The 1987 World Series was played from October 17 to October 25, 1987 between the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Minnesota Twins won 4 games to 3, giving the franchise its first World Series victory since 1924, when the team was located in Washington, DC and known as the Washington Senators.

The 1987 Series was remarkable in several regards: It featured the first World Series game played in an indoor stadium (the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome), and was the first World Series in which all games were won by the home team. The 1987 Twins set a record for the lowest regular season win-loss record of any World Series championship team (85-77, .525).

Umpires: Dave Phillips (AL), Lee Weyer (NL), Greg Kosc (AL), John McSherry (NL), Ken Kaiser (AL), Terry Tata (NL)

Contents

1 Playoffs 1.1 American League Championship Series: Minnesota Twins def. Detroit Tigers 1.2 National League Championship Series: St. Louis Cardinals def. San Francisco Giants 2 Game 1 3 Game 2 4 Game 3 5 Game 4 6 Game 5 7 Game 6 8 Game 7 9 Quote of the Series 1 Trivia 1.1 External links

Playoffs

American League Championship Series : Minnesota Twins def. Detroit Tigers

Going into the ALCS, few outside of Minnesota gave the lowly Twins much chance of defeating the mighty Tigers. Many sports writers noted that the Twins' 85-77 record would have placed them fourth in the powerful AL East. However, the Twins cruised to victory in the ALCS, winning both games at the Metrodome and losing the first at Tiger Stadium before winning games 4 and 5 and ending the Tigers' season.

• Baseball-Reference.com > Postseason > 1987 AL Championship Series

National League Championship Series : St. Louis Cardinals def. San Francisco Giants

The NLCS was a much closer race, with four of the seven games being decided by two or fewer runs.

• Baseball-Reference.com > Postseason > 1987 NL Championship Series

Game 1

A raucous, sold-out Metrodome met the Cardinals on the 17th, stunning them at times with the sheer noise. Their play was marred with numerous mistakes brought by the Dome's fast AstroTurf and white roof. The Twins' aggressive play hardly helped the Cards at all, and the game was a 10-1 blowout. Starting pitcher Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola put the lights out on the Cards easily.

October 17, 1987 at Hubert H Humphery Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  1  0    0  0  0    0  0  0     1  5  1
   Minnesota Twins              0  0  0    7  2  0    1  0  X    10 11  0

   PITCHERS: STL - Magrane, Forsch (4), Horton (7)
             MIN - Viola, Atherton (9)

              WP - Viola

LP - Magrane

            SAVE - none

  HOME RUNS: STL - none
             MIN - Gladden, Lombardozzi

 ATTENDANCE: 55,171

Game 2

Learning from their mistakes of the previous night, the Cardinals met the Twins on the 18th, determined to even the score. Their offensive output of nine hits was closer to the Twins' output, but the home team burst out to an early lead with a six-run fourth inning, generating all the offense that starting pitcher Bert Blyleven needed to win the game. The final score was 8-4.

October 18, 1987 at Hubert H Humphery Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  0  0    0  1  0    1  2  0     4  9  0
   Minnesota Twins              0  1  0    6  0  1    0  0  X     8 10  0

   PITCHERS: STL - Cox, Tunnell (4), Dayley (7), Worrell (8)
             MIN - Blyleven, Berenguer (8), Reardon (9)

              WP - Blyleven

LP - Cox

            SAVE - none

  HOME RUNS: STL - none
             MIN - Gaetti, Laudner

 ATTENDANCE: 55,257

Game 3

Traveling down the Mississippi, to the open air of Busch Stadium, game Three saw a tense pitching duel between Twins starter Les Straker and John Tudor of the Cardinals. The Twins scored first, in the 6th inning, and this looked like all the offense the game would see until the bottom of the seventh, when an ill-timed substitution for relief pitcher Juan Berenguer surrendered three runs to the Cardinals. Berenguer was charged with the loss and the game ended after 9 with a 3-1 score.

October 20, 1987 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   Minnesota Twins              0  0  0    0  0  1    0  0  0     1  5  1
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  0  0    0  0  0    3  0  X     3  9  1

   PITCHERS: MIN - Straker, Berenguer (7), Schatzeder (7)
             STL - Tudor, Worrell (8)

              WP - Tudor

LP - Berenger

            SAVE - Worrell

  HOME RUNS: MIN - none
             STL - none

 ATTENDANCE: 55,347

Game 4

In Game 4, the Cardinals issued payback to the Twins for their manhandling in Games 1 and 2, taking Viola deep and often as they marched to a 7-2 victory.

October 21, 1987 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   Minnesota Twins              0  0  1    0  1  0    0  0  0     2  7  1
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  0  1    6  0  0    0  0  X     7 10  1

   PITCHERS: MIN - Viola, Schatzeder (4), Niekro (5), Frazier (7)
             STL - Mathews, Forsch (4), Dayley (7)

              WP - Forsch

LP - Viola

            SAVE - Dayley

  HOME RUNS: MIN - Gagne
             STL - Lawless

 ATTENDANCE: 55,347

Game 5

Game 5 was a much closer ball game, but eventually the Cardinals were victorious, by a score of 4-2.

October 22, 1987 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   Minnesota Twins              0  0  0    0  0  0    0  2  0     2  6  1
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  0  0    0  0  3    1  0  X     4 10  0

   PITCHERS: MIN - Blyleven, Atherton (7), Reardon (7)
             STL - Cox, Dayley (8), Worrell (8)

              WP - Cox

LP - Blyleven

            SAVE - Worrell

  HOME RUNS: MIN - none
             STL - none

 ATTENDANCE: 55,347

Game 6

The Series returned to the Metrodome with the Twins facing elimination (a position they would find themselves in once more four years later against the Atlanta Braves). The home team scored early and often in Game 6, putting up 8 runs between the fifth and sixth innings on their way to an 11-5 victory.

October 24, 1987 at Hubert H Humphery Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   St. Louis Cardinals          1  1  0    2  1  0    0  0  0     5 11  2
   Minnesota Twins              2  0  0    0  4  4    0  1  X    11 15  0

   PITCHERS: STL - Tudor, Horton (5), Forsch (6), Dayley (6), Tunnell (7)
             MIN - Straker, Schatzeder (4), Berenguer (6), Reardon (9)

              WP - Schatzeder

LP - Tudor

            SAVE - none

  HOME RUNS: STL - Herr
             MIN - Baylor, Hrbek

 ATTENDANCE: 55,293

Game 7

In the deciding game, neither team gave an inch. Though St. Louis came out with a 2-1 lead in the 2nd inning, the Twins marched back with runs in the 5th, 6th and 8th innings, and Twins closer Jeff Reardon came out in the 9th to bring down the curtain on the Cardinals, and on the '87 Series.

October 25, 1987 at Hubert H Humphery Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)

                                1  2  3    4  5  6    7  8  9     R  H  E
                                -  -  -    -  -  -    -  -  -     -  -  -
   St. Louis Cardinals          0  2  0    0  0  0    0  0  0     2  6  1
   Minnesota Twins              0  1  0    0  1  1    0  1  X     4 10  0

   PITCHERS: STL - Magrane, Cox (5), Worrell (6)
             MIN - Viola, Reardon (9)

              WP - Viola

LP - Cox

            SAVE - Reardon

  HOME RUNS: STL - none
             MIN - none

 ATTENDANCE: 55,367

Quote of the Series

"We are no longer the Twinkies. I don't want to hear that again." - Twins second baseman Steve Lombardozzi

Trivia

• Although Steve Carlton was left off of the Twins' playoff roster, he still attended the White House to be congratulate by President Reagan. While making a photo op with the president, local newspapers listed the names of all of the Minnesota Twins. The only man who wasn't listed (and simply identified as a Secret Service agent) was a tall man wearing dark sunglasses in the back. The man in question was none other than Steve Carlton.

• On October 24, 1987, Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins tied the World Series record for runs scored in a single series game.

• Joe Magrane of the Cardinals became only the sixth rookie to start the seventh game of a World Series.

• Les Straker was the first Venezuelan to pitch in the World Series.

• Just prior to Game 4, Reggie Jackson, who was working as a field reporter for ABC's coverage of the 1987 World Series, admitted that he didn't know who Game 4 hero Tom Lawless was.

• The Cardinals stole five bases in Game 5, the most for one team since the 1907 Chicago Cubs.

• The 1987 Minnesota Twins became only the second team to have at least two grand slams in a single World Series (the 1956 New York Yankees are the other).

• Besides setting a record for the worst ever regular season winning percentage for a pennant winner and hosting the first ever World Series game indoors, the 1987 Twins were the first team to ever enter the World Series having been outscored in the regular season. The 1987 Twins as a team were pretty much outnumbered in virtually every major statistical catagory. As ABC play-by-play man Al Michaels put it in the pre-game show for Game 1 "They were out everything!"

• The crowd noise in the Metrodome could exceed 110 decibels, which is about the same as what a jet plane makes when it takes off.

External links

• 1987 World Series by Baseball Almanac
• History of the World Series - 1987
• 1987 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1987 Minnesota Twins
• Sweet Music