The 1987 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 98th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 30th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 26th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium. They finished in fourth place in the National League West, with an identical record to the previous season, 73–89.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

vteNL West
TeamWLPct.GBHomeRoad
San Francisco Giants9072.556—46‍–‍3544‍–‍37
Cincinnati Reds8478.519642‍–‍3942‍–‍39
Houston Astros7686.4691447‍–‍3429‍–‍52
Los Angeles Dodgers7389.4511740‍–‍4133‍–‍48
Atlanta Braves6992.42920½42‍–‍3927‍–‍53
San Diego Padres6597.4012537‍–‍4428‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1987 National League recordvte Sources:
TeamATLCHCCINHOULADMONNYMPHIPITSDSFSTL
Atlanta—6–58–108–106–123–97–57–57–56–128–103–9
Chicago5–6—6–68–46–610–89–98–104–149–35–76–12
Cincinnati10–86–6—13–510–86–67–55–74–812–67–114–8
Houston10–84–85–13—12–67–56–66–66–65–1310–85–7
Los Angeles12–66–68–106–12—3–96–62–106–611–710–83–9
Montreal9–38–106–65–79–3—8–1010–811–79–35–711–7
New York5–79–95–76–66–610–8—13–512–68–49–39–9
Philadelphia5–710–87–56–610–28–105–13—11–78–42–108–10
Pittsburgh5–714–48–46–66–67–116–127–11—8–46–67–11
San Diego12–63–96–1213–57–113–94–84–84–8—5–134–8
San Francisco10–87–511–78–108–107–53–910–26–613–5—7–5
St. Louis9–312–68–47–59–37–119–910–811–78–45–7—

Opening Day starters

NamePosition
Steve SaxSecond baseman
Mariano DuncanShortstop
Bill MadlockThird baseman
Mike MarshallRight fielder
Franklin StubbsFirst baseman
Ken LandreauxLeft fielder
Mike SciosciaCatcher
Mike RamseyCenter fielder
Orel HershiserStarting pitcher

Notable transactions

Roster

1987 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 49 Tim Belcher 52 Tim Crews 54 Ron Davis 41 Brad Havens 55 Orel Hershiser 57 Shawn Hillegas 51 Brian Holton 40 Rick Honeycutt 43 Ken Howell 59 Bill Krueger 23 Tim Leary 49 Tom Niedenfuer 26 Alejandro Peña 41 Jerry Reuss 50 Jack Savage 34 Fernando Valenzuela 35 Bob Welch 36 Matt YoungCatchers 48 Orlando Mercado 15 Gilberto Reyes 14 Mike Scioscia 29 Alex Treviño Infielders 10 Dave Anderson 25 Mariano Duncan 20 Phil Garner 33 Jeff Hamilton 9 Mickey Hatcher 37 Glenn Hoffman 12 Bill Madlock 3 Steve Sax 60 Mike Sharperson 38 Craig Shipley 22 Franklin Stubbs 56 Brad Wellman 7 Tracy WoodsonOutfielders 46 Ralph Bryant 40 Mike Devereaux 47 José González 28 Pedro Guerrero 45 Chris Gwynn 12 Danny Heep 44 Ken Landreaux 27 Tito Landrum 5 Mike Marshall 56 Mike Ramsey 31 John Shelby 21 Reggie WilliamsManager 2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches 8 Joey Amalfitano 58 Mark Cresse 11 Manny Mota 16 Ron Perranoski 18 Bill Russell

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

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
CMike Scioscia142461122.265638
1BFranklin Stubbs12938690.2331652
2BSteve Sax157610171.280646
3BMickey Hatcher10128781.282742
SSMariano Duncan7626156.215618
LFPedro Guerrero152545184.3382789
CFJohn Shelby120476132.2772169
RFMike Marshall104402118.2941672

Other batters

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

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Dave Anderson10826562.234113
Ken Landreaux11518237.203623
Alex Treviño7214432.222316
Tracy Woodson5313631.228111
Glenn Hoffman4013229.220010
Phil Garner7012624.19028
Mike Ramsey4812529.232012
Danny Heep609816.16309
Jeff Hamilton358318.21701
Ralph Bryant466917.246210
Tito Landrum516716.23914
Bill Madlock216111.18037
Mike Devereaux195412.22204
Reggie Williams39364.11104
Craig Shipley26359.25702
Mike Sharperson10339.27301
Chris Gwynn17327.21902
José González19163.18801
Len Matuszek16151.06700
Orlando Mercado753.60001
Brad Wellman341.25001
Gilberto Reyes100----00

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Orel Hershiser37264.216163.06190
Bob Welch35251.21593.22196
Fernando Valenzuela34251.014143.98190
Shawn Hillegas1258.0433.5751
Tim Belcher634.0422.3823

Other pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Rick Honeycutt27115.22124.5992
Tim Leary39107.23114.7661
Alejandro Peña3787.1273.5076

Relief pitchers

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

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Matt Young4758114.4742
Brian Holton533223.8958
Ken Howell403414.9160
Brad Havens310014.3323
Tim Crews201132.4820
Tom Niedenfuer151012.7610
Ron Davis40006.751
Jack Savage30002.700
Bill Krueger20000.002
Jerry Reuss10004.502

1987 awards

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAAAlbuquerque DukesPacific Coast LeagueTerry Collins
AASan Antonio DodgersTexas LeagueGary LaRocque
High ABakersfield DodgersCalifornia LeagueKevin Kennedy
High AVero Beach DodgersFlorida State LeagueJohn Shoemaker
RookieGreat Falls DodgersPioneer LeagueTim Johnson
RookieGulf Coast DodgersGulf Coast LeagueJoe Alvarez

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball draft

The draft was altered this year and the January drafts and the secondary phase of the June draft were eliminated, leaving just the one June draft, which was expanded to more rounds to allow the Junior College players to be included. The Dodgers drafted 51 players in this draft, the largest collection of players they had ever drafted in one draft. Of those, ten of them would eventually play Major League baseball.

The top pick in this years draft was right-handed pitcher Dan Opperman from Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, Opperman injured his arm pitching in the state high school playoffs his Senior season and would not be able to pitch professionally until 1989. He would eventually play in parts of four seasons with the Dodgers farm teams in Vero Beach, San Antonio and the last two with the AAA Albuquerque Dukes. In 63 games (all but one as a starter) he had a record of 19-22 and an ERA of 3.95.

None of the players from this years draft left much of an impression on the Majors. Pitchers Dennis Springer and Mike James had the longest careers.

1987 draft picks
Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Dan Opperman RHP Valley High School Yes 1989–1992 AAA 2 Donald Carroll OF Granite Hills High School Yes 1988–1999 A+ 3 Chris Nichting RHP Northwestern University Yes 1988–2002 MLB 4 Thomas Demerit OF Dartmouth College Yes 1987–1988 A 5 Luis Martinez SS Old Dominion University Yes 1987–1993 AAA 6 Darrin Fletcher C University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Yes 1987–2002 MLB 7 Tony Barron 3B Willamette University Yes 1987–2002 MLB 8 Howie Freiling 1B University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Yes 1987–1990 AAA 9 Lem Luckham RHP Los Amigos High School Yes 1987–1992 AA 10 Douglas Noch RHP Central Michigan University Yes 1987–1989 A 11 Lawrence Gonzalez RHP Don Antonio Lugo High School Yes 1987–1989 A- 12 Barry Blackwell C Florida State University No Indians-1988 1988–1990 AA 13 Sherman Collins RHP University of Oklahoma Yes 1987 A 14 D. J. Floyd C Chino High School Yes 1987–1990 A 15 Alan Lewis SS Davidson College Yes 1987–1993 AA 16 John Wanish RHP Florida State University Yes 1987–1991 A+ 17 Bruce Dostal OF William Paterson University Yes 1987–1995 AAA 18 Steve Green OF Georgia Institute of Technology Yes 1987–1993 A+ 19 Rafael Bournigal IF Florida State University Yes 1987–2000 MLB 20 Jose Munoz SS Florida College Yes 1987–2001 MLB 21 Dennis Springer RHP California State University, Fresno Yes 1987–2002 MLB 22 Mike Parks RHP University of Miami No 23 Daniel Kreuder RHP Pace University Yes 1987 Rookie 24 Randal Wadsworth C California University of Pennsylvania Yes 1987 Rookie 25 Frank Mustari 3B Illinois State University Yes 1987–1988 A 26 Brian Emmert 1B Pace University Yes 1987 Rookie 27 Dan Piscetta RHP College of Wooster No 28 David Martin RHP Phillips University Yes 1987 Rookie 29 Zak Shinall RHP El Camino College Yes 1987–1995 MLB 30 Todd Melisauskas C Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Yes 1987–1988 A 31 Eric Johnson OF California State University, Sacramento Yes 1987 Rookie 32 William Argo OF Iowa State University Yes 1987–1989 A 33 Chris Harding OF Clover High School No 34 Jim Poole LHP Georgia Institute of Technology No Dodgers-1988 1988–2000 MLB 35 Brian Currie LHP University of South Carolina Yes 1987–1990 A- 36 Garrett Carter 3B University of South Carolina No Braves-1988 1988 Rookie 37 Jeff Herman OF De Anza College No 38 Larry Rezny LHP Grand Haven High School No 39 Brett Magnusson OF Santa Rosa Junior College Yes 1988–1994 AAA 40 Jerry Lutterman RHP Lafayette High School No 41 James Robinson RHP Sullivan High School No White Sox-1989 1989 Rookie 42 Joseph Fernandez OF Galileo High School Yes 1987 Rookie 43 Mike James RHP Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Yes 1988–2002 MLB 44 Christopher Gettler RHP Jacksonville University Yes 1987–1988 A 45 Doug Simons LHP Pepperdine University No Twins-1988 1988–1996 MLB 46 Sam Bland C Kishwaukee College Yes 1987 Rookie 47 Albert Bustillos RHP Gavilan College Yes 1988–1996 AAA 48 Ken Woods SS Palisades High School No 49 Troy Arrington RHP Jordan High School No 50 Vince Muldrew OF Centennial High School No 51 Andrew Perkens C Blair High School No
RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level
1Dan OppermanRHPValley High SchoolYes1989–1992AAA
2Donald CarrollOFGranite Hills High SchoolYes1988–1999A+
3Chris NichtingRHPNorthwestern UniversityYes1988–2002MLB
4Thomas DemeritOFDartmouth CollegeYes1987–1988A
5Luis MartinezSSOld Dominion UniversityYes1987–1993AAA
6Darrin FletcherCUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignYes1987–2002MLB
7Tony Barron3BWillamette UniversityYes1987–2002MLB
8Howie Freiling1BUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillYes1987–1990AAA
9Lem LuckhamRHPLos Amigos High SchoolYes1987–1992AA
10Douglas NochRHPCentral Michigan UniversityYes1987–1989A
11Lawrence GonzalezRHPDon Antonio Lugo High SchoolYes1987–1989A-
12Barry BlackwellCFlorida State UniversityNo Indians-19881988–1990AA
13Sherman CollinsRHPUniversity of OklahomaYes1987A
14D. J. FloydCChino High SchoolYes1987–1990A
15Alan LewisSSDavidson CollegeYes1987–1993AA
16John WanishRHPFlorida State UniversityYes1987–1991A+
17Bruce DostalOFWilliam Paterson UniversityYes1987–1995AAA
18Steve GreenOFGeorgia Institute of TechnologyYes1987–1993A+
19Rafael BournigalIFFlorida State UniversityYes1987–2000MLB
20Jose MunozSSFlorida CollegeYes1987–2001MLB
21Dennis SpringerRHPCalifornia State University, FresnoYes1987–2002MLB
22Mike ParksRHPUniversity of MiamiNo
23Daniel KreuderRHPPace UniversityYes1987Rookie
24Randal WadsworthCCalifornia University of PennsylvaniaYes1987Rookie
25Frank Mustari3BIllinois State UniversityYes1987–1988A
26Brian Emmert1BPace UniversityYes1987Rookie
27Dan PiscettaRHPCollege of WoosterNo
28David MartinRHPPhillips UniversityYes1987Rookie
29Zak ShinallRHPEl Camino CollegeYes1987–1995MLB
30Todd MelisauskasCShippensburg University of PennsylvaniaYes1987–1988A
31Eric JohnsonOFCalifornia State University, SacramentoYes1987Rookie
32William ArgoOFIowa State UniversityYes1987–1989A
33Chris HardingOFClover High SchoolNo
34Jim PooleLHPGeorgia Institute of TechnologyNo Dodgers-19881988–2000MLB
35Brian CurrieLHPUniversity of South CarolinaYes1987–1990A-
36Garrett Carter3BUniversity of South CarolinaNo Braves-19881988Rookie
37Jeff HermanOFDe Anza CollegeNo
38Larry ReznyLHPGrand Haven High SchoolNo
39Brett MagnussonOFSanta Rosa Junior CollegeYes1988–1994AAA
40Jerry LuttermanRHPLafayette High SchoolNo
41James RobinsonRHPSullivan High SchoolNo White Sox-19891989Rookie
42Joseph FernandezOFGalileo High SchoolYes1987Rookie
43Mike JamesRHPLurleen B. Wallace Community CollegeYes1988–2002MLB
44Christopher GettlerRHPJacksonville UniversityYes1987–1988A
45Doug SimonsLHPPepperdine UniversityNo Twins-19881988–1996MLB
46Sam BlandCKishwaukee CollegeYes1987Rookie
47Albert BustillosRHPGavilan CollegeYes1988–1996AAA
48Ken WoodsSSPalisades High SchoolNo
49Troy ArringtonRHPJordan High SchoolNo
50Vince MuldrewOFCentennial High SchoolNo
51Andrew PerkensCBlair High SchoolNo

External links