Gary Smalley Dan Walsh Popular Books

Gary Smalley Dan Walsh Biography & Facts

The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins defeated the Cardinals four games to three to win the Series, their first in Minnesota and the first since last winning as the Washington Senators in 1924. Twins pitcher Frank Viola was named as the 1987 World Series MVP. It was the first World Series to feature games played indoors, and the first in which the home team won every game; this would happen again in 1991 (also a Twins championship, over the Atlanta Braves) and in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees. This was the third of six World Series played entirely on artificial turf, with the others in 1980, 1985, 1993, 2020, and 2023. This is the first World Series in which the series logo appeared on the jerseys; only the Cardinals wore it. Both contestants in the following year's World Series wore a patch. It was also the last World Series in which any games were played during the day as opposed to in the evening. Summary The 1987 World Series was the first World Series games played in an indoor stadium (the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome) and, to date, the last World Series game to start earlier than prime time in the eastern United States (Game 6 started at 4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT), and it was the first World Series in which all games were won by the home team. (Four previous series had the home team winning the first six games, including the 1965 World Series, when the Twins dropped Game 7 to the Dodgers.) The bottom half of the ninth inning was never played in any game of this Series, the first and only time this has happened. In 1987, the Twins set the record for the worst (full 162 game) regular season win–loss record of any World Series championship team (85–77, .525). This record stood until it was broken when the Cardinals won the 2006 Series after going 83–78 (.516). Besides setting a record for the worst regular season winning percentage for a World Series winner and hosting the first World Series game indoors, the Twins were the first team to enter the World Series having been outscored in the regular season. The Twins, as a team, were outnumbered in virtually every major statistical category in 1987. As ABC play-by-play commentator Al Michaels put it in the pre-game show for Game 1, "They were out everything!" The Cardinals posted a 95–67 record during the regular season, but were hindered by injuries in the postseason, most notably with the loss of their lone home-run threat, first baseman Jack Clark, who sprained his right ankle in a game in Montreal on September 9. During the regular season, Clark led the National League in on-base percentage and slugging percentage despite playing in Busch Memorial Stadium, which was reputed to be the league's most extreme "pitcher's park." He hit 35 home runs in 131 games, and was the only person on the team to hit more than 12. The player on the team who hit 12, starting third baseman Terry Pendleton (though named to the World Series roster) was hampered with a ribcage injury. Normally a switch-hitter, Pendleton was only able to swing lefthanded during the World Series and was also unable to play the field and thus was relegated to pinch-hitting duties or being the designated hitter in the games in Minnesota started by right-handed starters. Game 7 was won by Minnesota on the 35th birthday of the Twins' Roy Smalley – and was also the last game of his career. Smalley appeared in four games as a pinch-hitter and reached base all four times on a double, an error, and two walks. AL Minnesota Twins (4) vs. NL St. Louis Cardinals (3) Matchups Game 1 A raucous, sold-out Metrodome met the Cardinals on October 17, stunning the visitors with crowd noise that could exceed 110 decibels SPL. The Cardinals struggled defensively, with outfielder Willie McGee losing sight of pop flies against the Metrodome's white roof in the fourth and eighth innings, and infielder Tom Lawless committing an infield error in the sixth inning. None of those miscues, however, contributed to Twins runs. The Twins' aggressive play further compounded the problems of the Cards, and the game ended as a 10–1 blowout. Starting pitcher Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola had little trouble with the Cardinals' potent lineup. For the Twins, Dan Gladden hit a grand slam and totaled five RBIs, capping off a seven-run fourth inning, with Steve Lombardozzi adding a two-run homer, while Kent Hrbek had two RBIs. Frank Viola was scheduled to be best man at his brother's wedding, but had to cancel when the Twins reached the World Series as it fell on the same night as Game 1, in which he was scheduled as starter. ABC showed clips of the wedding throughout the game's broadcast. Coincidentally, the song "U Got The Look" peaked in popularity (#2 on the Billboard singles chart) on this date. The song was written and performed by Prince (a Minneapolis native) and contains the line "boy versus girl in the World Series of love". Game 2 While improving on their Game One performance, the Cards were again unable to hold the Twins offense and fell behind 7–0 before beginning to rally. The Cards' total of nine hits was just one short of the Twins but they managed only one double, against three doubles and two home runs hit by Minnesota. Gary Gaetti hit a homer in the second inning. The Twins broke the game open in the fourth, scoring six runs resulting in starter Danny Cox being pulled from the game. The final score was 8–4. Randy Bush and Tim Laudner each came through with a pair of two-run-scoring hits in the fourth, with Laudner's being a home run and Bush's being a double. Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings of two-run baseball for the win. Game 3 Traveling down the Mississippi, to the open air of Busch Stadium, Game 3 saw a tense pitching duel between Twins starter Les Straker and John Tudor of the Cardinals. This match-up was also notable for Straker being the first Venezuelan to pitch in a World Series game. After five scoreless innings by both teams, the Twins broke through in the top of the sixth inning. Greg Gagne walked to lead off the inning, and Kirby Puckett walked to move Gagne into scoring position. Tom Brunansky's RBI single looked like all the offense the game would see. But, in the bottom of the seventh, Juan Berenguer, in relief of Straker, surrendered leadoff back-to-back singles to Jose Oquendo and Tony Peña. Terry Pendleton sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Vince Coleman slammed a two-run double to give the Cards a 2–1 lead. Ozzie Smith followed by singling in Coleman for the final run, and Todd Worrell closed out saving the win for Tudor. Game 4 In Game 4, the Twins scored first on Greg Gagne’s home run, but the Cardinals tied it on a Jim Lindeman RB.... Discover the Gary Smalley Dan Walsh popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Gary Smalley Dan Walsh books.