1987 Atlanta Braves season

1987 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (since 1966)
Atlanta (since 1966)
Results
Record	69–92 (.429)
Divisional place	5th
Other information
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
General manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Manager(s)	Chuck Tanner
Local television	WTBS Superstation WTBS
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, John Sterling)
< Previous season     Next season  >

Offseason

• November 17, 1986: Chuck Hensley was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[1]
• November 17, 1986: Trench Davis was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[2]
• February 2, 1987: Luis Leal was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays with Damaso Garcia to the Atlanta Braves for Craig McMurtry.^[3]

Regular season

• May 1, 1987: Houston Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan hit a home run off of Braves pitcher Charlie Puleo.^[4]
• August 17, 1987: Tom Glavine made his major league baseball debut.^[5] It was against the Houston Astros and Glavine was the starting pitcher. Glavine pitched 3.2 innings and allowed 10 hits and six earned runs. Glavine had 5 bases on balls and one strikeout.^[6]

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Francisco Giants	90	72	0.556	—	46–35	44–37
Cincinnati Reds	84	78	0.519	6	42–39	42–39
Houston Astros	76	86	0.469	14	47–34	29–52
Los Angeles Dodgers	73	89	0.451	17	40–41	33–48
Atlanta Braves	69	92	0.429	20½	42–39	27–53
San Diego Padres	65	97	0.401	25	37–44	28–53

Record vs. opponents

1987 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	6–5	8–10	8–10	6–12	3–9	7–5	7–5	7–5	6–12	8–10	3–9
Chicago	5–6	—	6–6	8–4	6–6	10–8	9–9	8–10	4–14	9–3	5–7	6–12
Cincinnati	10–8	6–6	—	13–5	10–8	6–6	7–5	5–7	4–8	12–6	7–11	4–8
Houston	10–8	4–8	5–13	—	12–6	7–5	6–6	6–6	6–6	5–13	10–8	5–7
Los Angeles	12–6	6–6	8–10	6–12	—	3–9	6–6	2–10	6–6	11–7	10–8	3–9
Montreal	9–3	8–10	6–6	5–7	9–3	—	8–10	10–8	11–7	9–3	5–7	11–7
New York	5–7	9–9	5–7	6–6	6–6	10–8	—	13–5	12–6	8–4	9–3	9–9
Philadelphia	5-7	10–8	7–5	6–6	10–2	8–10	5–13	—	11–7	8–4	2–10	8–10
Pittsburgh	5–7	14–4	8–4	6–6	6–6	7–11	6–12	7–11	—	8–4	6–6	7–11
San Diego	12–6	3–9	6–12	13–5	7–11	3–9	4–8	4–8	4–8	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	10–8	7–5	11–7	8–10	8–10	7–5	3–9	10–2	6–6	13–5	—	7–5
St. Louis	9–3	12–6	8–4	7–5	9–3	7–11	9–9	10–8	11–7	8–4	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 1, 1987: Graig Nettles was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[7]
• May 5, 1987: Doyle Alexander was signed as a free agent by the Braves.^[8]
• June 2, 1987: Mike Stanton was drafted by the Braves in the 13th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 10, 1987.^[9]
• July 25, 1987: Joe Boever was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Atlanta Braves for Randy O'Neal.^[10]
• August 12, 1987: Doyle Alexander was traded by the Braves to the Detroit Tigers for John Smoltz.^[8]

Roster

1987 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 38 Jim Acker 33 Doyle Alexander 30 Paul Assenmacher 37 Joe Boever 36 Chuck Cary 48 Marty Clary 43 Kevin Coffman 49 Jeff Dedmon 26 Gene Garber 47 Tom Glavine 42 Rick Mahler 25 Larry McWilliams 35 Phil Niekro 37 Randy O'Neal 31 Ed Olwine 46 David Palmer 45 Charlie Puleo 25 Pete Smith 34 Zane Smith 29 Steve Ziem		Catchers 20 Bruce Benedict  9 Ozzie Virgil Infielders 32 Jeff Blauser  5 Ron Gant 17 Glenn Hubbard 19 Graig Nettles 24 Ken Oberkfell 28 Gerald Perry 16 Rafael Ramírez 12 Paul Runge 23 Ted Simmons 14 Andrés Thomas		Outfielders 22 Ken Griffey  1 Albert Hall 10 Dion James  6 Darryl Motley  3 Dale Murphy 15 Gary Roenicke Other batters 11 Terry Bell 18 Trench Davis 27 Mike Fischlin		Manager  7 Chuck Tanner Coaches 50 Tony Bartirome 39 Bruce Dal Canton 52 Al Monchak  2 Russ Nixon  4 Bob Skinner  8 Willie Stargell

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: 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	Virgil, OzzieOzzie Virgil	123	429	106	.247	27	72
1B	Perry, GeraldGerald Perry	142	533	144	.270	12	74
2B	Hubbard, GlennGlenn Hubbard	141	443	117	.264	5	38
3B	Oberkfell, KenKen Oberkfell	135	508	142	.280	3	48
SS	Thomas, AndrésAndrés Thomas	82	324	75	.231	5	39
LF	Griffey, KenKen Griffey	122	399	114	.286	14	64
CF	James, DionDion James	134	494	154	.312	10	61
RF	Murphy, DaleDale Murphy	159	566	167	.295	44	105

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Nettles, GraigGraig Nettles	112	177	37	.209	5	33
Runge, PaulPaul Runge	27	47	10	.213	3	8

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Palmer, DavidDavid Palmer	28	152.1	8	11	4.90	111

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Roy Majtyka
AA	Greenville Braves	Southern League	Jim Beauchamp
A	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Brian Snitker
A	Sumter Braves	South Atlantic League	Buddy Bailey
Rookie	Pulaski Braves	Appalachian League	Grady Little
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Pedro González
Rookie	Idaho Falls Braves	Pioneer League	Rod Gilbreath

^[11]

Notes

1. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/henslch01.shtml
2. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davistr01.shtml
3. Luis Leal Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
4. Nolan Ryan Home Run Log (Batting) – Baseball-Reference PI
5. http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/glavito02.shtml
6. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198708170HOU
7. Graig Nettles Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
8. Doyle Alexander at Baseball Reference
9. Mike Stanton at Baseball Reference
10. http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boevejo01.shtml
11. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References

• 1987 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference