilson Kansas City Royals 15
Home Runs Mark McGwire Oakland Athletics 49
Total Bases George Bell Toronto Blue Jays 369
Runs Batted In George Bell Toronto Blue Jays 134
Stolen Bases Harold Reynolds Seattle Mariners 60
Caught Stealing Harold Reynolds Seattle Mariners 20
Walks Brian Downing
Dwight Evans
California Angels
Boston Red Sox
106
Intentional Base-on-Balls Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox 19
Hit by Pitch Don Baylor Boston Red Sox/Minnesota Twins 28
Strikeouts Rob Deer Milwaukee Brewers 186
Sacrifice Hits Marty Barrett Boston Red Sox 22
Sacrifice Flies Ruben Sierra Texas Rangers 12
Grounded into Double Plays Gary Gaetti Minnesota Twins 25
Batting Average Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox 0.363
On-Base Percentage Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox 0.461
Slugging Percentage Mark McGwire Oakland Athletics 0.618
On-Base plus Slugging Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox 1.049
On-Base plus Slugging Plus Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox 173

Pitching[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Wins Roger Clemens
Dave Stewart
Boston Red Sox
Oakland Athletics
20
Losses Mike Moore Seattle Mariners 19
Win-Loss Percentage Mike Henneman Detroit Tigers 0.786
Appearances Mark Eichhorn Toronto Blue Jays 89
Games Started Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 40
Complete Games Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox 18
Shutouts Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox 7
Games Finished Tom Henke Toronto Blue Jays 62
Saves Tom Henke Toronto Blue Jays 34
Innings Pitched Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 285.1
Batters Faced Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 1231
Hits Allowed Mike Moore Seattle Mariners 268
Home Runs Allowed Bert Blyleven Minnesota Twins 46
Base-on-Balls Allowed Bobby Witt Texas Rangers 140
Intentional Base-on-Balls Mark Williamson Baltimore Orioles 15
Hit Batsmen Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 19
Strikeouts Mark Langston Seattle Mariners 262
Wild Pitches Jack Morris Detroit Tigers 24
Balks Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 9
Runs Allowed Charlie Hough Texas Rangers 159
Earned Runs Allowed Mike Moore Seattle Mariners 121
Earned Run Average Jimmy Key Toronto Blue Jays 2.76
Walks plus Hits
per Inning Pitched
Jimmy Key Toronto Blue Jays 1.057

All-Star Game[edit]

The American League lost the fifty-eighth midsummer classic at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA on Tuesday, July 14, 1987 by a score of 2 to 0 in 13 innings. The league's manager was John McNamara.

Postseason[edit]

The American League Championship Series, featured Detroit Tigers, the Eastern Division winner, and the Minnesota Twins, the Western Division winner. The Twins defeated the Tigers, 4 games to 1.

In the World Series, the American League champion Minnesota Twins defeated the National League's St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3.

Award winners[edit]

The winner of the league's Most Valuable Player Award, given its Most Valuable Player, was George Bell (bellge02), an outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays. In the award's voting, he had 332 out of a possible 392 points and 16 first place votes.

The winner of the league's Cy Young Award, given its best pitcher, was Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox. In the award's voting, he had 124 out of a possible 140 points and 21 first place votes.

The winner of the league's Rookie of the Year Award, given its best rookie player, was Mark McGwire, a first baseman with the Oakland Athletics. In the award's voting, he had 140 out of a possible 140 points and 28 first place votes.

Gold Gloves[edit]

The following players won the Gold Glove Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.

Position Player Team
P Mark Langston Seattle Mariners
C Bob Boone California Angels
1B Don Mattingly New York Yankees
2B Frank White Kansas City Royals
3B Gary Gaetti Minnesota Twins
SS Tony Fernandez Toronto Blue Jays
OF Jesse Barfield Toronto Blue Jays
Kirby Puckett Minnesota Twins
Dave Winfield New York Yankees

Silver Sluggers[edit]

The following players won the Silver Slugger Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.

Position Player Team
C Matt Nokes Detroit Tigers
1B Don Mattingly New York Yankees
2B Lou Whitaker Detroit Tigers
3B Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox
SS Alan Trammell Detroit Tigers
OF George Bell Toronto Blue Jays
Dwight Evans Boston Red Sox
Kirby Puckett Minnesota Twins
DH Paul Molitor Milwaukee Brewers

Monthly Awards[edit]

Hall of Fame Game[edit]

The forty-fourth annual Hall of Fame Game was played on July 27 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY near the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the game, the American League's New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves of the National League by a score of 3 to 0.

Notable events[edit]

Umpires[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Zander Hollander, ed.: The Complete Handbook of Baseball: 1987 Season, Signet Books, New American Library, New York, NY, 1987. ISBN 0-451-14761-8
  • Will Leitch: "Bash Brothers and 100 steals: 1987 was wild - 10 fun facts from a wild season", mlb.com, March 18, 2020. [1]