1987 Boston Red Sox season
The 1987 Boston Red Sox season was the 87th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, 20 games behind the Detroit Tigers.
Regular season
Highlights
- June 29, 1987: Wade Boggs had a grand slam, a triple, and seven RBIs in a game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Notable transactions
- July 23, 1987: Bill Buckner was released by the Red Sox.
- August 21, 1987: Glenn Hoffman was traded by the Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later.
- September 1, 1987: Don Baylor was traded by the Red Sox to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later.
- September 1, 1987: Dave Henderson was traded by the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later.
Opening Day lineup
Source:Alumni game
On May 23, the Red Sox held an old-timers game, before a scheduled home game with the Chicago White Sox. The game was themed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Fenway Park. The Red Sox team included Jim Lonborg, Jimmy Piersall, Luis Tiant, and Ted Williams; they were defeated by a team of other MLB alumni, including Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame inductee Bob Feller, Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych, and slugger Dick Allen.Player stats
Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
| Marty Barrett | 137 | 559 | 72 | 164 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 15 | 51 | .293 | .351 |
| Ellis Burks | 133 | 558 | 94 | 152 | 30 | 2 | 20 | 59 | 27 | 41 | .272 | .441 |
| Wade Boggs | 147 | 551 | 108 | 200 | 40 | 6 | 24 | 89 | 1 | 105 | .363 | .588 |
| Dwight Evans | 154 | 541 | 109 | 165 | 37 | 2 | 34 | 123 | 4 | 106 | .305 | .569 |
| Spike Owen | 132 | 437 | 50 | 113 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 11 | 53 | .259 | .343 |
| Mike Greenwell | 125 | 412 | 71 | 135 | 31 | 6 | 19 | 89 | 5 | 35 | .328 | .570 |
| Jim Rice | 108 | 404 | 66 | 112 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 62 | 1 | 45 | .277 | .408 |
| Don Baylor | 108 | 339 | 64 | 81 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 57 | 5 | 40 | .239 | .404 |
| Bill Buckner | 75 | 286 | 23 | 78 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 13 | .273 | .322 |
| Ed Romero | 88 | 235 | 23 | 64 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 18 | .272 | ..294 |
| Todd Benzinger | 73 | 223 | 36 | 62 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 43 | 5 | 22 | .278 | .444 |
| Dave Henderson | 75 | 184 | 30 | 43 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 22 | .234 | .418 |
| John Marzano | 52 | 168 | 20 | 41 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 7 | .244 | .399 |
| Sam Horn | 46 | 158 | 31 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 34 | 0 | 17 | .278 | .589 |
| Rich Gedman | 52 | 151 | 11 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 10 | .205 | .278 |
| Danny Sheaffer | 25 | 66 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .121 | .182 |
| Glenn Hoffman | 21 | 55 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .255 |
| Pat Dodson | 26 | 42 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 | .167 | .381 |
| Jody Reed | 9 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | .300 | .400 |
| Kevin Romine | 9 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .292 | .375 |
| Dave Sax | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5586 | 842 | 1554 | 273 | 26 | 174 | 802 | 77 | 606 | .278 | .430 |
Source:
Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Roger Clemens | 20 | 9 | 2.97 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 281.2 | 248 | 100 | 93 | 83 | 256 |
| Bruce Hurst | 15 | 13 | 4.41 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 238.2 | 239 | 124 | 117 | 76 | 190 |
| Al Nipper | 11 | 12 | 5.43 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 174.0 | 196 | 115 | 105 | 62 | 89 |
| Bob Stanley | 4 | 15 | 5.01 | 34 | 20 | 0 | 152.2 | 198 | 96 | 85 | 42 | 67 |
| Jeff Sellers | 7 | 8 | 5.28 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 139.2 | 161 | 85 | 82 | 61 | 99 |
| Wes Gardner | 3 | 6 | 5.42 | 49 | 1 | 10 | 89.2 | 98 | 55 | 54 | 42 | 70 |
| Calvin Schiraldi | 8 | 5 | 4.41 | 62 | 1 | 6 | 83.2 | 75 | 45 | 41 | 40 | 93 |
| Steve Crawford | 5 | 4 | 5.33 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 | 91 | 48 | 43 | 32 | 43 |
| Tom Bolton | 1 | 0 | 4.38 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 61.2 | 83 | 33 | 30 | 27 | 49 |
| Joe Sambito | 2 | 6 | 6.93 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 37.2 | 46 | 29 | 29 | 16 | 35 |
| Rob Woodward | 1 | 1 | 7.05 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 37.0 | 53 | 33 | 29 | 15 | 15 |
| Oil Can Boyd | 1 | 3 | 5.89 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 36.2 | 47 | 31 | 24 | 9 | 12 |
| John Leister | 0 | 2 | 9.20 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 30.1 | 49 | 31 | 31 | 12 | 16 |
| Team Totals | 78 | 84 | 4.77 | 162 | 162 | 16 | 1436.0 | 1584 | 825 | 761 | 517 | 1034 |
Source:
Statistical leaders
| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Youngest player | Ellis Burks | 22 |
| Oldest player | Don Baylor | 38 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Roger Clemens | 9.4 |
Source:
Batting
Source:Pitching
Source:Awards and honors
;Awards- Wade Boggs, Silver Slugger Award, AL Player of the Month
- Roger Clemens, American League Cy Young Award
- Dwight Evans, Silver Slugger Award, AL Player of the Month
- Wade Boggs, American League Batting Champion,.363
- Wade Boggs, Major League Baseball Leader, On-base percentage
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Complete Games
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts
- Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Wins
- Wade Boggs, third base, starter
- Dwight Evans, outfield, reserve
- Bruce Hurst, pitcher, reserve