# 1987 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1987 Cincinnati Reds season was the 118th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 18th and 17th full season at Riverfront Stadium. It resulted in another winning season for the Cincinnati Reds in the National League West. They failed, however, to overcome the Giants and finished in second place for a third consecutive year with a record of 84–78.
Of special note: centerfielder Eric Davis amassed 50 stolen bases in addition to hitting 37 home runs, becoming the first major league player to achieve 30 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season.

## Offseason

* November 11, 1986: Chris Welsh was released by the Cincinnati Reds.
* February 17, 1987: Wade Rowdon was traded by the Reds to the Chicago Cubs for Guy Hoffman.
* March 20, 1987: Derek Botelho was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Kansas City Royals for Eddie Tanner (minors) and Pete Carey (minors).
* March 23, 1987: Terry Francona was signed as a free agent by the Reds.
* March 29, 1987: Max Venable was released by the Reds.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 84 | 78 | .519 | 6 | 42‍–‍39 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Houston Astros | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 47‍–‍34 | 29‍–‍52 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 73 | 89 | .451 | 17 | 40‍–‍41 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Atlanta Braves | 69 | 92 | .429 | 20½ | 42‍–‍39 | 27‍–‍53 |
| San Diego Padres | 65 | 97 | .401 | 25 | 37‍–‍44 | 28‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1987 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 6–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 3–9 |
| Chicago | 5–6 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 6–12 |
| Cincinnati | 10–8 | 6–6 | — | 13–5 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 4–8 |
| Houston | 10–8 | 4–8 | 5–13 | — | 12–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | 5–7 |
| Los Angeles | 12–6 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | — | 3–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 3–9 |
| Montreal | 9–3 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–3 | — | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 11–7 |
| New York | 5–7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 13–5 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–9 |
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 8–10 | 5–13 | — | 11–7 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 14–4 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 7–11 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| San Diego | 12–6 | 3–9 | 6–12 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 5–13 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 13–5 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 9–3 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — |

### Transactions

* April 9, 1987: Max Venable was signed as a free agent by the Reds.
* May 19, 1987: Sal Butera was released by the Reds.
* June 2, 1987: Butch Henry was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 15th round of the 1987 amateur draft. Player signed June 30, 1987.
* August 26, 1987: Bill Gullickson was traded by the Reds to the New York Yankees for Dennis Rasmussen.

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Bo Díaz | 140 | 496 | 134 | .270 | 15 | 82 |
| 1B | Nick Esasky | 100 | 346 | 94 | .272 | 22 | 59 |
| 2B | Ron Oester | 69 | 237 | 60 | .253 | 2 | 23 |
| 3B | Buddy Bell | 143 | 522 | 148 | .284 | 17 | 70 |
| SS | Barry Larkin | 125 | 439 | 107 | .244 | 12 | 43 |
| LF | Kal Daniels | 108 | 368 | 123 | .334 | 26 | 64 |
| CF | Eric Davis | 129 | 474 | 139 | .293 | 37 | 100 |
| RF | Dave Parker | 153 | 589 | 149 | .253 | 26 | 97 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Kurt Stillwell | 131 | 395 | 102 | .258 | 4 | 33 |
| Tracy Jones | 117 | 359 | 104 | .290 | 10 | 44 |
| Dave Concepción | 104 | 279 | 89 | .319 | 1 | 33 |
| Terry Francona | 102 | 207 | 47 | .227 | 3 | 12 |
| Paul O'Neill | 84 | 160 | 41 | .256 | 7 | 28 |
| Terry McGriff | 34 | 89 | 20 | .225 | 2 | 11 |
| Dave Collins | 57 | 85 | 25 | .294 | 0 | 5 |
| Jeff Treadway | 23 | 84 | 28 | .333 | 2 | 4 |
| Lloyd McClendon | 45 | 72 | 15 | .208 | 2 | 13 |
| Leo García | 31 | 30 | 6 | .200 | 1 | 2 |
| Sal Butera | 5 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 1 | 2 |
| Max Venable | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 2 |

### Pitching
#### Starting 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 |
| Ted Power | 34 | 204.0 | 10 | 13 | 4.50 | 133 |
| Tom Browning | 32 | 183.0 | 10 | 13 | 5.02 | 117 |
| Bill Gullickson | 27 | 165.0 | 10 | 11 | 4.85 | 89 |
| Dennis Rasmussen | 7 | 45.1 | 4 | 1 | 3.97 | 39 |
| Jerry Reuss | 7 | 34.2 | 0 | 5 | 7.79 | 10 |
| Mario Soto | 6 | 31.2 | 3 | 2 | 5.12 | 11 |

#### 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 |
| Guy Hoffman | 36 | 158.2 | 9 | 10 | 4.37 | 87 |
| Ron Robinson | 48 | 154.0 | 7 | 5 | 3.68 | 99 |
| Pat Pacillo | 12 | 39.2 | 3 | 3 | 6.13 | 23 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| John Franco | 68 | 8 | 5 | 32 | 2.52 | 61 |
| Rob Murphy | 87 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3.04 | 99 |
| Frank Williams | 85 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2.30 | 60 |
| Bill Landrum | 44 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4.71 | 42 |
| Bill Scherrer | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.36 | 24 |
| Jeff Montgomery | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.52 | 13 |
| Pat Perry | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 6 |
| Tom Hume | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 4 |
| Paul O'Neill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Nashville Sounds | American Association | Jack Lind |
| AA | Vermont Reds | Eastern League | Tom Runnells |
| A | Tampa Tarpons | Florida State League | Marc Bombard |
| A | Cedar Rapids Reds | Midwest League | Paul Kirsch |
| Rookie | GCL Reds | Gulf Coast League | Sam Mejías |
| Rookie | Billings Mustangs | Pioneer League | Dave Keller |