1987 Oakland Athletics season

1987 Oakland Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Oakland, California (since 1968)
Results
Record	81–81 (.500)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter A. Haas, Jr.
General manager(s)	Sandy Alderson
Manager(s)	Tony La Russa
Local television	KPIX (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse)
Local radio	KSFO (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ted Robinson, Joe Fonzi)
< Previous season     Next season  >

The Oakland Athletics' 1987 season involved the A's finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 81 wins and 81 losses. Mark McGwire set a rookie record by hitting 49 home runs.^[1] At the beginning of the season, the word "Athletics" returned, in script lettering, to the front of the team's jerseys. Former A's owner, Charles O. Finley banned the word "Athletics" from the club's name in the past because he felt that name was too closely associated with former Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack. In his first full Major League season, Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs, a single-season record for a rookie; he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. McGwire would be the first American League rookie since Al Rosen of the Cleveland Indians in 1950 to lead the American League in home runs.^[2] The 1987 season also saw the return of Reggie Jackson to Oakland.

Offseason

• December 11, 1986: Donnie Hill was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago White Sox for Gene Nelson and Bruce Tanner.^[3]
• January 20, 1987: Vida Blue was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[4]
• January 22, 1987: Jim Eppard was purchased from the Athletics by the California Angels.^[5]
• February 6, 1987: Johnnie LeMaster was signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.^[6]
• February 23, 1987: Jeff Kaiser was traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Curt Wardle.^[7]

Regular season

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Minnesota Twins	85	77	0.525	—	56–25	29–52
Kansas City Royals	83	79	0.512	2	46–35	37–44
Oakland Athletics	81	81	0.500	4	42–39	39–42
Seattle Mariners	78	84	0.481	7	40–41	38–43
Chicago White Sox	77	85	0.475	8	38–43	39–42
Texas Rangers	75	87	0.463	10	43–38	32–49
California Angels	75	87	0.463	10	38–43	37–44

Record vs. opponents

1987 American League Records Sources:
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

• Jose Canseco
• Mike Davis
• Alfredo Griffin
• Reggie Jackson
• Carney Lansford
• Mark McGwire
• Dwayne Murphy
• Tony Phillips
• Dave Stewart
• Mickey Tettleton^[8]

Notable transactions

• April 3, 1987: Brian Guinn (minors), Dave Wilder (minors), and Mark Leonette (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Dennis Eckersley and Dan Rohn.^[9]
• April 27, 1987: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[10]
• April 30, 1987: Bill Caudill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[11]
• May 12, 1987: Brian Harper was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[12]
• June 29, 1987: Bill Mooneyham was traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Russ McGinnis.^[13]
• July 29, 1987: Johnnie LeMaster was released by the Oakland Athletics.^[6]
• August 29, 1987: Tim Belcher was traded by the Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rick Honeycutt.^[14]
• August 30, 1987: The Athletics traded players to be named later to the San Diego Padres for Storm Davis. The Athletics completed the deal by sending Dave Leiper to the Padres on August 31 and Rob Nelson to the Padres on September 8.^[15]
• August 31, 1987: Gary Lavelle was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[16]

Draft picks

• June 2, 1987: Ron Coomer was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round of the 1987 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1987.^[17]
• June 2, 1987: Scott Brosius was drafted by the Athletics in the 20th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed June 9, 1987.^[18]

All-Star Game

The 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 58th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 1987 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, the home of the Oakland Athletics of the American League. The game resulted in the National League defeating the American League 2-0 in 13 innings. Montreal Expos outfielder Tim Raines was named the Most Valuable Player.

Roster

1987 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 47 Joaquín Andújar 32 Greg Cadaret 37 Bill Caudill 23 Chris Codiroli 41 Storm Davis 43 Dennis Eckersley 30 Moose Haas 40 Rick Honeycutt 30 Jay Howell 32 Bill Krueger 49 Dennis Lamp 46 Gary Lavelle 52 Dave Leiper 19,40 Gene Nelson 53 Steve Ontiveros 38 Dave Otto 51 Eric Plunk 27,38 José Rijo 12,27 Rick Rodriguez 34 Dave Stewart 57 Dave Von Ohlen 29 Curt Young		Catchers 11 Matt Sinatro 36 Terry Steinbach  6 Mickey Tettleton Infielders 14 Tony Bernazard 11 Ron Cey  9 Mike Gallego  3 Alfredo Griffin  4 Carney Lansford 13 Johnnie LeMaster 25 Mark McGwire 14,49 Rob Nelson  2 Tony Phillips 17 Walt Weiss  7 Jerry Willard		Outfielders 33 José Canseco 16 Mike Davis 31 Brian Harper 24 Steve Henderson 44 Reggie Jackson 28 Stan Javier 21 Dwayne Murphy 22 Luis Polonia 24 Alejandro Sánchez		Manager 10 Tony La Russa Coaches 18 Dave Duncan (Pitching) 15 Rene Lachemann (First Base)  5 Jim Lefebvre (Third Base) 46 Joe Rudi (Hitting) 39 Dave McKay (Bullpen) 45 Mike Paul (Bullpen) 55 Bob Watson (Bench)

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	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Terry Steinbach	122	391	66	111	.284	16	56	1
1B	Mark McGwire	151	557	97	161	.289	49	118	1
2B	Tony Phillips	111	379	48	91	.240	10	46	7
3B	Carney Lansford	151	554	89	160	.289	19	76	27
SS	Alfredo Griffin	144	494	69	130	.263	3	60	26
LF	José Canseco	159	630	81	162	.257	31	113	15
CF	Dwayne Murphy	82	219	39	51	.233	8	35	4
RF	Mike Davis	139	494	69	131	.265	22	72	19
DH	Reggie Jackson	115	336	42	74	.220	15	43	2

^[19]

Other batters

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Luis Polonia	125	435	78	125	.287	4	49	29
Tony Bernazard	61	214	34	57	.266	3	19	4
Mickey Tettleton	82	211	19	41	.194	8	26	1
Stan Javier	81	151	22	28	.185	2	9	3
Mike Gallego	72	124	18	31	.250	2	14	0
Steve Henderson	46	114	14	33	.289	3	9	0
Ron Cey	45	104	12	23	.221	4	11	0
Walt Weiss	16	26	3	12	.462	0	1	1
Johnnie LeMaster	20	24	3	2	.083	0	1	0
Rob Nelson	7	24	1	4	.167	0	0	0
Brian Harper	11	17	1	4	.235	0	3	0
Jerry Willard	7	6	1	1	.167	0	0	0
Alejandro Sánchez	2	3	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Matt Sinatro	6	3	0	0	.000	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	CG	SO
Dave Stewart	37	261.3	20	13	3.68	8	205
Curt Young	31	203.0	13	7	4.08	6	124
José Rijo	21	82.3	2	7	5.90	1	67
Joaquín Andújar	13	60.7	3	5	6.08	1	32
Moose Haas	9	40.7	2	2	5.75	0	13
Storm Davis	5	30.3	1	1	3.26	0	28
Chris Codiroli	3	11.3	0	2	8.74	0	4

^[19]

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Steve Ontiveros	35	150.7	10	8	4.00	97
Eric Plunk	32	95.0	4	6	4.74	90
Rick Honeycutt	7	23.7	1	4	5.32	10

Relief pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Dennis Eckersley	54	115.7	6	8	16	3.03	113
Nelson, GeneGene Nelson	54	123.7	6	5	3	3.93	94
Dave Leiper	45	52.3	2	1	1	3.78	33
Jay Howell	36	44.3	3	4	16	5.89	35
Dennis Lamp	36	56.7	1	3	0	5.08	36
Greg Cadaret	29	39.7	6	2	0	4.54	30
Rick Rodriguez	15	24.3	1	0	0	2.96	9
Bill Caudill	6	8.0	0	0	1	9.00	8
Dave Otto	3	6.0	0	0	0	9.00	3
Dave Von Ohlen	4	6.0	0	0	0	7.50	3
Bill Krueger	9	5.7	0	3	0	9.53	2
Gary Lavelle	6	4.3	0	0	0	8.31	6

Awards and records

• Mark McGwire, American League Rookie of the Year
• Mark McGwire, Rookie Record, Most Home Runs in One Season (49)

1987 MLB All-Star Game

• Mark McGwire, First Base

McGwire's rookie record 49 home runs

Home Run	Game	Date	Inning	Location	Opposing Pitcher	Team
1	4	October 4, 1987	7th	Oakland	Donnie Moore[20]	Angels
2	15	04-21-1987	4th	Oakland	Urbano Lugo[21]	Angels
3	18	04-25-1987	3rd	Oakland	Scott Bankhead[22]	Mariners
4	22	04-29-1987	2nd	Oakland	Ted Higuera[23]	Brewers
5	24	January 5, 1987	3rd	Oakland	Walt Terrell[24]	Tigers
6	29	August 5, 1987	4th	Detroit	Frank Tanana[25]	Tigers
7	29	August 5, 1987	8th	Detroit	Frank Tanana[25]	Tigers
8	30	September 5, 1987	6th	Detroit	Eric King[26]	Tigers
9	31	October 5, 1987	2nd	Detroit	Jack Morris[27]	Tigers
10	31	October 5, 1987	4th	Detroit	Jack Morris[27]	Tigers
11	35	05-16-1987	1st	Oakland	Jimmy Key[28]	Blue Jays
12	37	05-18-1987	7th	Oakland	Tim Stoddard[29]	Yankees
13	38	05-19-1987	3rd	Oakland	Dennis Rasmussen[30]	Yankees
14	39	05-20-1987	2nd	Oakland	Charles Hudson[31]	Yankees
15	41	05-23-1987	2nd	Oakland	Mike Boddicker[32]	Orioles
16	42	05-24-1987	2nd	Oakland	Jeff Ballard[33]	Orioles
17	44	05-27-1987	4th	Toronto	Joe Johnson[34]	Blue Jays
18	48	05-31-1987	2nd	New York	Tommy John[35]	Yankees
19	48	05-31-1987	7th	New York	Tommy John[35]	Yankees
20	59	06-13-1987	4th	Arlington Stadium	Ed Correa[36]	Rangers
21	61	06-15-1987	4th	Kansas City	Charlie Leibrandt [37]	Royals
22	66	06-21-1987	8th	Oakland	Jose Guzman[38]	Rangers
23	72	06-27-1987	1st	Cleveland	Ken Schrom[39]	Indians
24	72	06-27-1987	5th	Cleveland	Ed Vande Berg[39]	Indians
25	72	06-27-1987	9th	Cleveland	Scott Bailes[39]	Indians
26	73	06-28-1987	4th	Cleveland	Tom Candiotti[40]	Indians
27	73	06-28-1987	7th	Cleveland	Tom Candiotti[40]	Indians
28	75	06-30-1987	1st	Chicago	Scott Nielsen[41]	White Sox
29	79	April 7, 1987	5th	Boston	Bruce Hurst[42]	Red Sox
30	80	May 7, 1987	4th	Boston	Oil Can Boyd[43]	Red Sox
31	83	August 7, 1987	6th	Oakland	Jeff Robinson[44]	Tigers
32	86	November 7, 1987	2nd	Oakland	Bill Wegman[45]	Brewers
33	86	November 7, 1987	8th	Oakland	Dan Plesac[45]	Brewers
34	89	07-17-1987	10th	Boston	Calvin Schiraldi[46]	Red Sox
35	93	07-21-1987	10th	Detroit	Eric King[47]	Tigers
36	94	07-22-1987	8th	Detroit	Mark Thurmond[48]	Tigers
37	101	07-29-1987	4th	Oakland	Don Sutton[49]	Angels
38	113	November 8, 1987	7th	Seattle	Mike Moore[50]	Mariners
39	115	08-14-1987	6th	Anaheim	Don Sutton[51]	Angels
40	129	08-29-1987	10th	Toronto	Mark Eichhorn[52]	Blue Jays
41	134	April 9, 1987	5th	Baltimore	Mike Boddicker [53]	Orioles
42	136	June 9, 1987	2nd	Baltimore	Jon Habyan[54]	Orioles
43	142	December 9, 1987	2nd	Oakland	Charlie Leibrandt[55]	Royals
44	145	09-15-1987	4th	Arlington Stadium	Greg Harris[56]	Rangers
45	145	09-15-1987	6th	Arlington Stadium	Greg Harris[56]	Rangers
46	148	09-19-1987	1st	Kansas City	Mélido Pérez[57]	Royals
47	153	09-24-1987	9th	Oakland	Scott Bannister[58]	White Sox
48	154	09-25-1987	9th	Oakland	Bobby Thigpen[59]	White Sox
49	157	09-29-1987	1st	Oakland	John Farrell[60]	Indians

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Tigers	Pacific Coast League	Keith Lieppman
AA	Huntsville Stars	Southern League	Brad Fischer
A	Modesto A's	California League	Tommie Reynolds
A	Madison Muskies	Midwest League	Jim Nettles
A-Short Season	Medford A's	Northwest League	Dave Hudgens

References

1. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.344, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.346, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
3. Donnie Hill page at Baseball Reference
4. Vida Blue page at Baseball Reference
5. Jim Eppard page at Baseball Reference
6. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lemasjo01.shtml
7. Jeff Kaiser page at Baseball Reference
8. http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1987&t=OAK
9. Dennis Eckersley page at Baseball Reference
10. Dennis Lamp page at Baseball Reference
11. Bill Caudill page at Baseball Reference
12. Brian Harper page at Baseball Reference
13. Bill Mooneyham page at Baseball Reference
14. Tim Belcher page at Baseball Reference
15. Rob Nelson page at Baseball Reference
16. Gary Lavelle page at Baseball Reference
17. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coomero01.shtml?redir
18. Scott Brosius page at Baseball Reference
19. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/1987.shtml
20. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198704100OAK
21. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198704210CAL
22. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198704250OAK
23. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198704290OAK
24. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705010OAK
25. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705080DET
26. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705090DET
27. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705100DET
28. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705160OAK
29. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705180OAK
30. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705190OAK
31. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705200OAK
32. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705230OAK
33. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705240OAK
34. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705270TOR
35. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198705310NYA
36. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706130TEX
37. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706150KCA
38. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706211OAK
39. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706270CLE
40. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706280CLE
41. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198706300CHA
42. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707040OAK
43. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707050OAK
44. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707080OAK
45. http://baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707110OAK
46. http://baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707170BOS
47. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707210DET
48. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707220DET
49. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198707290OAK
50. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198708110SEA
51. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198708140CAL
52. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198708290TOR
53. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709040BAL
54. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709060BAL
55. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709120OAK
56. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709150TEX
57. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709190KCA
58. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709240OAK
59. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709250OAK
60. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198709290OAK

• 1987 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1987 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.