# 1987 International League season

The 1987 International League was a Class AAA baseball season played between April 10 and September 9. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Columbus Clippers won the Governors' Cup, defeating the Tidewater Tides in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Maine Guides ended their affiliation with the Cleveland Indians and began a new affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies.
* The Toledo Mud Hens ended their affiliation with the Minnesota Twins and began a new affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.

## Teams

1987 International League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Columbus Clippers | Columbus, Ohio | New York Yankees | Cooper Stadium |
| Maine Guides | Old Orchard Beach, Maine | Philadelphia Phillies | The Ball Park |
| Pawtucket Red Sox | Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Boston Red Sox | McCoy Stadium |
| Richmond Braves | Richmond, Virginia | Atlanta Braves | The Diamond |
| Rochester Red Wings | Rochester, New York | Baltimore Orioles | Silver Stadium |
| Syracuse Chiefs | Syracuse, New York | Toronto Blue Jays | MacArthur Stadium |
| Tidewater Tides | Norfolk, Virginia | New York Mets | Met Park |
| Toledo Mud Hens | Toledo, Ohio | Detroit Tigers | Lucas County Stadium |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Tidewater Tides finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 1975.
* On July 6, Steve Curry of the Pawtucket Red Sox pitched a no-hitter in an 11-0 win over the Richmond Braves.

### Standings

International League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Tidewater Tides | 81 | 59 | .579 | – |
| Columbus Clippers | 77 | 63 | .550 | 4 |
| Rochester Red Wings | 74 | 65 | .532 | 6.5 |
| Pawtucket Red Sox | 73 | 67 | .521 | 8 |
| Toledo Mud Hens | 70 | 70 | .500 | 11 |
| Syracuse Chiefs | 68 | 72 | .486 | 13 |
| Maine Guides | 60 | 80 | .429 | 21 |
| Richmond Braves | 56 | 83 | .403 | 24.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides | .326 |
| H | Kevin Elster, Tidewater Tides | 170 |
| R | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides | 99 |
| 2B | Mark Carreon, Tidewater Tides | 41 |
| 3B | Sil Campusano, Syracuse Chiefs Rob Ducey, Syracuse Chiefs Nelson Liriano, Syracuse Chiefs | 10 |
| HR | Jay Buhner, Columbus Clippers | 31 |
| RBI | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides | 103 |
| SB | Roberto Kelly, Columbus Clippers | 51 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Paul Gibson, Toledo Mud Hens | 14 |
| ERA | DeWayne Vaughn, Tidewater Tides | 2.66 |
| CG | Brad Arnsberg, Columbus Clippers | 9 |
| SV | Mike Kinnunen, Rochester Red Wings | 16 |
| SO | Odell Jones, Syracuse Chiefs | 147 |
| IP | Don Heinkel, Toledo Mud Hens | 187.1 |

## Playoffs

* The Columbus Clippers won their fourth Governors' Cup, defeating the Tidewater Tides in three games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Governors' Cup | Governors' Cup | Governors' Cup |
| 1 | Tidewater | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Pawtucket | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Pawtucket | 1 | 1 | Tidewater | 0 |
| | | | 2 | Columbus | 3 |
| 2 | Columbus | 3 | 2 | Columbus | 3 |
| 3 | Rochester | 0 | | | |

## Awards

International League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides |
| Pitcher of the Year | Brad Arnsberg, Columbus Clippers |
| Rookie of the Year | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides |
| Manager of the Year | Ed Nottle, Pawtucket Red Sox |

## All-star team

International League all-star team :
| Position | All-star |
| Catcher | Rey Palacios, Toledo Mud Hens |
| First base | Randy Milligan, Tidewater Tides |
| Second base | Nelson Liriano, Syracuse Chiefs |
| Shortstop | Kevin Elster, Tidewater Tides |
| Third base | Jeff Moronko, Columbus Clippers |
| Outfield | Jay Buhner, Columbus Clippers Mark Carreon, Tidewater Tides Roberto Kelly, Columbus Clippers |
| Designated hitter | Sam Horn, Pawtucket Red Sox |
| Starting pitcher | Brad Arnsberg, Columbus Clippers |
| Relief pitcher | Don Gordon, Syracuse Chiefs |