1987 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1987 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 106th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; and their 101st season in the National League. This was their 18th season at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates finished fifth in the National League East with a record of 80–82.

1987 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkThree Rivers Stadium
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Record80–82 (.494)
Divisional place4th (tie)
OwnersPittsburgh Associates
General managersSyd Thrift
ManagersJim Leyland
TelevisionKDKA-TV
(Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker, John Sanders)
Pirates Cable Network
(Steve Blass, Mike Lange)
RadioKDKA-AM
(Lanny Frattare, Jim Rooker)
← 1986Seasons1988 →

Regular season

Season standings

NL EastWLPct.GBHomeRoad
St. Louis Cardinals95670.58649–3246–35
New York Mets92700.568349–3243–38
Montreal Expos91710.562448–3343–38
Philadelphia Phillies80820.4941543–3837–44
Pittsburgh Pirates80820.4941547–3433–48
Chicago Cubs76850.47218½40–4036–45

Game log

1987 Game Log: 80–82 (Home: 47–34; Away: 33–48)
April: 8–11 (Home: 6–7; Away: 2–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7@ Mets2–3OjedaPatterson (0–1)Orosco46,1020–1
2April 9@ Mets2–4WalterEasley (0–1)Orosco20,5980–2
3April 10Cardinals4–3Robinson (1–0)LaPoint52,1191–2
4April 11Cardinals3–6ForschKipper (0–1)Worrell6,7201–3
5April 12Cardinals7–4Patterson (1–1)TudorRobinson (1)6,7492–3
6April 13Cardinals4–8CoxDrabek (0–1)Horton5,1822–4
7April 15@ Cubs3–1 (10)Robinson (2–0)Noles5,3693–4
8April 16@ Cubs6–0Kipper (1–1)Lynch6,9564–4
9April 17Phillies2–6 (10)BedrosianJones (0–1)10,1054–5
10April 18Phillies6–8TekulveRobinson (2–1)19,3614–6
11April 19Phillies5–2Drabek (1–1)RuffinRobinson (2)7,9625–6
12April 20Mets9–6Easley (1–1)Myers8,2676–6
13April 21Mets6–9OjedaKipper (1–2)Orosco13,3686–7
14April 22Mets7–8DarlingPatterson (1–2)Orosco13,9116–8
15April 25@ Phillies2–3CarmanDrabek (1–2)Tekulve18,5536–9
16April 26@ Phillies4–6RuffinReuschel (0–1)Bedrosian30,2346–10
17April 28Dodgers6–1Kipper (2–2)ValenzuelaEasley (1)3,4207–10
18April 29Dodgers2–10WelchPatterson (1–3)4,6687–11
19April 30Dodgers5–4Smiley (1–0)HershiserRobinson (3)7,1148–11
May: 13–14 (Home: 8–6; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
20May 1Giants4–2Reuschel (1–1)Davis10,6519–11
21May 2Giants1–0Smiley (2–0)DownsRobinson (4)14,73610–11
22May 4@ Padres5–9DavisPatterson (1–4)McCullers22,30610–12
23May 5@ Padres10–8Walk (1–0)ShowRobinson (5)12,64211–12
24May 6@ Dodgers1–2HershiserReuschel (1–2)32,78911–13
25May 7@ Dodgers3–6HoneycuttKipper (2–3)Young27,62111–14
26May 8@ Giants2–4DownsFisher (0–1)Garrelts17,98511–15
27May 9@ Giants4–9HammakerWalk (1–1)17,60911–16
28May 10@ Giants4–1 (11)Robinson (3–1)Garrelts29,65212–16
29May 12Padres12–5Reuschel (2–2)Hawkins5,74413–16
30May 13Padres9–5Walk (2–1)LeffertsRobinson (6)7,91614–16
31May 14Padres10–3Fisher (1–1)ShowSmiley (1)5,59215–16
32May 15Braves3–9AssenmacherPena (0–1)18,13715–17
33May 16Braves8–10DedmonSmiley (2–1)Garber16,93915–18
34May 17Braves6–5Robinson (4–1)Olwine26,46916–18
35May 18Astros1–4ScottKipper (2–4)4,21316–19
36May 19Astros5–2Smiley (3–1)MeadsRobinson (7)6,23817–19
37May 20Astros5–3Taylor (1–0)DarwinPena (1)14,09618–19
38May 22@ Reds4–1Reuschel (3–2)RobinsonSmiley (2)25,67819–19
39May 23@ Reds3–2Kipper (3–4)PacilloRobinson (8)33,88720–19
40May 24@ Reds7–2Fisher (2–1)Browning30,08221–19
41May 25@ Astros2–7DeshaiesTaylor (1–1)9,61821–20
42May 26@ Astros3–10MeadsPena (0–2)9,63221–21
43May 27@ Astros2–7LopezRobinson (4–3)Smith14,86321–22
44May 29Reds6–13HoffmanKipper (3–5)26,83521–23
45May 30Reds2–6GullicksonTaylor (1–2)28,85321–24
46May 31Reds2–5PowerDrabek (1–3)Franco24,78621–25
June: 13–17 (Home: 5–4; Away: 8–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
47June 2@ Braves4–1Reuschel (4–2)Mahler8,89022–25
48June 3@ Braves4–1Kipper (4–5)Palmer5,36823–25
49June 4@ Braves3–8SmithFisher (2–2)Dedmon6,46023–26
50June 5@ Mets1–5GoodenDunne (0–1)Orosco51,40223–27
51June 6@ Mets2–4FernandezDrabek (1–4)McDowell47,60323–28
52June 7@ Mets4–5 (10)McDowellRobinson (4–4)23–29
53June 7@ Mets10–9Taylor (2–2)McDowellRobinson (9)42,51624–29
54June 8@ Expos1–7HeatonFisher (2–3)11,97324–30
55June 9@ Expos8–1Dunne (1–1)Sorensen13,13225–30
56June 10@ Expos3–4 (11)McClureRobinson (4–5)10,13425–31
57June 12Mets2–10FernandezReuschel (4–3)27,46525–32
58June 13Mets4–3Robinson (5–5)Myers26,89426–32
59June 14Mets3–7SiskFisher (2–4)30,47726–33
60June 15@ Cardinals3–1Dunne (2–1)Mathews30,88727–33
61June 16@ Cardinals1–11DawleyDrabek (1–5)Horton27,04827–34
62June 17@ Cardinals4–1Reuschel (5–3)Forsch30,89128–34
63June 18@ Cardinals6–8 (10)DawleyRobinson (5–6)35,26428–35
64June 19@ Cubs4–0Fisher (3–4)Noles33,52929–35
65June 20@ Cubs8–2Dunne (3–1)Maddux34,38430–35
66June 21@ Cubs3–6TroutDrabek (1–6)Smith33,41830–36
67June 22@ Cubs2–3MoyerReuschel (5–4)27,06430–37
68June 23Expos2–8HeatonKipper (4–6)Parrett9,27630–38
69June 24Expos9–6Fisher (4–4)Fischer21,56431–38
70June 25Expos2–7MartinezDunne (3–2)McGaffigan10,83631–39
71June 26Cubs5–2Jones (1–1)MadduxRobinson (10)20,40832–39
72June 27Cubs7–0Reuschel (6–4)Moyer31,59533–39
73June 28Cubs6–2Jones (2–1)Sutcliffe25,30434–39
74June 29@ Phillies5–6JacksonJones (2–2)Bedrosian34–40
75June 29@ Phillies3–11BairDunne (3–3)Ritchie30,04634–41
76June 30@ Phillies4–6GrossDrabek (1–7)Bedrosian20,59834–42
July: 11–15 (Home: 5–8; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
77July 1@ Phillies4–11RawleyTaylor (2–3)19,97734–43
78July 3Dodgers6–0Reuschel (7–4)Valenzuela22,45435–43
79July 4Dodgers4–2Kipper (5–6)WelchRobinson (11)12,93536–43
80July 5Dodgers1–6HershiserFisher (4–5)Young13,43836–44
81July 6Giants5–7DraveckyDunne (3–4)Garrelts36–45
82July 6Giants4–7LaCossDrabek (1–8)Lefferts11,20436–46
83July 7Giants6–4 (12)Gideon (1–0)Price7,02737–46
84July 8Giants4–8 (14)RobinsonGideon (1–1)10,86837–47
85July 10Padres6–5 (11)Robinson (7–6)Gossage13,10938–47
86July 11Padres1–3GrantFisher (4–6)Davis27,47638–48
87July 12Padres4–2Dunne (4–4)ShowGideon (1)13,27639–48
88July 16@ Dodgers0–7ValenzuelaKipper (5–7)32,84539–49
89July 17@ Dodgers2–3 (10)YoungRobinson (7–7)28,46639–50
90July 18@ Dodgers4–2Drabek (2–8)HershiserJones (1)34,86440–50
91July 19@ Dodgers7–2Dunne (5–4)HoneycuttSmiley (3)37,54841–50
92July 20@ Giants7–6Fisher (5–6)LaCossRobinson (12)6,91942–50
93July 21@ Giants0–7DraveckyKipper (5–8)8,38242–51
94July 22@ Giants4–0Reuschel (8–4)Downs14,47243–51
95July 23@ Padres1–2ShowDrabek (2–9)Gossage14,91143–52
96July 24@ Padres3–2Dunne (6–4)JonesGideon (2)17,13644–52
97July 25@ Padres9–3Fisher (6–6)Hawkins19,76445–52
98July 26@ Padres4–7WhitsonKipper (5–9)13,21945–53
99July 28Phillies2–5RawleyReuschel (8–5)16,27045–54
100July 29Phillies3–4CarmanDrabek (2–10)Bedrosian28,39245–55
101July 30Phillies0–1RuffinSmiley (3–2)Bedrosian11,76945–56
102July 31@ Cardinals3–4DayleyJones (2–4)38,75745–57
August: 15–14 (Home: 13–4; Away: 2–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
103August 1@ Cardinals6–7 (10)WorrellJones (2–5)47,10645–58
104August 2@ Cardinals1–9MagranePena (0–3)44,69545–59
105August 3Cubs6–4Drabek (3–10)MadduxGott (1)7,28146–59
106August 4Cubs2–3 (11)MasonGideon (1–2)8,74446–60
107August 5Cubs10–0Fisher (7–6)Moyer7,72647–60
108August 6Expos3–6ParrettGott (0–1)Burke7,75547–61
109August 7Expos9–3Walk (3–1)SebraGideon (3)22,07548–61
110August 8Expos5–2Drabek (4–10)SmithSmiley (4)18,28549–61
111August 9Expos4–3Dunne (7–4)ParrettGott (2)18,82950–61
112August 10Cardinals0–6ForschFisher (7–7)11,44550–62
113August 11Cardinals5–6DayleyReuschel (8–6)Worrell14,63750–63
114August 12Cardinals11–0Walk (4–1)Magrane15,18651–63
115August 13@ Expos7–9McGaffiganGideon (1–3)McClure23,60951–64
116August 14@ Expos3–4McClureSmiley (3–3)20,50151–65
117August 15@ Expos3–6BurkeFisher (7–8)23,89451–66
118August 16@ Expos7–10ParrettGideon (1–4)26,13451–67
119August 18@ Reds7–4Walk (5–1)MurphyGott (3)29,38552–67
120August 19@ Reds10–9Drabek (5–10)Browning24,17953–67
121August 20@ Reds3–5PowerDunne (7–5)Franco22,54253–68
122August 21@ Braves4–5SmithSmiley (3–4)Olwine15,78353–69
123August 22@ Braves3–10GlavineWalk (5–2)22,17353–70
124August 23@ Braves2–6PalmerBielecki (0–1)10,69953–71
125August 24Reds5–4Drabek (6–10)BrowningGott (4)11,02054–71
126August 25Reds1–0Dunne (8–5)Power10,14955–71
127August 26Reds6–5Robinson (8–7)Franco13,72256–71
128August 28Astros4–2Walk (6–2)ScottGott (5)11,91757–71
129August 29Astros8–2Bielecki (1–1)Ryan26,58558–71
130August 30Astros7–0Drabek (7–10)Knepper26,86759–71
131August 31Braves7–3Dunne (9–5)Dedmon4,93060–71
September: 16–11 (Home: 6–5; Away: 10–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
132September 1Braves0–4SmithFisher (7–9)7,49860–72
133September 2Braves2–0Walk (7–2)GlavineGott (6)6,25961–72
134September 4@ Astros0–2RyanBielecki (1–2)Agosto16,36761–73
135September 5@ Astros1–5KnepperDrabek (7–11)27,88761–74
136September 6@ Astros4–3Dunne (10–5)HernandezGott (7)25,37462–74
137September 7@ Cubs3–2Fisher (8–9)MoyerRobinson (13)21,74563–74
138September 8@ Cubs4–1Palacios (1–0)SutcliffeGott (8)8,33164–74
139September 9@ Cubs4–3Robinson (9–7)SmithGott (9)8,05465–74
140September 11@ Phillies4–2Drabek (8–11)GrossGott (10)20,08566–74
141September 12@ Phillies12–4Dunne (11–5)Carman15,44067–74
142September 13@ Phillies6–1Fisher (9–9)Ruffin12,61068–74
143September 14Expos4–6 (14)McGaffiganGideon (1–5)Parrett5,86968–75
144September 15Expos5–1Bielecki (2–2)Heaton5,85269–75
145September 16Cardinals5–8TudorDrabek (8–12)15,32369–76
146September 17Cardinals1–0Dunne (12–5)MathewsGott (11)5,64070–76
147September 18Mets10–9Smiley (4–4)MyersGott (12)15,30871–76
148September 19Mets4–5AguileraPalacios (1–1)McDowell20,93371–77
149September 20Mets9–8 (14)Smiley (5–4)Ojeda19,12272–77
150September 21@ Expos5–2Drabek (9–12)SebraRobinson (14)13,20673–77
151September 22@ Expos3–4PerezGott (0–2)Burke16,40773–78
152September 23@ Cardinals2–0Fisher (10–9)Mathews30,23574–78
153September 24@ Cardinals2–3HortonRobinson (9–8)35,92174–79
154September 25@ Mets2–10FernandezBielecki (2–3)41,98774–80
155September 26@ Mets8–2Drabek (10–12)Gooden48,69575–80
156September 27@ Mets3–12OjedaDunne (12–6)Orosco48,58875–81
157September 30Cubs5–3Fisher (11–9)SutcliffeRobinson (15)76–81
158September 30Cubs8–10HallSmiley (5–5)6,98576–82
October: 4–0 (Home: 4–0; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
159October 1Cubs12–3Drabek (11–12)Sanderson5,29477–82
160October 2Phillies6–4Walk (8–2)JacksonGott (13)8,24578–82
161October 3Phillies10–5Palacios (2–1)Gross12,79079–82
162October 4Phillies4–2Dunne (13–6)BedrosianRobinson (16)26,73480–82
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Pirates team member

Record vs. opponents


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
TeamATLCHCCINHOULADMONNYMPHIPITSDSFSTL
Atlanta6–58–108–106–123–97–57–57–56–128–103–9
Chicago5–66–68–46–610–89–98–104–149–35–76–12
Cincinnati10–86–613–510–86–67–55–74–812–67–114–8
Houston10–84–85–1312–67–56–66–66–65–1310–85–7
Los Angeles12–66–68–106–123–96–62–106–611–710–83–9
Montreal9–38–106–65–79–38–1010–811–79–35–711–7
New York5–79–95–76–66–610–813–512–68–49–39–9
Philadelphia5-710–87–56–610–28–105–1311–78–42–108–10
Pittsburgh5–714–48–46–66–67–116–127–118–46–67–11
San Diego12–63–96–1213–57–113–94–84–84–85–134–8
San Francisco10–87–511–78–108–107–53–910–26–613–57–5
St. Louis9–312–68–47–59–37–119–910–811–78–45–7


Detailed records

MonthGamesWonLostWin %RSRA
April198110.4218592
May2713140.481124140
June3013170.433123145
July2611150.42394110
August2915140.517149133
September2716110.593116110
October4401.0003214
Total16280820.494723744
GamesWonLostWin %RSRA
Home8147340.580404363
Away8133480.407319381
Total16280820.494723744

Roster

1987 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
#NamePosition
24Barry BondsCF
26Junior OrtizC
3Johnny Ray2B
25Bobby BonillaLF
18Andy Van SlykeRF
2Jim Morrison3B
5Sid Bream1B
6Rafael BelliardSS
30Bob PattersonSP

Player stats

Batting

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

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Transactions

  • November 7, 1986 – Released U.L. Washington.
  • November 12, 1986 – Released Ray Krawczyk.
  • November 26, 1986 – Traded Pat Clements, Cecilio Guante and Rick Rhoden to the New York Yankees. Received Doug Drabek, Logan Easley and Brian Fisher.
  • December 4, 1986 – Signed Butch Davis as a free agent.
  • December 4, 1986 – Signed Vicente Palacios as a free agent.
  • December 4, 1986 – Signed Mark Ross as a free agent.
  • December 5, 1986 – Traded Rick Renteria to the Seattle Mariners. Received a player to be named later. The Seattle Mariners sent Bob Siegel (minors) (December 10, 1986) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
  • December 8, 1986 – Cecil Espy drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 1986 rule 5 draft.
  • December 8, 1986 – Vicente Palacios drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1986 rule 5 draft.
  • December 10, 1986 – Signed Houston Jimenez as a free agent.
  • December 20, 1986 – Released Lee Tunnell.
  • January 9, 1987 – Signed Carlos Garcia as an amateur free agent.
  • January 20, 1987 – Signed U.L. Washington as a free agent.
  • February 6, 1987 – Signed Lee Tunnell as a free agent.
  • February 9, 1987 – Signed Onix Concepción as a free agent.
  • March 22, 1987 – Purchased Dann Bilardello from the Montreal Expos.
  • March 27, 1987 – Traded Jim Winn to the Chicago White Sox. Received John Cangelosi.
  • March 31, 1987 – Released Mike Brown.
  • April 1, 1987 – Traded Tony Peña to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Mike Dunne, Mike LaValliere and Andy Van Slyke.
  • April 3, 1987 – The Milwaukee Brewers returned Vicente Palacios (earlier draft pick).
  • April 6, 1987 – Sold Lee Tunnell to the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • April 6, 1987 – Released Larry McWilliams.
  • May 19, 1987 – Purchased Paul Wilmet from the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • May 29, 1987 – Traded Bill Almon to the New York Mets. Received Scott Little and Al Pedrique.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Ben Shelton in the 2nd round of the 1987 amateur draft.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Brian Williams in the 3rd round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Wes Chamberlain in the 4th round of the 1987 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1987.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Mickey Morandini in the 7th round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Kurt Knudsen in the 8th round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Steve Carter in the 17th round of the 1987 amateur draft.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Mike Fyhrie in the 19th round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Bob Ayrault in the 26th round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
  • June 2, 1987 – Drafted Paul Miller in the 53rd round of the 1987 amateur draft.
  • June 15, 1987 – Released Onix Concepción.
  • June 26, 1987 – Traded Pete Rice (minors) and Shawn Holman to the Detroit Tigers. Received Terry Harper.
  • July 23, 1987 – Sold Dann Bilardello to the Kansas City Royals.
  • July 31, 1987 – Traded Don Robinson to the San Francisco Giants. Received Mackey Sasser and $50,000.
  • August 3, 1987 – Selected Jim Gott off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
  • August 7, 1987 – Traded Jim Morrison to the Detroit Tigers. Received a player to be named later and Darnell Coles. The Detroit Tigers sent Morris Madden (August 12, 1987) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
  • August 21, 1987 – Traded Rick Reuschel to the San Francisco Giants. Received Scott Medvin and Jeff Robinson.
  • August 29, 1987 – Traded Johnny Ray to the California Angels. Received a player to be named later and Billie Merrifield (minors). The California Angels sent Miguel Garcia (September 3, 1987) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.
  • October 5, 1987 – Released U.L. Washington.
  • October 15, 1987 – Butch Davis granted free agency.
  • October 15, 1987 – Houston Jimenez granted free agency.
  • October 15, 1987 – Mark Ross granted free agency.

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAAVancouver CanadiansPacific Coast LeagueRocky Bridges
AAHarrisburg SenatorsEastern LeagueDave Trembley
ASalem BuccaneersCarolina LeagueSteve Demeter
AMacon PiratesSouth Atlantic LeagueDennis Rogers
A-Short SeasonWatertown PiratesNew York–Penn LeagueJeff Cox
RookieGCL PiratesGulf Coast LeagueWoody Huyke

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Harrisburg, Salem

References