The 1987

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

season was the team's 106th season in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

and the 96th season in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The Cardinals went 95-67 during the season and finished first in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

Division for the third and last time before moving to the

NL Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

in 1994. They went on to win the NLCS in seven games over the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. In the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, after having fallen behind 2-0 at the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

, they won their next three games at home. However, back at the Metrodome, they lost the last two and fell one game short of a World Series title. It would be the Cardinals' last World Series appearance until 2004.

Offseason

* October 31, 1986: Alan Knicely was released by the Cardinals. * December 19, 1986:

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals. * January 26, 1987:

Skeeter Barnes William Henry "Skeeter" Barnes (born March 3, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball utility player for the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984 and 1989), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1987) and Detroit Tigers (1991–1994). Biography B ...

was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.Skeeter Barnes
at ''Baseball Reference''

Regular season

September highlights included a

Terry Pendleton Terry Lee Pendleton (born July 16, 1960) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas Cit ...

home run on a September 11 game against the contending

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

as well as a

Tom Herr Thomas Mitchell Herr (born April 4, 1956) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and New Yo ...

walk-off

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

against the Mets on Seat Cushion Night. As St. Louis proceeded into the post-season, they found themselves without clean-up hitter Jack Clark, the team's number-one offensive threat. He damaged his ankle when he caught a cleat in the artificial turf at Montreal's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. Nonetheless, the Redbirds won 95 games to capture the NL East title.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 1, 1987:

Mike LaValliere Michael Eugene LaValliere (born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox. Amateu ...

, Mike Dunne and

Andy Van Slyke Andrew James Van Slyke (born December 21, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Career Van Slyke earned All-American honors in baseball as a senior at New Hartford Central High school in New Hartford, New York. ...

were traded by the Cardinals to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for

Tony Peña Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (; born June 4, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astros. ...

. * April 6, 1987:

Lee Tunnell Byron Lee Tunnell (born October 30, 1960) is an American professional baseball coach and retired player. He played as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball. He was the bullpen coach for the Milwaukee Brewers ...

was purchased by the Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates. * June 2, 1987: Jeremy Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round of the

1987 Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional cont ...

. * July 16, 1987: Skeeter Barnes was purchased from the Cardinals by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. * July 25, 1987:

Joe Boever Joseph Martin Boever (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houst ...

was traded by the Cardinals to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

for

Randy O'Neal Randall Jeffrey O'Neal (born August 30, 1960) is a former American college and professional baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) during seven seasons. He played at the major league level for the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta ...

. * August 31, 1987: Pat Perry was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later. On September 3, 1987 the Cincinnati Reds sent Scott Terry to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the deal. * September 29, 1987:

Doug DeCinces Douglas Vernon DeCinces ( ; born August 29, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987 for the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and St. Louis Cardina ...

was signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Postseason

NLCS

Despite the Cardinals prevailing over the

in 7 games, it was the Giants'

Jeffrey Leonard Jeffrey Leonard (born September 22, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1990 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee ...

who won the NLCS MVP award.

Game 1

October 6,

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

Game 2

October 7,

Game 3

October 9,

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

Game 4

October 10,

Game 5

October 11,

Game 6

October 13,

Game 7

October 14,

World Series

The

defeated the Cardinals in seven games. This Series was the first in which the home team won each of the seven games. The Cardinals held their own at Busch Stadium, but the crowd noise and the "

Homer Hanky The Official Star Tribune Homer Hanky is a handkerchief-like rally towel printed for the Minnesota Twins. It was first introduced during the 1987 pennant race by the Minneapolis ''Star Tribune'' as a promotional item when the Twins won the Americ ...

s" in the

Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

appeared to give the Twins an edge. The booming bats of the Twins were too much for the Cardinals' " inside baseball" style of offense in Games 1, 2, and 6. In Game 7 it was the Twins' pitching that shut down the Cardinals. AL

(4) vs. NL St. Louis Cardinals (3)

Awards and honors

* Terry Pendleton, Third Base, National League

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

* Ozzie Smith, Shortstop, National League

Silver Slugger The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

* Jack Clark, First Base, National League

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1987 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference1987 St. Louis Cardinals
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season National League East champion seasons National League champion seasons

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...