1987 Boston Red Sox season

1987  Boston Red Sox
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	78–84 (.481)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Jean Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan
President	Jean Yawkey
General manager	Lou Gorman
Manager	John McNamara
Television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 NESN (Ned Martin, Bob Montgomery)
Radio	WPLM-FM 99.1 WPLM-AM 1390 (Ken Coleman, Joe Castiglione)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
←  1986 Seasons 1988  →

The 1987 Boston Red Sox season was the 87th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, 20 games behind the Detroit Tigers.

Regular season

Record by month ^[1]

Month	Record		Cumulative		AL East		Ref.
	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Position	GB
April	9	13	9	13	6th	9+1⁄2	[2]
May	13	14	22	27	6th	9	[3]
June	15	12	37	39	5th	10+1⁄2	[4]
July	11	15	48	54	5th	14+1⁄2	[5]
August	14	13	62	67	5th	15	[6]
September	13	16	75	83	5th	20+1⁄2	[7]
October	3	1	78	84	5th	20	[8]

Highlights

• June 29, 1987: Wade Boggs had a grand slam, a triple, and seven RBIs in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. ^[9]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

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

Record vs. opponents

1987 American League record v t e 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	—

Notable transactions

• July 23, 1987: Bill Buckner was released by the Red Sox. ^[10]
• August 21, 1987: Glenn Hoffman was traded by the Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later (minor league player Billy Bartels). ^[11]
• September 1, 1987: Don Baylor was traded by the Red Sox to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later (minor league player Enrique Rios). ^[12]
• September 1, 1987: Dave Henderson was traded by the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later (Randy Kutcher). ^[13]

Opening Day lineup

26	Wade Boggs	3B
17	Marty Barrett	2B
6	Bill Buckner	1B
14	Jim Rice	LF
25	Don Baylor	DH
24	Dwight Evans	RF
42	Dave Henderson	CF
15	Marc Sullivan	C
7	Spike Owen	SS
46	Bob Stanley	P

Source: ^[14]

Alumni game

On May 23, the Red Sox held an old-timers game, before a scheduled home game with the Chicago White Sox. The game was themed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Fenway Park. ^[15] The Red Sox team included Jim Lonborg, Jimmy Piersall, Luis Tiant, and Ted Williams; they were defeated by a team of other MLB alumni, including Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame inductee Bob Feller, Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych, and slugger Dick Allen. ^[16]

Roster

1987 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 50 Tom Bolton 23 Oil Can Boyd 21 Roger Clemens 28 Steve Crawford 44 Wes Gardner 47 Bruce Hurst 22 John Leister 49 Al Nipper 43 Joe Sambito 31 Calvin Schiraldi 19 Jeff Sellers 46 Bob Stanley 45 Rob Woodward		Catchers 10 Rich Gedman 37 John Marzano 12 Dave Sax 29 Danny Sheaffer 15 Marc Sullivan Infielders 17 Marty Barrett 26 Wade Boggs  6 Bill Buckner 27 Pat Dodson 24 Dwight Evans 18 Glenn Hoffman  7 Spike Owen 52 Jody Reed 11 Ed Romero		Outfielders 38 Todd Benzinger 12 Ellis Burks 39 Mike Greenwell 42 Dave Henderson 14 Jim Rice 16 Kevin Romine Other batters 25 Don Baylor 30 Sam Horn		Manager  1 John McNamara Coaches 34 Bill Fischer (Pitching) 33 Walt Hriniak (Hitting & First base) 35 Joe Morgan (Third base) 36 Rac Slider (Bullpen)

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	AVG	SLG
Marty Barrett	137	559	72	164	23	0	3	43	15	51	.293	.351
Ellis Burks	133	558	94	152	30	2	20	59	27	41	.272	.441
Wade Boggs	147	551	108	200	40	6	24	89	1	105	.363	.588
Dwight Evans	154	541	109	165	37	2	34	123	4	106	.305	.569
Spike Owen	132	437	50	113	17	7	2	48	11	53	.259	.343
Mike Greenwell	125	412	71	135	31	6	19	89	5	35	.328	.570
Jim Rice	108	404	66	112	14	0	13	62	1	45	.277	.408
Don Baylor	108	339	64	81	8	0	16	57	5	40	.239	.404
Bill Buckner	75	286	23	78	6	1	2	42	1	13	.273	.322
Ed Romero	88	235	23	64	5	0	0	14	0	18	.272	..294
Todd Benzinger	73	223	36	62	11	1	8	43	5	22	.278	.444
Dave Henderson	75	184	30	43	10	0	8	25	1	22	.234	.418
John Marzano	52	168	20	41	11	0	5	24	0	7	.244	.399
Sam Horn	46	158	31	44	7	0	14	34	0	17	.278	.589
Rich Gedman	52	151	11	31	8	0	1	13	0	10	.205	.278
Danny Sheaffer	25	66	5	8	1	0	1	5	0	0	.121	.182
Glenn Hoffman	21	55	5	11	3	0	0	6	0	3	.200	.255
Pat Dodson	26	42	4	7	3	0	2	6	0	8	.167	.381
Jody Reed	9	30	4	9	1	1	0	8	1	4	.300	.400
Kevin Romine	9	24	5	7	2	0	0	2	0	2	.292	.375
Dave Sax	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Team Totals	162	5586	842	1554	273	26	174	802	77	606	.278	.430

Source:

Pitching

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; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Roger Clemens	20	9	2.97	36	36	0	281.2	248	100	93	83	256
Bruce Hurst	15	13	4.41	33	33	0	238.2	239	124	117	76	190
Al Nipper	11	12	5.43	30	30	0	174.0	196	115	105	62	89
Bob Stanley	4	15	5.01	34	20	0	152.2	198	96	85	42	67
Jeff Sellers	7	8	5.28	25	22	0	139.2	161	85	82	61	99
Wes Gardner	3	6	5.42	49	1	10	89.2	98	55	54	42	70
Calvin Schiraldi	8	5	4.41	62	1	6	83.2	75	45	41	40	93
Steve Crawford	5	4	5.33	29	0	0	72.2	91	48	43	32	43
Tom Bolton	1	0	4.38	29	0	0	61.2	83	33	30	27	49
Joe Sambito	2	6	6.93	47	0	0	37.2	46	29	29	16	35
Rob Woodward	1	1	7.05	9	6	0	37.0	53	33	29	15	15
Oil Can Boyd	1	3	5.89	7	7	0	36.2	47	31	24	9	12
John Leister	0	2	9.20	8	6	0	30.1	49	31	31	12	16
Team Totals	78	84	4.77	162	162	16	1436.0	1584	825	761	517	1034

Source:

Statistical leaders

From left: Don Baylor, Ronald Reagan, and Roger Clemens

Category	Player	Statistic
Youngest player	Ellis Burks	22
Oldest player	Don Baylor	38
Wins Above Replacement	Roger Clemens	9.4

Source: ^[17]

Batting

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
G	Games played	Dwight Evans	154
PA	Plate appearances	Wade Boggs	667
AB	At bats	Marty Barrett	559
R	Runs scored	Dwight Evans	109
H	Hits	Wade Boggs	200
2B	Doubles	Wade Boggs	40
3B	Triples	Spike Owen	7
HR	Home runs	Dwight Evans	34
RBI	Runs batted in	Dwight Evans	123
SB	Stolen bases	Ellis Burks	27
CS	Caught stealing	Spike Owen	8
BB	Base on balls	Dwight Evans	106
SO	Strikeouts	Dwight Evans	98
		Ellis Burks
BA	Batting average	Wade Boggs	.363
OBP	On-base percentage	Wade Boggs	.461
SLG	Slugging percentage	Wade Boggs	.588
OPS	On-base plus slugging	Wade Boggs	1.049
OPS+	Adjusted OPS	Wade Boggs	174
TB	Total bases	Wade Boggs	324
GIDP	Grounded into double play	Jim Rice	22
HBP	Hit by pitch	Don Baylor	24
SH	Sacrifice hits	Marty Barrett	22
SF	Sacrifice flies	Wade Boggs	8
IBB	Intentional base on balls	Wade Boggs	19

Source: ^[17]

Pitching

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
W	Wins	Roger Clemens	20
L	Losses	Bob Stanley	15
W-L %	Winning percentage	Roger Clemens	.690 (20–9)
ERA	Earned run average	Roger Clemens	2.97
G	Games pitched	Calvin Schiraldi	62
GS	Games started	Roger Clemens	36
GF	Games finished	Calvin Schiraldi	52
CG	Complete games	Roger Clemens	18
SHO	Shutouts	Roger Clemens	7
SV	Saves	Wes Gardner	10
IP	Innings pitched	Roger Clemens	281+2⁄3
SO	Strikeouts	Roger Clemens	256
WHIP	Walks plus hits per inning pitched	Roger Clemens	1.175

Source: ^[17]

Awards and honors

Awards

• Wade Boggs, Silver Slugger Award (3B), AL Player of the Month (June)
• Roger Clemens, American League Cy Young Award
• Dwight Evans, Silver Slugger Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (August)

Accomplishments

• Wade Boggs, American League Batting Champion, .363
• Wade Boggs, Major League Baseball Leader, On-base percentage (.461)
• Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Complete Games (18)
• Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (7)
• Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Wins (20)

All-Star Game

• Wade Boggs, third base, starter
• Dwight Evans, outfield, reserve
• Bruce Hurst, pitcher, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Pawtucket Red Sox	International League	Ed Nottle
AA	New Britain Red Sox	Eastern League	Dave Holt
A	Winter Haven Red Sox	Florida State League	Doug Camilli
A	Greensboro Hornets	South Atlantic League	Dick Berardino
A-Short Season	Elmira Pioneers	New York–Penn League	Bill Limoncelli

Source: ^{[18] [19]}

References

1. "The 1987 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet . Retrieved October 11, 2020.
2. "Events of Thursday, April 30, 1987".
3. "Events of Sunday, May 31, 1987".
4. "Events of Tuesday, June 30, 1987".
5. "Events of Friday, July 31, 1987".
6. "Events of Monday, August 31, 1987".
7. "Events of Wednesday, September 30, 1987".
8. "Events of Sunday, October 4, 1987".
9. "Boston Red Sox 14, Baltimore Orioles 3". Retrosheet . June 29, 1987. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
10. Bill Buckner Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
11. Glenn Hoffman Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
12. Don Baylor Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
13. Dave Henderson Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
14. "Milwaukee Brewers 5, Boston Red Sox 1". Retrosheet . April 6, 1987. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
15. "Fenway Park through the Years [1987]: Non-Red Sox Baseball At Fenway Park". MLB.com . Boston Red Sox. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
16. "Old-timer pitcher evens score with Ted Williams". Reno Gazette-Journal . AP. May 24, 1987. p. 4B. Retrieved May 17, 2018– via newspapers.com.
17. "1987 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved October 16, 2020.
18. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
19. Boston Red Sox Media Guide. 1987. p. 115. Retrieved March 14, 2021– via Wayback Machine.

External links

• 1987 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1987 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com