| 1987 Cleveland Indians | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | |||
| City | Cleveland,Ohio | |||
| Owners | Richard Jacobs | |||
| General managers | Joe Klein | |||
| Managers | Pat Corrales,Doc Edwards | |||
| Television | WUAB Joe Tait,Jack Corrigan | |||
| Radio | WWWE Herb Score, Steve Lamar | |||
| ||||
The1987 Cleveland Indians season was the 87th in franchise history. The team, predicted bySports Illustrated magazine to finish first, finished seventh in theAmerican League East. Club presidentPeter Bavasi would resign before the regular season began. Bavasi had joined the Indians in November 1984. As team president, he served on Major League Baseball's Executive Council.[1] During the 1986 season, the team had an 84–78 record, its best since 1968, and attendance of 1.47 million, its highest since 1959.[2] There was much optimism that the team would reach its full potential in 1987.
SluggersJoe Carter andCory Snyder were featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated on April 6, 1987, with the headline "Indian Uprising". The Indians were being predicted as the best team in baseball on the back of their two 30+ home run hitters. What sports writers overlooked was that Cleveland had the worst performing pitching staff in the majors, despite the presence of 300 game winnersPhil Niekro andSteve Carlton, as well asTom Candiotti (with Niekro and Candiotti, Cleveland had two starters whose main pitch was theknuckleball).
The 1987 Indians would fall well short of SI's bold prediction. They were not above .500 even once all season, and an 8–20 May ended any realistic hope of contention. They finished 61–101, the worst record in all of baseball. The season would go on to be associated with theSports Illustrated cover jinx.
In 1987, the Cleveland Indians achieved a baseball first. The Indians had veteran pitchersSteve Carlton andPhil Niekro on their roster to add experience. Their most notable accomplishment was appearing in a game together against theNew York Yankees atYankee Stadium. Carlton and Niekro became the first teammates and 300-game winners to appear in the same game. Both were ineffective in a 10-6 Yankee victory. It would be Carlton's first and only pitching appearance at the legendary stadium. Neither pitcher finished the season with the Indians. Carlton would end up with theMinnesota Twins and win a World Series championship. Niekro would be picked up by theToronto Blue Jays and come within two games of winning the American League East Championship.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 54–27 | 44–37 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 96 | 66 | .593 | 2 | 52–29 | 44–37 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 91 | 71 | .562 | 7 | 48–33 | 43–38 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 73 | .549 | 9 | 51–30 | 38–43 |
| Boston Red Sox | 78 | 84 | .481 | 20 | 50–30 | 28–54 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 67 | 95 | .414 | 31 | 31–51 | 36–44 |
| Cleveland Indians | 61 | 101 | .377 | 37 | 35–46 | 26–55 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 1–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 9–3 | 2–11 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 1–12 |
| Boston | 12–1 | — | 4–8 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 2–11 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 |
| California | 3–9 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Chicago | 4–8 | 9–3 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 5–8 |
| Detroit | 9–4 | 11–2 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| Kansas City | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Milwaukee | 11–2 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 8–4 | — | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 9–4 |
| Minnesota | 7–5 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 9–3 | — | 6–6 | 10–3 | 9–4 | 6–7 | 3–9 |
| New York | 10–3 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 3–10 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–7 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 8–5 | — | 9–4 | 2–10 |
| Texas | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 3–9 |
| Toronto | 12–1 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–9 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 10–2 | 9–3 | — |
| Opening Day Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position |
| 4 | Tony Bernazard | 2B |
| 2 | Brett Butler | CF |
| 14 | Julio Franco | SS |
| 30 | Joe Carter | LF |
| 29 | Andre Thornton | DH |
| 26 | Brook Jacoby | 3B |
| 10 | Pat Tabler | 1B |
| 28 | Cory Snyder | RF |
| 23 | Chris Bando | C |
| 49 | Tom Candiotti | P |
| 1987 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Allanson | 50 | 154 | 17 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 16 | .266 | 1 |
| Chris Bando | 89 | 211 | 20 | 46 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 16 | .218 | 0 |
| Jay Bell | 38 | 125 | 14 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 13 | .216 | 2 |
| Tony Bernazard | 79 | 293 | 39 | 70 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 30 | .239 | 7 |
| Brett Butler | 137 | 522 | 91 | 154 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 41 | .295 | 33 |
| Joe Carter | 149 | 588 | 83 | 155 | 27 | 2 | 32 | 106 | .264 | 31 |
| Carmelo Castillo | 89 | 220 | 27 | 55 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 31 | .250 | 1 |
| Dave Clark | 29 | 87 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | .207 | 1 |
| Rick Dempsey | 60 | 141 | 16 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .177 | 0 |
| Brian Dorsett | 5 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .273 | 0 |
| Julio Franco | 128 | 495 | 86 | 158 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 52 | .319 | 32 |
| Doug Frobel | 29 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .100 | 0 |
| Dave Gallagher | 15 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .111 | 2 |
| Mel Hall | 142 | 485 | 57 | 136 | 21 | 1 | 18 | 76 | .280 | 5 |
| Tommy Hinzo | 67 | 257 | 31 | 68 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 21 | .265 | 9 |
| Brook Jacoby | 155 | 540 | 73 | 162 | 26 | 4 | 32 | 69 | .300 | 2 |
| Otis Nixon | 19 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .059 | 2 |
| Junior Noboa | 39 | 80 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | .225 | 1 |
| Casey Parsons | 18 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .160 | 0 |
| Cory Snyder | 157 | 577 | 74 | 136 | 24 | 2 | 33 | 82 | .236 | 5 |
| Pat Tabler | 151 | 553 | 66 | 170 | 34 | 3 | 11 | 86 | .307 | 5 |
| Andre Thornton | 36 | 85 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .118 | 1 |
| Eddie Williams | 22 | 64 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .172 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5606 | 742 | 1476 | 267 | 30 | 187 | 691 | .263 | 140 |
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darrel Akerfelds | 2 | 6 | 6.75 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 74.2 | 84 | 60 | 56 | 38 | 42 |
| Mike Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 8.68 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 18.2 | 27 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 9 |
| Scott Bailes | 7 | 8 | 4.64 | 39 | 17 | 6 | 120.1 | 145 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 65 |
| Ernie Camacho | 0 | 1 | 9.22 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 13.2 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 9 |
| Tom Candiotti | 7 | 18 | 4.78 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 201.2 | 193 | 132 | 107 | 93 | 111 |
| Steve Carlton | 5 | 9 | 5.37 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 109.0 | 111 | 76 | 65 | 63 | 71 |
| Jamie Easterly | 1 | 1 | 4.55 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 | 26 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 22 |
| John Farrell | 5 | 1 | 3.39 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 69.0 | 68 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 28 |
| Don Gordon | 0 | 3 | 4.08 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 39.2 | 49 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 20 |
| Mark Huismann | 2 | 3 | 5.09 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 35.1 | 38 | 22 | 20 | 8 | 23 |
| Doug Jones | 6 | 5 | 3.15 | 49 | 0 | 8 | 91.1 | 101 | 45 | 32 | 24 | 87 |
| Jeff Kaiser | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Phil Niekro | 7 | 11 | 5.89 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 123.2 | 142 | 83 | 81 | 53 | 57 |
| Reggie Ritter | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 26.2 | 33 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 11 |
| Ken Schrom | 6 | 13 | 6.50 | 32 | 29 | 0 | 153.2 | 185 | 126 | 111 | 57 | 61 |
| Sammy Stewart | 4 | 2 | 5.67 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 27.0 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 21 | 25 |
| Greg Swindell | 3 | 8 | 5.10 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 102.1 | 112 | 62 | 58 | 37 | 97 |
| Ed Vande Berg | 1 | 0 | 5.10 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 72.1 | 96 | 42 | 41 | 21 | 40 |
| Tom Waddell | 0 | 1 | 14.29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Frank Wills | 0 | 1 | 5.06 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5.1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Rich Yett | 3 | 9 | 5.25 | 37 | 11 | 1 | 97.2 | 96 | 63 | 57 | 49 | 59 |
| Team Totals | 61 | 101 | 5.28 | 162 | 162 | 25 | 1422.2 | 1566 | 957 | 835 | 606 | 849 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Burlington[15]