1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 97th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 92nd in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the National League East with a record of 88–73.
1978 Pittsburgh Pirates | |
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Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Results | |
Record | 88–73 (.547) |
Divisional place | 2nd |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholder) |
General manager(s) | Harding "Pete" Peterson |
Manager(s) | Chuck Tanner |
Local television | KDKA-TV Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare |
Local radio | KDKA Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare |
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Offseason
- December 8, 1977: Al Oliver and Nelson Norman were traded by the Pirates to the Texas Rangers as part of a four-team trade. Bert Blyleven was traded by the Rangers to the Pirates, and John Milner was traded by the New York Mets to the Pirates. Willie Montañez was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Mets, and the Rangers traded Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets. The Rangers traded Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller to the Braves. The Mets traded Jon Matlack to the Rangers. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Ken Henderson to the Mets on March 15, 1978.[2]
- March 18, 1978: Carl Morton was released by the Pirates.[3]
Regular season
Season standings
NL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Philadelphia Phillies | 90 | 72 | 0.556 | — | 54–28 | 36–44 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 73 | 0.547 | 1½ | 55–26 | 33–47 |
Chicago Cubs | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 11 | 44–38 | 35–45 |
Montreal Expos | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 14 | 41–39 | 35–47 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 69 | 93 | 0.426 | 21 | 37–44 | 32–49 |
New York Mets | 66 | 96 | 0.407 | 24 | 33–47 | 33–49 |
Record vs. opponents
1978 National League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 5–7 | |||||
Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 15–3 | |||||
Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–4 | |||||
Houston | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 7–11 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 7–5 | |||||
Los Angeles | 13–5 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | |||||
Montreal | 7–5 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | |||||
New York | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 6–12 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 7–11 | |||||
Philadelphia | 4-8 | 14–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 10–2 | 11–7 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–11 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | |||||
San Diego | 10–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | |||||
San Francisco | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–8 | — | 9–3 | |||||
St. Louis | 7–5 | 3–15 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 3–9 | — |
Game log
1978 Game Log: 88–73 (Home: 55–26; Away: 33–47) | ||||||||
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April: 10–9 (Home: 6–4; Away: 4–5)
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May: 12–16 (Home: 6–6; Away: 6–10)
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June: 13–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–6)
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July: 13–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 4–10)
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August: 18–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–8)
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September: 21–9 (Home: 17–1; Away: 4–8)
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October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
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Legend: = Win = Loss Bold = Pirates team member |
Notable transactions
- April 4, 1978: Miguel Diloné, Elías Sosa and a player to be named later were traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for Manny Sanguillén. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Mike Edwards to the Athletics on April 7.[4]
- June 1, 1978: Jim Fregosi was released by the Pirates.[5]
- June 6, 1978: Vance Law was drafted by the Pirates in the 39th round of the 1978 amateur draft.[6]
- September 22, 1978: Cito Gaston was purchased by the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves.[7]
Roster
1978 Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Ed Ott | 112 | 379 | 102 | .269 | 9 | 38 |
1B | Willie Stargell | 122 | 390 | 115 | .295 | 28 | 97 |
2B | Rennie Stennett | 106 | 333 | 81 | .243 | 3 | 35 |
SS | Frank Taveras | 157 | 654 | 182 | .278 | 0 | 38 |
3B | Phil Garner | 154 | 528 | 138 | .261 | 10 | 66 |
LF | Bill Robinson | 136 | 499 | 123 | .246 | 14 | 80 |
CF | Omar Moreno | 155 | 515 | 121 | .235 | 2 | 33 |
RF | Dave Parker | 148 | 581 | 194 | .334 | 30 | 117 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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John Milner | 108 | 295 | 80 | .271 | 6 | 38 |
Manny Sanguillén | 85 | 220 | 58 | .264 | 3 | 16 |
Duffy Dyer | 58 | 175 | 37 | .211 | 0 | 13 |
Dale Berra | 56 | 135 | 28 | .207 | 6 | 14 |
Steve Brye | 66 | 115 | 27 | .235 | 1 | 9 |
Mario Mendoza | 57 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 1 | 3 |
Ken Macha | 29 | 52 | 11 | .212 | 0 | 5 |
Fernando González | 9 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 0 |
Jim Fregosi | 20 | 20 | 4 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
Doe Boyland | 6 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
Steve Nicosia | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
Dave May | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Alberto Lois | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Cito Gaston | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Matt Alexander | 7 | 0 | 0 | --- | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Bert Blyleven | 34 | 243.2 | 14 | 10 | 3.03 | 182 |
Don Robinson | 35 | 228.1 | 14 | 6 | 3.47 | 135 |
John Candelaria | 30 | 189 | 12 | 11 | 3.24 | 94 |
Jim Rooker | 28 | 163.1 | 9 | 11 | 4.24 | 76 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Jim Bibby | 34 | 107 | 8 | 7 | 3.53 | 72 |
Bruce Kison | 28 | 96 | 6 | 6 | 3.19 | 62 |
Jerry Reuss | 23 | 82.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.90 | 42 |
Odell Jones | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | 10 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Kent Tekulve | 91 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 2.33 | 77 |
Grant Jackson | 60 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3.26 | 45 |
Ed Whitson | 43 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3.28 | 64 |
Dave Hamilton | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.42 | 15 |
Will McEnaney | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.38 | 6 |
Clay Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 0 |
Awards and honors
Farm system
Notes
- From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
- Bert Blyleven page at Baseball Reference
- Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
- Manny Sanguillen page at Baseball Reference
- Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference
- Vance Law page at Baseball Reference
- Cito Gaston page at Baseball Reference
- http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_hut.shtml
References
- 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
- 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.