# 1987 Oakland Athletics season

The 1987 Oakland Athletics season was the 87th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 20th season in Oakland. The Athletics finished third 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. 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. 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.
* January 20, 1987: Vida Blue was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
* January 22, 1987: Jim Eppard was purchased from the Athletics by the California Angels.
* February 6, 1987: Johnnie LeMaster was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
* February 23, 1987: Jeff Kaiser was traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Curt Wardle.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 85 | 77 | .525 | — | 56‍–‍25 | 29‍–‍52 |
| Kansas City Royals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 2 | 46‍–‍35 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Oakland Athletics | 81 | 81 | .500 | 4 | 42‍–‍39 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Seattle Mariners | 78 | 84 | .481 | 7 | 40‍–‍41 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 77 | 85 | .475 | 8 | 38‍–‍43 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Texas Rangers | 75 | 87 | .463 | 10 | 43‍–‍38 | 32‍–‍49 |
| California Angels | 75 | 87 | .463 | 10 | 38‍–‍43 | 37‍–‍44 |

### Record vs. opponents

1987 American League recordvte 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
* Rob Nelson
* Dwayne Murphy
* Tony Phillips
* Curt Young
* Mickey Tettleton

### 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.
* April 27, 1987: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
* April 30, 1987: Bill Caudill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
* May 12, 1987: Brian Harper was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
* June 29, 1987: Bill Mooneyham was traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Russ McGinnis.
* July 29, 1987: Johnnie LeMaster was released by the Oakland Athletics.
* August 29, 1987: Tim Belcher was traded by the Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rick Honeycutt.
* 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.
* August 31, 1987: Gary Lavelle was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.

#### 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.
* 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.

### 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
## 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; SB = Stolen bases
| 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 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| 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

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L= Losses; ERA = Earned run average; CG = Complete games; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | CG | SO |
| Dave Stewart | 37 | 261.1 | 20 | 13 | 3.68 | 8 | 205 |
| Curt Young | 31 | 203.0 | 13 | 7 | 4.08 | 6 | 124 |
| José Rijo | 21 | 82.1 | 2 | 7 | 5.90 | 1 | 67 |
| Joaquín Andújar | 13 | 60.2 | 3 | 5 | 6.08 | 1 | 32 |
| Moose Haas | 9 | 40.2 | 2 | 2 | 5.75 | 0 | 13 |
| Storm Davis | 5 | 30.1 | 1 | 1 | 3.26 | 0 | 28 |
| Chris Codiroli | 3 | 11.1 | 0 | 2 | 8.74 | 0 | 4 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Steve Ontiveros | 35 | 150.2 | 10 | 8 | 4.00 | 97 |
| Eric Plunk | 32 | 95.0 | 4 | 6 | 4.74 | 90 |
| Rick Honeycutt | 7 | 23.2 | 1 | 4 | 5.32 | 10 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Dennis Eckersley | 54 | 115.2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 3.03 | 113 |
| Gene Nelson | 54 | 123.2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3.93 | 94 |
| Dave Leiper | 45 | 52.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.78 | 33 |
| Jay Howell | 36 | 44.1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 5.89 | 35 |
| Dennis Lamp | 36 | 56.2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5.08 | 36 |
| Greg Cadaret | 29 | 39.2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4.54 | 30 |
| Rick Rodriguez | 15 | 24.1 | 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 | 5.2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9.53 | 2 |
| Gary Lavelle | 6 | 4.1 | 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 | 04-10-1987 | 7th | Oakland | Donnie Moore | Angels |
| 2 | 15 | 04-21-1987 | 4th | Oakland | Urbano Lugo | Angels |
| 3 | 18 | 04-25-1987 | 3rd | Oakland | Scott Bankhead | Mariners |
| 4 | 22 | 04-29-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Ted Higuera | Brewers |
| 5 | 24 | 05-01-1987 | 3rd | Oakland | Walt Terrell | Tigers |
| 6 | 29 | 05-08-1987 | 4th | Detroit | Frank Tanana | Tigers |
| 7 | 29 | 05-08-1987 | 8th | Detroit | Frank Tanana | Tigers |
| 8 | 30 | 05-09-1987 | 6th | Detroit | Eric King | Tigers |
| 9 | 31 | 05-10-1987 | 2nd | Detroit | Jack Morris | Tigers |
| 10 | 31 | 05-10-1987 | 4th | Detroit | Jack Morris | Tigers |
| 11 | 35 | 05-16-1987 | 1st | Oakland | Jimmy Key | Blue Jays |
| 12 | 37 | 05-18-1987 | 7th | Oakland | Tim Stoddard | Yankees |
| 13 | 38 | 05-19-1987 | 3rd | Oakland | Dennis Rasmussen | Yankees |
| 14 | 39 | 05-20-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Charles Hudson | Yankees |
| 15 | 41 | 05-23-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Mike Boddicker | Orioles |
| 16 | 42 | 05-24-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Jeff Ballard | Orioles |
| 17 | 44 | 05-27-1987 | 4th | Toronto | Joe Johnson | Blue Jays |
| 18 | 48 | 05-31-1987 | 2nd | New York | Tommy John | Yankees |
| 19 | 48 | 05-31-1987 | 7th | New York | Tommy John | Yankees |
| 20 | 59 | 06-13-1987 | 4th | Arlington Stadium | Ed Correa | Rangers |
| 21 | 61 | 06-15-1987 | 4th | Kansas City | Charlie Leibrandt | Royals |
| 22 | 66 | 06-21-1987 | 8th | Oakland | Jose Guzman | Rangers |
| 23 | 72 | 06-27-1987 | 1st | Cleveland | Ken Schrom | Indians |
| 24 | 72 | 06-27-1987 | 5th | Cleveland | Ed Vande Berg | Indians |
| 25 | 72 | 06-27-1987 | 9th | Cleveland | Scott Bailes | Indians |
| 26 | 73 | 06-28-1987 | 4th | Cleveland | Tom Candiotti | Indians |
| 27 | 73 | 06-28-1987 | 7th | Cleveland | Tom Candiotti | Indians |
| 28 | 75 | 06-30-1987 | 1st | Chicago | Scott Nielsen | White Sox |
| 29 | 79 | 07-04-1987 | 5th | Boston | Bruce Hurst | Red Sox |
| 30 | 80 | 07-05-1987 | 4th | Boston | Oil Can Boyd | Red Sox |
| 31 | 83 | 07-08-1987 | 6th | Oakland | Jeff Robinson | Tigers |
| 32 | 86 | 07-11-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Bill Wegman | Brewers |
| 33 | 86 | 07-11-1987 | 8th | Oakland | Dan Plesac | Brewers |
| 34 | 89 | 07-17-1987 | 10th | Boston | Calvin Schiraldi | Red Sox |
| 35 | 93 | 07-21-1987 | 10th | Detroit | Eric King | Tigers |
| 36 | 94 | 07-22-1987 | 8th | Detroit | Mark Thurmond | Tigers |
| 37 | 101 | 07-29-1987 | 4th | Oakland | Don Sutton | Angels |
| 38 | 113 | 08-11-1987 | 7th | Seattle | Mike Moore | Mariners |
| 39 | 115 | 08-14-1987 | 6th | Anaheim | Don Sutton | Angels |
| 40 | 129 | 08-29-1987 | 10th | Toronto | Mark Eichhorn | Blue Jays |
| 41 | 134 | 09-04-1987 | 5th | Baltimore | Mike Boddicker | Orioles |
| 42 | 136 | 09-05-1987 | 2nd | Baltimore | Jon Habyan | Orioles |
| 43 | 142 | 09-12-1987 | 2nd | Oakland | Charlie Leibrandt | Royals |
| 44 | 145 | 09-15-1987 | 4th | Arlington Stadium | Greg Harris | Rangers |
| 45 | 145 | 09-15-1987 | 6th | Arlington Stadium | Greg Harris | Rangers |
| 46 | 148 | 09-19-1987 | 1st | Kansas City | Mélido Pérez | Royals |
| 47 | 153 | 09-24-1987 | 9th | Oakland | Scott Bannister | White Sox |
| 48 | 154 | 09-25-1987 | 9th | Oakland | Bobby Thigpen | White Sox |
| 49 | 157 | 09-29-1987 | 1st | Oakland | John Farrell | 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 |