The 1987 Detroit Tigers season saw the Tigers make a startling late-season comeback to win the American League Eastern Division 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 The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. Detroit lost the American League Championship Series to the Minnesota Twins in 5 games. This would be the last time the Tigers made the postseason until 2006.

Offseason

* March 23, 1987:

Brian Harper Brian David Harper (born October 16, 1959) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for teams in both the American and National Leagues during his 16-year career (-). He most recently served as the hitting coach of the D ...

was released by the Tigers.

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 The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

in exchange for minor league pitcher

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

. 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

. 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 Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, 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 Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, De ...

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. In what would be their last postseason appearance until 2006, the Tigers lost the

1987 American League Championship Series The 1987 American League Championship Series pitted the Minnesota Twins, the American League West champions, against the Detroit Tigers, the American League East champions. Minnesota won the Series four games to one, en route to winning the 1987 ...

to the underdog Minnesota Twins (who would go on to win the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

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

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Transactions

* June 2, 1987:

1987 Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional con ...

** Travis Fryman was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (30th pick). Player signed June 6, 1987. **

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American professional baseball manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), appointed November 4, 2016. Lovullo served as the first base coach for the Toron ...

was drafted by the Tigers in the 5th round. Player signed June 7, 1987. * June 4, 1987:

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers. * August 7, 1987:

Darnell Coles Darnell Coles (born June 2, 1962) is an American professional baseball player and current hitting coach for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball primarily as a third baseman an ...

and a player to be named later were traded by the Tigers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Morris Madden to the Pirates on August 12. * August 12, 1987:

was traded by the Tigers to the

for Doyle Alexander. * September 22, 1987:

Dickie Noles Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles between 1979 and 1990. He bat ...

was loaned to the Tigers by the Chicago Cubs.

Roster

Player stats

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References

External links

1987 Detroit Tigers team page at Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1987 Detroit Tigers Season Detroit Tigers seasons American League East champion seasons Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers 1987 in Detroit