1978 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1978 major league baseball season began on April 5 while the regular season ended on October 2. The postseason began on October 3. In the 10th iteration of this World Series matchup, the 75th World Series then began on October 10 and concluded on October 17 with the New York Yankees of the American League defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League, four games to two, to win their 22nd title in franchise history, winning back-to-back World Series.
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:Postseason:
- April 5 – October 2, 1978 (AL)
- April 6 – October 1, 1978 (NL)
- October 3–17, 1973
Games162
| 1978 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 26 (14 AL, 12 NL) |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Bob Horner |
| Picked by | Atlanta Braves |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Jim Rice (BOS) NL: Dave Parker (PIT) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Kansas City Royals |
| NL champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | Philadelphia Phillies |
| World Series | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| World Series MVP | Bucky Dent (NYY) |
The 49th All-Star Game was held on July 11 at San Diego Stadium, home of the San Diego Padres. The National League won, 7–3, and was the seventh win in what would be a 10-win streak that lasted until 1983.
The Yankees overcame clubhouse turmoil, a mid-season managerial change, and a 14-game mid-July deficit in the American League East en route to the championship. All four teams that made the playoffs in 1977 returned for this postseason; none of the four returned to the postseason in 1979.
Schedule
The 1978 schedule consisted of 162 games for all 14 teams in the American League and 12 teams in the National League. Both leagues saw different schedule formats, as they had since 1977. The American League was split into two seven-team divisions. Each team was scheduled to play 15 games against their six division rivals, totaling 90 games, and 10 games against five opponents and 11 games against two opponents, totaling 72 interdivision games. This format would be used until the following season. Meanwhile, the National League was split into two six-team divisions. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against their five division rivals, totaling 90 games, and 12 games against six interdivision opponents, totaling 72 games. This continued the format put in place since the 1969 and would continue to be the format in use until 1993.
Opening Day took place on April 6, featuring four teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on October 1, featuring all 26 teams. Due to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox finishing with the same record of 99–63, a tiebreaker game was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season, on October 2. The American League Championship Series took place between October 3 and October 7, while the National League Championship Series took place between October 4 and October 7. The World Series took place between October 10 and October 17.
Rule changes
The 1978 season saw the following rule changes:
- Rules regarding the designated hitter in interleague play was addressed:[1]
- The designated hitter would be used for both teams in even-number years of the World Series.
- All-Star games would feature the designated hitter if both leagues agree.
- In exhibition games, the designated hitter would be used or not used depending on the home team.
- To reduce instances of brushback pitches or "head-hunting", their ability to give warnings to each team was expanded, as in addition to the perpetrating pitcher and manager, the manager must now warn the opposing manager as well. For teams with a combative history, teams can be warned about intentional hit by pitches prior to the game.[2]
Teams
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 100 | 63 | .613 | — | 55–26 | 45–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 99 | 64 | .607 | 1 | 59–23 | 40–41 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 93 | 69 | .574 | 6½ | 54–27 | 39–42 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 71 | .559 | 9 | 51–30 | 39–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 86 | 76 | .531 | 13½ | 47–34 | 39–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 69 | 90 | .434 | 29 | 42–36 | 27–54 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 59 | 102 | .366 | 40 | 37–44 | 22–58 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 56–25 | 36–45 |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 52–30 | 35–45 |
| California Angels | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 50–31 | 37–44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 73 | 89 | .451 | 19 | 38–43 | 35–46 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 90 | .441 | 20½ | 38–42 | 33–48 |
| Oakland Athletics | 69 | 93 | .426 | 23 | 38–42 | 31–51 |
| Seattle Mariners | 56 | 104 | .350 | 35 | 32–49 | 24–55 |
- The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in a regular season one-game playoff to earn the AL East division title.
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 54–28 | 36–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 73 | .547 | 1½ | 55–26 | 33–47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11 | 44–38 | 35–45 |
| Montreal Expos | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 41–39 | 35–47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 21 | 37–44 | 32–49 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 96 | .407 | 24 | 33–47 | 33–49 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 54–27 | 41–40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 69 | .571 | 2½ | 49–31 | 43–38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | 50–31 | 39–42 |
| San Diego Padres | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11 | 50–31 | 34–47 |
| Houston Astros | 74 | 88 | .457 | 21 | 50–31 | 24–57 |
| Atlanta Braves | 69 | 93 | .426 | 26 | 39–42 | 30–51 |
Postseason
Bracket
| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | NY Yankees | 3 | |||||||
| West | Kansas City | 1 | |||||||
| AL | NY Yankees | 4 | |||||||
| NL | Los Angeles | 2 | |||||||
| East | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||
| West | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | Reason for leaving | New Manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | Dave Bristol | Fired | Bobby Cox | The Braves fired Dave Bristol in October, 1977, following a failed season with a 61–101 (.377) record (of which he missed a win and a loss mid-season).[4] Bristol ended his Braves managerial career with a 130–192 (.404) record. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Alex Grammas | George Bamberger | The Brewers fired Alex Grammas on November 21, 1977, following a failed season with a 67–95 (.414) record.[5] Grammas ended his Brewers managerial career with a 133–190 (.412) record. | |
| San Diego Padres | Alvin Dark | Roger Craig | The Padres fired Alvin Dark on March 21 during spring training, following his only season with the team, a failed 1977 season with a 48–65 (.425). Because he was on contract for two seasons, he was paid for the 1978 season. He was replaced by George Bamberger. |
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | Interim Manager | Reason for leaving | New Manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | Vern Rapp | Jack Krol | Fired | Ken Boyer | On April 25, after a 6–11 (.353) start to the season, the Cardinals fired Vern Rapp. Rapp finished his Cardinals managerial career with a 89–90 (.497) with no postseason appearance. Jack Krol was interim manager for two games before Ken Boyer was named manager. |
| Oakland Athletics | Bobby Winkles | N/A | Resigned | Jack McKeon | On May 23, after a 24–15 (.615) start to the season, Bobby Winkles resigned as manager. Winkles finished his Athletics managerial career with a 61–86 (.415) record and with no postseason appearance. Previous 1977 manager Jack McKeon was named manager. |
| California Angels | Dave Garcia | Fired | Jim Fregosi | On June 1, after a 25–21 (.543) start to the season, the Angels fired Dave Garcia. Garcia finished his Angels managerial career with a 60–67 (.472) record. Jim Fregosi was then named manager. | |
| Chicago White Sox | Bob Lemon | Larry Doby | On June 24, after a 34–40 (.459) start to the season, the White Sox fired Bob Lemon. Lemon finished his White Sox career with a 124–112 (.525) record with no postseason appearance. Larry Doby was named manager. | ||
| New York Yankees | Billy Martin | Dick Howser | Resigned | Bob Lemon | On Jule 24, after a 52–42 (.553) start to the season, Billy Martin resigned as manager. To this point, Martin finished his Yankees managerial career with a 279–192 (.592) record (though would go on to manage the team on four future separate occasions). Martin saw two postseason appearances, winning the American League pennant in 1976 and World Series in 1977. Dick Howser was interim manager for one game before Bob Lmeon, recently fired by the White Sox, was named manager (who would go on to win the World Series). |
| Texas Rangers | Billy Hunter | N/A | Fired | Pat Corrales | On October 1, after a 86–75 (.534) record, was fired by the Texas Rangers just prior to the final game of the season. Hunter finished his Rangers career with a 146–108 (.575) record with no postseason appearance. Pat Corrales was named manager. |
Awards and honors
Major Awards
| American League | National League | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Jim Rice | LF | BOS | Dave Parker | RF | PIT |
| Cy Young Award | Ron Guidry | LHP | NYY | Gaylord Perry | RHP | SDP |
| Rookie of the Year | Lou Whitaker | 2B | DET | Bob Horner | 3B | ATL |
| Relief Man of the Year | Goose Gossage | RHP | NYY | Rollie Fingers | RHP | SDP |
Gold Glove Awards
| American League | National League | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| P | Jim Palmer | BAL | Phil Niekro | ATL |
| C | Jim Sundberg | TEX | Bob Boone | PHI |
| 1B | Chris Chambliss | NYY | Keith Hernandez | STL |
| 2B | Frank White | KCR | Davey Lopes | LAD |
| 3B | Graig Nettles | NYY | Mike Schmidt | PHI |
| SS | Mark Belanger | BAL | Larry Bowa | PHI |
| OF | Dwight Evans | BOS | Garry Maddox | PHI |
| OF | Fred Lynn | BOS | Dave Parker | PIT |
| OF | Rick Miller | CAL | Ellis Valentine | MON |
Statistical leaders
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Rod Carew, MIN | .333 | Dave Parker, PIT | .334 |
| HR | Jim Rice, BOS | 46 | George Foster, CIN | 40 |
| RBIs | Jim Rice, BOS | 139 | George Foster, CIN | 120 |
| SB | Ron LeFlore, DET | 68 | Omar Moreno, PIT | 71 |
| Wins | Ron Guidry, NYY | 25 | Gaylord Perry, SD | 21 |
| ERA | Ron Guidry, NYY | 1.74 | Craig Swan, NYM | 2.34 |
| Ks | Nolan Ryan, CAL | 260 | J. R. Richard, HOU | 303 |
| SV | Goose Gossage, NYY | 27 | Rollie Fingers, SD | 37 |
Milestones
Batters
Cycles
- Andre Thornton (CLE):
- Thornton hit for his first cycle and sixth in franchise history, on April 22 against the Boston Red Sox.[6]
- Chris Speier (MON):
- Speier hit for his first cycle and second in franchise history, on July 20 against the Atlanta Braves.[7]
- Mike Cubbage (MIN):
- Cubbage hit for his first cycle and ninth in franchise history, on July 27 against the Toronto Blue Jays.[8]
Other batting accomplishments
- Pete Rose (CIN):
- Became the 13th of the 3,000-hit club with a single in the fifth inning against the Montreal Expos on May 5.[9]
- Set a modern National League record with a 44-game hitting streak, hitting in every game from June 14 to July 31.[citation needed]
- Bert Campaneris (TEX):
- Recorded his 600th career stolen base in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles on May 14. He became the 10th player to reach this mark.[10][11][12]
- Willie McCovey (SF):
- Became the 12th player in Major League history to hit 500 home runs in game one of a doubleheader on June 30 against the Atlanta Braves.[13][14]
- Lou Brock (STL):
- Breaks the all-time record for career stolen bases previously set by Billy Hamilton set in 1901, when he steals his 915th base in the third inning against the New York Mets on August 4.[15][16][17][18]
Pitching
No-hitters
- Bob Forsch (STL):
- Forsch threw his first career no-hitter and seventh no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 on April 16. Forsch walked two and struck out three.[19]
- Tom Seaver (CIN):
- Seaver threw his first career no-hitter and 13th no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4–0 on June 16. Seaver walked three and struck out three.[20]
Other pitching accomplishments
- Ron Guidry (NYY):
- Tied an American League record for most shutouts in a season by a left-handed pitcher by throwing his ninth shutout on September 24, tying the record set in 1916 by Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox.[21]
- J. R. Richard (HOU):
- Set a National League record for most strikeouts by a right-handed pitcher in a single season, throwing his 303rd strikeout of the season against the Atlanta Braves on September 28.
- Gaylord Perry (SD):
- Recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on October 1 by striking out Joe Simpson of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning. Perry became the third player to reach this mark in Major League history.[22]
Miscellaneous
- Chicago Cubs / Montreal Expos:
- In a major league record, 45 players in total play a game on September 5 which saw 21-player Expos defeat the 24-player Cubs 10–8 in a 9-inning game.[23]
- California Angels:
- Set a modern (1900–present) major league record for most runs scored in the ninth inning, by scoring 13 runs against the Texas Rangers on September 14.[24]
- Los Angeles Dodgers:
- Become the first team in major league history to draw 3 million fans in a season.
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[25] | 95 | −3.1% | 3,347,845 | 13.3% | 41,331 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[26] | 90 | −10.9% | 2,583,389 | −4.3% | 31,505 |
| Cincinnati Reds[27] | 92 | 4.5% | 2,532,497 | 0.5% | 31,656 |
| New York Yankees[28] | 100 | 0.0% | 2,335,871 | 11.1% | 28,838 |
| Boston Red Sox[29] | 99 | 2.1% | 2,320,643 | 11.9% | 28,301 |
| Kansas City Royals[30] | 92 | −9.8% | 2,255,493 | 21.7% | 27,846 |
| California Angels[31] | 87 | 17.6% | 1,755,386 | 22.5% | 21,671 |
| San Francisco Giants[32] | 89 | 18.7% | 1,740,477 | 148.6% | 21,487 |
| Detroit Tigers[33] | 86 | 16.2% | 1,714,893 | 26.1% | 21,172 |
| San Diego Padres[34] | 84 | 21.7% | 1,670,107 | 21.4% | 20,619 |
| Milwaukee Brewers[35] | 93 | 38.8% | 1,601,406 | 43.6% | 19,770 |
| Toronto Blue Jays[36] | 59 | 9.3% | 1,562,585 | −8.1% | 19,291 |
| Chicago Cubs[37] | 79 | −2.5% | 1,525,311 | 5.9% | 18,601 |
| Chicago White Sox[38] | 71 | −21.1% | 1,491,100 | −10.0% | 18,639 |
| Texas Rangers[39] | 87 | −7.4% | 1,447,963 | 15.8% | 17,658 |
| Montreal Expos[40] | 76 | 1.3% | 1,427,007 | −0.5% | 17,838 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[41] | 69 | −16.9% | 1,278,215 | −23.0% | 15,780 |
| Houston Astros[42] | 74 | −8.6% | 1,126,145 | 1.5% | 13,903 |
| Baltimore Orioles[43] | 90 | −7.2% | 1,051,724 | −12.0% | 12,984 |
| New York Mets[44] | 66 | 3.1% | 1,007,328 | −5.6% | 12,592 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[45] | 88 | −8.3% | 964,106 | −22.1% | 11,903 |
| Atlanta Braves[46] | 69 | 13.1% | 904,494 | 3.7% | 11,167 |
| Seattle Mariners[47] | 56 | −12.5% | 877,440 | −34.4% | 10,833 |
| Cleveland Indians[48] | 69 | −2.8% | 800,584 | −11.1% | 10,264 |
| Minnesota Twins[49] | 73 | −13.1% | 787,878 | −32.2% | 9,727 |
| Oakland Athletics[50] | 69 | 9.5% | 526,999 | 6.3% | 6,587 |
Media
Television
ABC aired Monday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, and both League Championship Series. NBC televised the weekend Game of the Week and the World Series.
Retired numbers
- Brooks Robinson had his No. 5 retired by the Baltimore Orioles on April 14. This was the second number retired by the team.
- Jim Gilliam had his No. 19 retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 10. This was the fifth number retired by the team.
