1987 Detroit Tigers season

The 1987 Detroit Tigers season saw the Tigers make a startling late-season comeback to win the American League East on the season's final day. The Tigers finished with a Major League-best record of 98–64, two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit lost the ALCS to the Minnesota Twins in 5 games.

1987 Detroit Tigers
American League East Champions
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Tiger Stadium
City	Detroit, Michigan
Owners	Tom Monaghan
General managers	Bill Lajoie
Managers	Sparky Anderson
Television	WDIV-TV (George Kell, Al Kaline) PASS (Larry Osterman, Jim Northrup)
Radio	WJR (Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)
← 1986 Seasons 1988 →

This would be the last time the Tigers made the postseason until 2006.

Offseason

• March 23, 1987: Brian Harper was released by the Tigers.^[1]

Regular season

After their 1984 championship season, the Tigers finished in third place in the AL East in both 1985 and 1986. The 1987 Tigers faced lowered expectations – which seemed to be confirmed by an 11–19 start to the season. The team hit its stride thereafter and gradually gained ground on its AL East rivals. This charge was fueled in part by the acquisition of pitcher Doyle Alexander from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league pitcher John Smoltz. Alexander started 11 games for the Tigers, posting 9 wins without a loss and a 1.53 ERA. The deal came at a price. Smoltz, a Lansing, Michigan native, went on to have a long, productive career with the Braves winning a Cy Young Award and eventually gaining entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Despite their improvement, they entered September neck-and-neck with the Toronto Blue Jays. The two teams would square off in seven hard-fought games during the final two weeks of the season. All seven games were decided by one run, and in the first six of the seven games, the winning run was scored in the final inning of play. At Exhibition Stadium, the Tigers dropped three in a row to the Blue Jays before winning a dramatic extra-inning showdown.

The Tigers entered the final week of the 1987 season 3.5 games behind. After a series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Tigers returned home trailing by a game and swept the Blue Jays. Detroit clinched the division in a 1–0 victory over Toronto in front of 51,005 fans at Tiger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, October 4. Frank Tanana pitched a complete-game shutout, and outfielder Larry Herndon hit a second-inning solo home run for the game's only run. Detroit finished the season with a Major League-best 98–64, two games ahead of Toronto. The team hit 225 home runs, the most since the 1961 New York Yankees.^[2]

In what would be their last postseason appearance until 2006, the Tigers lost the 1987 American League Championship Series to the underdog Minnesota Twins (who would go on to win the World Series) in five games.

The 1987 Tigers' winning percentage ranks as the 10th best in team history, as follows:

Best Seasons in Detroit Tigers History Rank Year Wins Losses Win %   Finish 1 1934 101 53 .656 Lost 1934 World Series to Cardinals 2 1915 100 54 .649 2nd in AL behind Red Sox 3 1909 98 54 .645 Lost 1909 World Series to Pirates 4 1984 104 58 .642 Won 1984 World Series over Padres 5 1968 103 59 .636 Won 1968 World Series over Cardinals 6 1961 101 61 .623 2nd in AL behind Yankees 7 1950 95 59 .617 2nd in AL behind Yankees 8 1935 93 58 .616 Won 1935 World Series over Cubs 9 1907 92 58 .613 Lost 1907 World Series to Cubs 10 1987 98 64 .605 Lost 1987 ALCS to Twins

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Detroit Tigers	98	64	0.605	—	54–27	44–37
Toronto Blue Jays	96	66	0.593	2	52–29	44–37
Milwaukee Brewers	91	71	0.562	7	48–33	43–38
New York Yankees	89	73	0.549	9	51–30	38–43
Boston Red Sox	78	84	0.481	20	50–30	28–54
Baltimore Orioles	67	95	0.414	31	31–51	36–44
Cleveland Indians	61	101	0.377	37	35–46	26–55

Record vs. opponents

1987 American League record v t e 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	—

Transactions

• June 2, 1987: 1987 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Travis Fryman was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (30th pick). Player signed June 6, 1987.^[3]
  • Torey Lovullo was drafted by the Tigers in the 5th round. Player signed June 7, 1987.^[4]
• June 4, 1987: Bill Madlock was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.^[5]
• August 7, 1987: Darnell Coles and a player to be named later were traded by the Tigers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jim Morrison. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Morris Madden to the Pirates on August 12.^[6]
• August 12, 1987: John Smoltz was traded by the Tigers to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander.^[7]
• September 22, 1987: Dickie Noles was loaned to the Tigers by the Chicago Cubs.^[8]

Roster

1987 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 19 Doyle Alexander 39 Mike Henneman 21 Willie Hernández 45 Bryan Kelly 25 Eric King 42 Morris Madden 47 Jack Morris 27 Dickie Noles 46 Dan Petry 44 Jeff Robinson 36 Nate Snell 26 Frank Tanana 35 Walt Terrell 30 Mark Thurmond		Catchers  8 Mike Heath 12 Dwight Lowry 24 Orlando Mercado 33 Matt Nokes Infielders  9 Doug Baker 14 Dave Bergman 16 Tom Brookens 19 Darnell Coles 41 Darrell Evans  7 Bill Madlock 17 Jim Morrison  3 Alan Trammell 32 Jim Walewander  1 Lou Whitaker		Outfielders  4 Billy Bean 23 Kirk Gibson 30 Johnny Grubb 17 Terry Harper 31 Larry Herndon 34 Chet Lemon 24 Scott Lusader 15 Pat Sheridan 38 Tim Tolman		Manager 11 Sparky Anderson Coaches 50 Billy Consolo (Bench) 51 Alex Grammas (Third base) 56 Billy Muffett (Pitching) 28 Vada Pinson (Hitting) 53 Dick Tracewski (First base)

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

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
C	Matt Nokes	135	461	133	.289	32	87
1B	Darrell Evans	150	499	128	.257	34	99
2B	Lou Whitaker	149	604	160	.265	16	59
3B	Tom Brookens	143	444	107	.241	14	59
SS	Alan Trammell	151	597	205	.343	28	105
LF	Kirk Gibson	128	487	135	.277	24	79
CF	Chet Lemon	146	470	130	.277	20	75
RF	Pat Sheridan	141	421	109	.259	6	49
DH	Bill Madlock	87	326	91	.279	14	50

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
Mike Heath	93	270	76	.281	8	33
Larry Herndon	89	225	73	.324	9	47
Dave Bergman	91	172	47	.273	6	22
Darnell Coles	53	149	27	.181	4	15
Jim Morrison	34	117	24	.205	4	19
Johnny Grubb	59	114	23	.202	2	13
Billy Bean	26	66	17	.258	0	4
Terry Harper	31	64	13	.203	3	10
Jim Walewander	53	54	13	.241	1	4
Scott Lusader	23	47	15	.319	1	8
Dwight Lowry	13	25	5	.200	0	1
Orlando Mercado	10	22	3	.136	0	1
Tim Tolman	9	12	1	.083	0	1
Doug Baker	8	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jack Morris	34	266.0	18	11	3.38	208
Walt Terrell	35	244.2	17	10	4.05	143
Frank Tanana	34	218.2	15	10	3.91	146
Dan Petry	30	134.2	9	7	5.61	93
Jeff Robinson	29	127.1	9	6	5.37	98
Doyle Alexander	11	88.1	9	0	1.53	44

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Eric King	55	6	9	9	4.89	89
Mike Henneman	55	11	3	7	2.98	75
Willie Hernández	45	3	4	8	3.67	30
Mark Thurmond	48	0	1	5	4.23	21
Nate Snell	22	1	2	0	3.96	19
Dickie Noles	4	0	0	2	4.50	0
Bryan Kelly	5	0	1	0	5.06	10
Morris Madden	2	0	0	0	16.20	0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Leon Roberts
AA	Glens Falls Tigers	Eastern League	Tom Burgess, Tom Gamboa and Paul Felix
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	John Wockenfuss
A	Fayetteville Generals	South Atlantic League	Johnny Lipon
Rookie	Bristol Tigers	Appalachian League	Rick Magnante

^[9]

References

1. Brian Harper page at Baseball Reference
2. "Team Batting Season Finder: For Single Seasons, from 1960 to 1989, Standard stats, requiring Home Runs >= 200, sorted by greatest Home Runs". Stathead. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
3. Travis Fryman page at Baseball Reference
4. Torey Lovullo page at Baseball Reference
5. Bill Madlock page at Baseball Reference
6. Darnell Coles page at Baseball Reference
7. Doyle Alexander page at Baseball Reference
8. Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
9. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

External links

•  Baseball portal

• 1987 Detroit Tigers team page at Baseball Reference