# 1987 Carolina League season

The 1987 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 9 and August 30. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the winners of each half of the season competing in the playoffs.
The Salem Buccaneers won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Kinston Indians in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Kinston Eagles began an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians. The club was renamed the Kinston Indians.
* The Prince William Pirates ended their affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates and began a new affiliation with the New York Yankees. The club was renamed the Prince William Yankees.
* The Salem Redbirds ended their affiliation with the Texas Rangers and began a new affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The club was renamed the Salem Buccaneers.

## Teams

1987 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Hagerstown Suns | Hagerstown, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Municipal Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Mets | Lynchburg, Virginia | New York Mets | City Stadium |
| North | Prince William Yankees | Woodbridge, Virginia | New York Yankees | Prince William County Stadium |
| North | Salem Buccaneers | Salem, Virginia | Pittsburgh Pirates | Salem Municipal Field |
| South | Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Durham Athletic Park |
| South | Kinston Indians | Kinston, North Carolina | Cleveland Indians | Grainger Stadium |
| South | Peninsula White Sox | Hampton, Virginia | Chicago White Sox | War Memorial Stadium |
| South | Winston-Salem Spirits | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Ernie Shore Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Salem Buccaneers finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 1974.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Salem Buccaneers | 80 | 59 | .576 | – |
| Hagerstown Suns | 72 | 68 | .514 | 8.5 |
| Prince William Yankees | 66 | 74 | .471 | 14.5 |
| Lynchburg Mets | 63 | 76 | .453 | 17 |
| South division |||||
| Kinston Indians | 75 | 65 | .536 | – |
| Winston-Salem Spirits | 72 | 68 | .514 | 3 |
| Peninsula White Sox | 66 | 74 | .471 | 9 |
| Durham Bulls | 65 | 75 | .464 | 10 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Jeff Cook, Salem Buccaneers | .339 |
| H | Tony Chance, Salem Buccaneers | 167 |
| R | Milt Harper, Kinston Indians | 100 |
| 2B | Leo Gómez, Hagerstown Suns | 38 |
| 3B | Tim Richardson, Hagerstown Suns | 9 |
| HR | Hensley Meulens, Prince William Yankees | 28 |
| RBI | Casey Webster, Kinston Indians | 111 |
| SB | Ced Landrum, Winston-Salem Spirits | 79 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Dave Miller, Durham Bulls | 15 |
| ERA | Blaine Beatty, Hagerstown Suns | 2.52 |
| CG | Bill Copp, Salem Buccaneers Andy Ghelfi, Kinston Indians Dave Miller, Durham Bulls | 8 |
| SV | Kevin Renz, Peninsula White Sox | 20 |
| SO | Dave Miller, Durham Bulls | 155 |
| IP | Dave Miller, Durham Bulls | 205.1 |

## Playoffs

* The Salem Buccaneers won their third Carolina League championship, defeating the Kinston Indians in four games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Salem | 2 | | | |
| N2 | Hagerstown | 0 | | | |
| N2 | Hagerstown | 0 | N1 | Salem | 3 |
| | | | S1 | Kinston | 1 |
| S1 | Kinston | 2 | S1 | Kinston | 1 |
| S2 | Winston-Salem | 0 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Casey Webster, Kinston Indians |
| Pitcher of the Year | Blaine Beatty, Hagerstown Suns |
| Manager of the Year | Mike Hargrove, Kinston Indians |