1987 World Series
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| Dates: | October 17 – October 25 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Frank Viola (Minnesota) | |||||||||
| Television: | ABC | |||||||||
| TV announcers: | Al Michaels, Tim McCarver and Jim Palmer | |||||||||
| Radio network: | CBS | |||||||||
| radio announcers: | Jack Buck and Bill White | |||||||||
| Umpires: | Umpires: Dave Phillips (AL), Lee Weyer (NL), Greg Kosc (AL), John McSherry (NL), Ken Kaiser (AL), Terry Tata (NL) | |||||||||
| Future Hall of Famers: | Twins: Steve Carlton (dnp), Kirby Puckett Cardinals: Ozzie Smith | |||||||||
| ALCS: | Minnesota Twins over Detroit Tigers (4-1) | |||||||||
| NLCS: | St Louis Cardinals over San Francisco Giants (4-3) | |||||||||
| World Series Program | ||||||||||
The 1987 World Series (sometimes known as the "Series on the Mississippi") was played between the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals, with both cities located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Twins won 4 games to 3, giving the franchise its first World Series victory since 1924, when the team was located in Washington, D.C. and known as the Washington Senators.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardinals – 1, Twins – 10 | October 17 | Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota) | 55,171 | 3:36 |
| 2 | Cardinals – 4, Twins – 8 | October 18 | Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota) | 55,257 | 2:42 |
| 3 | Twins – 1, Cardinals – 3 | October 20 | Busch Stadium (St. Louis) | 55,347 | 2:45 |
| 4 | Twins – 2, Cardinals – 7 | October 21 | Busch Stadium (St. Louis) | 55,347 | 3:11 |
| 5 | Twins – 2, Cardinals – 4 | October 22 | Busch Stadium (St. Louis) | 55,347 | 3:21 |
| 6 | Cardinals – 5, Twins – 11 | October 24 | Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota) | 55,293 | 3:22 |
| 7 | Cardinals – 2, Twins – 4 | October 25 | Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota) | 55,376 | 3:04 |
The 1987 Series was remarkable in several regards: It featured the first World Series game played in an indoor stadium (the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome), and was the first World Series in which all games were won by the home team. The 1987 Twins set the record for the worst regular season win-loss record of any World Series championship team (85-77, .525). This record stood until broken in 2006 by the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the World Series after going 83-78 (.516).
For this World Series, the powerhouse Cardinals, making their third World Series appearance in a six season span, were expected to make quick work of the supposedly-hapless Twins. However, the Twins team, the Metrodome and the fans conspired to make victory in Minnesota impossible for the St. Louis team, and three of the four Dome games were well out of the Cards' reach by the Seventh-inning stretch.
[edit] Matchups
[edit] Game 1
October 17, 1987 at Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
A raucous, sold-out Metrodome met the Cardinals on the 17th, stunning them at times with the sheer noise. Their play was marred with numerous mistakes brought by the Dome's fast AstroTurf and white roof. The Twins' aggressive play hardly helped the Cards at all, and the game was a 10-1 blowout. Starting pitcher Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola put the lights out on the Cards easily. Dan Gladden hit a grand slam home run capping off a 7 run fourth inning and Steve Lombardozzi added another 2 run shot.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 11 | 0 |
HRs: MIN – Gladden, Lombardozzi
[edit] Game 2
October 18, 1987, at Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Learning from their mistakes of the previous night, the Cardinals met the Twins on the 18th, determined to even the score. Their offensive output of nine hits was closer to the Twins' output, but the home team burst out to an early lead with a six-run fourth inning, generating all the offence that starting pitcher Bert Blyleven needed to win the game. The final score was 8-4. Randy Bush and Tim Laudner each came through with a pair of 2 run scoring hits in the 4th.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 10 | 0 |
HRs: MIN – Gaetti, Laudner
[edit] Game 3
October 20, 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
Traveling down the Mississippi, to the open air of Busch Stadium, game Three saw a tense pitching duel between Twins starter Les Straker and John Tudor of the Cardinals. The Twins scored first, in the 6th inning, and this looked like all the offense the game would see until the bottom of the seventh, when an ill-timed substitution for relief pitcher Juan Berenguer surrendered three runs to the Cardinals with Vince Coleman hitting a two run double. Berenguer was charged with the loss and the game ended after 9 with a 3-1 score.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 3 | 9 | 1 |
[edit] Game 4
October 21, 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
In Game 4, the Cardinals issued payback to the Twins for their manhandling in Games 1 and 2, taking Viola deep and often as they marched to a 7-2 victory. Tom Lawless hit a 3 run homer off Viola (only his second Major League homer after going 2 for 25 during the regular season) in the 4th inning.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 1 |
HRs: MIN – Gagne StL – Lawless
[edit] Game 5
October 22, 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
Game 5 was a much closer ball game, but eventually the Cardinals were victorious, by a score of 4-2. Curt Ford hit a two run single in the 6th, breaking a scoreless pitcher's duel between Danny Cox and Bert Blyleven. The Cardinals stole five bases in Game 5, the most for one team since the 1907 Chicago Cubs.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | X | 4 | 10 | 0 |
[edit] Game 6
October 24, 1987 at Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Series returned to the Metrodome with the Twins facing elimination (a position they would find themselves in once more four years later against the Atlanta Braves). The home team scored early and often in Game 6, putting up 8 runs between the fifth and sixth innings on their way to an 11-5 victory. Kirby Puckett went 4 for 4, scoring 4 runs (tying a Series record). Don Baylor hit a two run homer in the fifth to tie the game at 5 and Kent Hrbek broke the game open with a grand slam home run in the 6th. This is the last World Series game to date to be played during the afternoon (albeit indoors).
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | X | 11 | 15 | 0 |
HRs: StL – Herr MIN – Baylor, Hrbek
[edit] Game 7
October 25, 1987 at Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
In the deciding game, neither team gave an inch. Though St. Louis came out with a 2-1 lead in the 2nd inning, the Twins marched back with runs in the 5th, 6th and 8th innings, Frank Viola pitched eight strong innings and Twins closer Jeff Reardon came out in the 9th to bring down the curtain on the Cardinals, and on the '87 Series. The game featured three badly missed calls--two by first base umpire Lee Weyer and one by plate umpire Dave Phillips. One likely would not have been pivotal. Either of the other two could have been had they not effectively cancelled each other out, as one deprived the Twins of a run they should have had in the 2nd inning, while the other lead to a Twins run they should not have had in the 5th.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 10 | 0 |
[edit] Composite box
1987 World Series (4-3): Minnesota Twins (A.L.) over St Louis Cardinals (N.L.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 64 | 3 |
| St Louis Cardinals | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 60 | 6 |
| Total Attendance: 387,129 Average Attendance: 55,304 | ||||||||||||
| Winning Player’s Share: – $85,581, Losing Player’s Share – $56,053 *Includes Playoffs and World Series | ||||||||||||
[edit] Quote(s) of the Series
| “ | We are no longer the Twinkies. I don't want to hear that again. - Twins second baseman Steve Lombardozzi. | ” |
| “ | To (Gary) Gaetti...for the first time ever the Minnesota Twins are the world champions! -- Al Michaels announcing that the Twins had won the World Series. | ” |
| “ | And Lawless does the WALK!-- Al Michaels announcing that Tom Lawless had hit an unlikely game-winning home run. | ” |
[edit] Trivia
- Al Michaels' epigraph to the World Series was technically correct; the Minnesota Twins had not won the World Series before. However, in 1924 as the Washington Senators the franchise previously won a world championship.
- Although Steve Carlton was left off of the Twins' playoff roster, he still attended the White House to be congratulated by President Reagan. While making a photo op with the president, local newspapers listed the names of all of the Minnesota Twins. The only man who wasn't listed (and simply identified as a Secret Service agent) was a tall man wearing dark sunglasses in the back. The man in question was none other than Steve Carlton.
- Joe Magrane of the St Louis Cardinals became only the sixth rookie pitcher to start the seventh game of a World Series.[1]
- Les Straker was the first Venezuelan to pitch in the World Series.
- Just prior to Game 4, Reggie Jackson, who was working as a field reporter for ABC's coverage of the 1987 World Series, admitted that he didn't know who eventual Game 4 hero Tom Lawless was.
- The 1987 Minnesota Twins became only the second team to have at least two grand slams in a single World Series (the 1956 New York Yankees are the other).
- Besides setting a record for the worst ever regular season winning percentage for a World Series winner and hosting the first ever World Series game indoors, the 1987 Twins were the first team to ever enter the World Series having been outscored in the regular season. The 1987 Twins, as a team, were pretty much outnumbered in virtually every major statistical category. As ABC play-by-play man Al Michaels put it in the pre-game show for Game 1 "They were out everything!"
- The crowd noise in the Metrodome could exceed 110 decibels, which is about the same as what a jet plane makes when it takes off.
- The 1987 World Series featured at least two players who would go on to win Manager of the Year awards. The Twins' Don Baylor won it in 1995 for his work with the Colorado Rockies while the Cardinals' Tony Peña won it in 2003 for his work with the Kansas City Royals.
- Twins manager Tom Kelly became the youngest non-playing manager to win the World Series since John McGraw in 1905.
- Game 7 forced the scheduled National Football League game between the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings to be played the following night (also on ABC).
- This was the first year Major League Baseball used this particular World Series logo. It would be the logo for the 1988, 1990 and 1991 World Series. It would have been the 1989 logo as well, but Major League Baseball altered it to honor the first Bay Bridge Series.
- Frank Viola was supposed to be the best man at his brother's wedding, but had to back out when the Twins reached the World Series, since it fell on the same night as Game 1, which he was scheduled to pitch. ABC showed clips of the wedding throughout the game's broadcast.
- Game 7 was the 500th World Series game ever played.
[edit] References)
- Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 419-424)
- Forman, Sean L.. 1987 World Series. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information.. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
[edit] External links
- 1987 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
- 1987 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
- 1987 World Series by Baseball Almanac
- History of the World Series - 1987 at SportingNews.com
- Sweet Music at SI.com
- 1987 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
- 1987 St. Louis Cardinals at baseballlibrary.com
- 1987 Minnesota Twins at baseballlibrary.com
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