1987 Cleveland Indians season
Encyclopedia
The Cleveland Indians finished in seventh place in the American League East. Sports Illustrated
magazine predicted that the Indians would finish in first. Club president Peter Bavasi
's would resign before the regular season began. Bavasi had joined the Indians in November 1984. As president of the Cleveland Indians, he served on Major League Baseball's Executive Council. 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. There was a lot of optimism that the team would reach its full potential in 1987.
and Phil Niekro
on their roster to add experience. Their most notable accomplishment was appearing in a game together against the New York Yankees
at Yankee 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 would finish the season with the Indians. Carlton would end up with the Minnesota Twins and win a World Series championship. Niekro would be picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays
and come within two games of winning the American League East Championship.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine predicted that the Indians would finish in first. Club president Peter Bavasi
Peter Bavasi
Peter Bavasi was the farm director for the US baseball team the San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1972. He then replaced his father, Buzzie Bavasi as General Manager of the Padres from 1973 to 1976. Peter later went on to become the first GM of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. He was president of the...
's would resign before the regular season began. Bavasi had joined the Indians in November 1984. As president of the Cleveland Indians, he served on Major League Baseball's Executive Council. 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. There was a lot of optimism that the team would reach its full potential in 1987.
Offseason
- November 7, 1986: Fran MullinsFran MullinsFrancis Joseph Mullins is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played parts of three seasons in the major leagues for three different teams between and . He saw his greatest amount of playing time with the San Francisco Giants in , when he batted .218 with 2 home runs in 52 games...
was released by the Indians. - November 28, 1986: Casey ParsonsCasey ParsonsCasey Robert Parsons is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. In four seasons, he played in just 63 games, and in less than half of those did he appear in the field...
was signed as a free agent by the Indians. - December 23, 1986: John ButcherJohn Butcher (baseball)John Daniel Butcher is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for seven seasons. He played for the Texas Rangers from 1980 to 1983, the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1986, and the Cleveland Indians in 1986....
was released by the Indians. - February 23, 1987: Curt WardleCurt WardleCurtis Ray Wardle is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for two seasons. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1985 and the Cleveland Indians in 1985.-External links:...
was traded by the Indians to the Oakland AthleticsOakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
for Jeff KaiserJeff KaiserJeffrey Patrick Kaiser is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of seven seasons in the majors for five different teams between and . During those seasons, he never pitched more than 15 games, nor more than 16.2 innings at the major league level. He finished his career with an...
.
Regular season
In , the Cleveland Indians achieved a baseball first. The Indians had veteran pitchers Steve CarltonSteve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
and Phil Niekro
Phil Niekro
Philip Henry Niekro , nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997....
on their roster to add experience. Their most notable accomplishment was appearing in a game together against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at Yankee 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 would finish the season with the Indians. Carlton would end up with the Minnesota Twins and win a World Series championship. Niekro would be picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays
1987 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season witnessed the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses. They had been in first place by 3½ games over the Detroit Tigers with a week left to play...
and come within two games of winning the American League East Championship.
Transactions
- April 4, 1987: Steve CarltonSteve CarltonSteven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
signed as a free agent with the Indians. - May 11, 1987: Don SchulzeDon SchulzeDonald Arthur Schulze is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of six seasons in the majors, between and , for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. He also pitched three seasons in Japan, from until for the Orix...
was traded by the Indians to the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
for Ricky Nelson. - May 12, 1987: Dave GallagherDave GallagherDavid Thomas Gallagher , is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1987-1995.-Teams:* Cleveland Indians 1987* Chicago White Sox 1988-90* Baltimore Orioles 1990...
was traded by the Indians to the Seattle MarinersSeattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
for Mark HuismannMark HuismannMark Lawrence Huismann is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Huismann pitched in all or part of nine seasons in the majors for six different teams from until . Mainly used as a relief pitcher, Huismann started just one game out of 152 total games pitched...
. - July 31, 1987: Steve Carlton was traded by the Indians to the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
for a player to be named later. The Twins completed the deal by sending Jeff Perry (minors) to the Indians on August 18.
Draft picks
- June 2, 1987: 1987 Major League Baseball Draft1987 Major League Baseball Draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1987 Major League Baseball draft.-Supplemental First Round Selections:-External links:*...
- Albert BelleAlbert BelleAlbert Jojuan Belle is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles...
was drafted by the Indians in the 2nd round. Belle signed on August 27, 1987. - Beau AllredBeau AllredDale Le Beau Allred is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played three seasons for the Cleveland Indians between 1989 and 1991.-College and minor leagues:...
was drafted by the Indians in the 25th round.
- Albert Belle
Roster
| 1987 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers |
Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders Other batters |
Manager Coaches |
||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Chris Bando Chris Bando Christopher Michael Bando was a catcher in Major League Baseball in the 1980s, spending much of his career with the Cleveland Indians before also playing for the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. He was formerly the manager of the South Coast League's Aiken Foxhounds and The New York - Penn... |
89 | 211 | 46 | .218 | 5 | 16 |
| 1B | Joe Carter Joe Carter Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays.... |
149 | 588 | 155 | .264 | 32 | 106 |
| 2B | Tony Bernazard Tony Bernazard Antonio Bernazard Garcia is a former Major League Baseball player and former executive in the New York Mets organization... |
79 | 293 | 70 | .239 | 11 | 30 |
| 3B | Brook Jacoby Brook Jacoby Brook Wallace Jacoby is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and the current hitting coach of the Cincinnati Reds. Jacoby played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. He batted and threw right-handed. His father Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr... |
155 | 540 | 162 | .300 | 32 | 69 |
| SS | Julio Franco Julio Franco Julio César Robles Franco is a former Major League Baseball infielder and designated hitter. In , Franco was the oldest active player in the major leagues at the age of 49.... |
128 | 495 | 158 | .319 | 8 | 52 |
| LF | Mel Hall Mel Hall Melvin Hall Jr. is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1996 with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants. He also played in Japan from 1993-1995... |
142 | 485 | 136 | .280 | 18 | 76 |
| CF | Brett Butler | 137 | 522 | 154 | .295 | 9 | 41 |
| RF | Cory Snyder Cory Snyder James Cory Snyder is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1986 to 1994. Snyder's best season came in 1987 with the Indians when he hit 33 home runs and had 82 runs batted in... |
157 | 577 | 136 | .236 | 33 | 82 |
| DH | Pat Tabler Pat Tabler Patrick Sean "Pat" Tabler is a former Major League Baseball player and currently a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television network Rogers Sportsnet and formerly with Rod Black on TSN.... |
151 | 553 | 170 | .307 | 11 | 86 |
Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Dempsey Rick Dempsey John Rikard Dempsey is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to , most notably for the Baltimore Orioles... |
60 | 141 | 25 | .177 | 1 | 9 |
| Jay Bell Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and second baseman who played for the Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , Kansas City Royals , Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets .He played his high school baseball at J.M... |
38 | 125 | 27 | .216 | 2 | 13 |
| Dave Clark Dave Clark (baseball) David Earl Clark is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1986 to 1998. He served as manager of the Houston Astros Double-A affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, from 2005 to 2007, and led them to the Texas League Championship in 2006... |
29 | 87 | 18 | .207 | 3 | 12 |
| Andre Thornton Andre Thornton André Thornton , nicknamed "Thunder," is a former first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians during a 14-year career... |
36 | 85 | 10 | .118 | 0 | 5 |
| Dave Gallagher Dave Gallagher David Thomas Gallagher , is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1987-1995.-Teams:* Cleveland Indians 1987* Chicago White Sox 1988-90* Baltimore Orioles 1990... |
15 | 36 | 4 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
| Casey Parsons Casey Parsons Casey Robert Parsons is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. In four seasons, he played in just 63 games, and in less than half of those did he appear in the field... |
18 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 1 | 5 |
| Otis Nixon Otis Nixon Otis Junior Nixon, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. He was a center fielder and switch-hitter who played from 1983 to 1999... |
19 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 1 |
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Candiotti Tom Candiotti Thomas Caesar Candiotti is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was known for his knuckleball. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers... |
32 | 201.7 | 7 | 18 | 4.78 | 111 |
| Phil Niekro Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro , nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.... |
22 | 123.7 | 7 | 11 | 5.89 | 57 |
| Greg Swindell Greg Swindell Forest Gregory "Greg" Swindell is an American former Major League Baseball player, who had a 17-year career as a left-handed pitcher from to... |
16 | 102.3 | 3 | 8 | 5.10 | 97 |
| Steve Carlton Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards... |
23 | 109.0 | 5 | 9 | 5.37 | 71 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Yett Rich Yett Richard Martin Yett was a long relief pitcher in major league baseball from 1985 to 1990. Yett was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1980, but Yett only played one game with the team before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1985. The next four years he played often as a long relief pitcher... |
37 | 97.7 | 3 | 9 | 5.25 | 59 |
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Jones Doug Jones (baseball) Douglas Reid Jones is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During a 16-year career, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers , Cleveland Indians , Baltimore Orioles , and Oakland Athletics , all of the American League, and the Houston Astros , Philadelphia Phillies , and... |
49 | 91.3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 3.15 | 87 |
| Ed Vande Berg Ed Vande Berg Edward John Vande Berg is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He is an alumnus of Redlands High School and Arizona State University... |
55 | 72.3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.10 | 40 |
| Mark Huismann Mark Huismann Mark Lawrence Huismann is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Huismann pitched in all or part of nine seasons in the majors for six different teams from until . Mainly used as a relief pitcher, Huismann started just one game out of 152 total games pitched... |
20 | 35.3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5.09 | 23 |
| Jeff Kaiser Jeff Kaiser Jeffrey Patrick Kaiser is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of seven seasons in the majors for five different teams between and . During those seasons, he never pitched more than 15 games, nor more than 16.2 innings at the major league level. He finished his career with an... |
2 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 2 |
Award winners
All-Star Game1987 Major League Baseball 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 and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 1987 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland,...
- Pat TablerPat TablerPatrick Sean "Pat" Tabler is a former Major League Baseball player and currently a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television network Rogers Sportsnet and formerly with Rod Black on TSN....
, Designated Hitter, Reserve