Game 7 was the 500th World Series game ever played. Game 7 forced the scheduled National Football League game between the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings to be played the following night (also on ABC).

Joe Magrane of the St. Louis Cardinals became only the sixth rookie pitcher to start the seventh game of a World Series. He also is the only pitcher in World Series history to start Games 1 and 7 of a World Series without any starts in between. Magrane had actually started the 1987 season pitching for the Cardinals Triple-A team, the Louisville Redbirds.

In the second, the Cardinals looked poised to send Frank Viola to an early shower. Three straight no-out singles by Jim Lindeman, Willie McGee, and Tony Peña plated the first run. Viola settled down to retire the next two hitters, but then Steve Lake singled in McGee for a 2–0 lead. Viola would settle into a groove, however, and allow only two more hits and no runs in eight strong innings.

The Twins came back in their half of the second on a Steve Lombardozzi RBI single, but not before a missed call at home plate by umpire Dave Phillips had already cost the Twins a run. Twins DH Don Baylor reached base on a hit-by-pitch by Magrane to lead off the inning and Tom Brunansky singled him to second. With one out, Tim Laudner singled to left and Baylor was gunned down at home by Vince Coleman in left, but replays clearly showed that Baylor was safe. Lombardozzi then singled in Brunansky.

In the fifth, the Twins tied it when Greg Gagne reached on an infield hit and Kirby Puckett drove him in with a double. Incidentally replays showed Gagne to be out on his infield hit, thus this run served to counteract the run the Twins lost in the second on the missed call on Baylor at the plate. The Twins seemed on the verge of taking the lead when Gary Gaetti followed Puckett with a walk and went to second when Puckett was thrown out by Lake trying to advance to third on a wild pitch that was deflected when it hit the home plate umpire in the face-mask. Baylor followed with a single to left, but Coleman threw out Gaetti at the plate in a violent collision with Lake. Coleman became the first outfielder to throw two runners out at the plate in one World Series game.

The sixth inning proved to be controversial. In the top of the sixth, Tom Herr was picked-off of first base, and called out. In the third missed call of the game, replays showed Herr to be safe. Umpire Lee Weyer's view was blocked by Kent Hrbek who, according to the broadcast crew, not only made the tag late, but also should have been called for interference as he stood in Herr's path during the run-down before he had the ball. Had this been called, Herr would not only have been safe, but been awarded second base, and the Cardinals would have had a runner at second with one out. As it was, the Cardinals would score nothing. The Twins then took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, off Danny Cox, who had relieved Magrane the previous inning. Cox walked Brunansky and Hrbek to lead off, and was replaced by Todd Worrell. As Cox was leaving, he got into an argument with home plate umpire Dave Phillips and was ejected as he was leaving the field. After retiring the first batter he faced, Worrell walked pinch-hitter Roy Smalley to load the bases and then gave up a two-out RBI single to Gagne.

The Twins' final run came in the eighth on an RBI double by Dan Gladden. Jeff Reardon retired the side in the ninth to give Minnesota their first World Series victory.

Twins manager Tom Kelly became the youngest non-playing manager to win the World Series since John McGraw in 1905.

Aftermath:

Although Steve Carlton was not on the Twins' playoff roster, he still attended the White House to be congratulated 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 Carlton.

After their defeat in the '87 Series, the Cardinals' reign of dominance in the '80s ended. They would not win their division until 1996 and they would not return to the World Series until 2004.

In 1988, the Twins actually won more games than last season finishing with a 91-71 record. They didn't come close to winning their division because the Oakland A's won 104 games. The Twins eventually sank towards the bottom of the standings by finishing last in 1990. In 1991, the Twins returned to the playoffs by beating the Blue Jays in the ALCS and winning what many call the greatest World Series ever played over the Atlanta Braves.

The 1987 World Series featured at least two players who would go on to win Manager of the Year awards. The Twins' Don Baylor won it in 1995 for his work with the Colorado Rockies while the Cardinals' Tony Peña won it in 2003 for his work with the Kansas City Royals.

The success of the 1987 Twins inspired Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly) in Beverly Hills 90210 to explain why the Twins were the ultimate definition of a team, thus enabling him to win the Dreyer Scholarship. However, his interview included a factual inaccuracy; he said Gladden hit a grand slam in the pivotal Game 4, when in fact Gladden hit one in game 1, and Hrbek hit one in the pivotal game 6.