1978 Minnesota Twins season

1978 Minnesota Twins
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Metropolitan Stadium (since 1961)
Bloomington, Minnesota (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Gene Mauch
Local television	WTCN (Harmon Killebrew, Joe Boyle)
Local radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Frank Quilici)
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The 1978 Minnesota Twins finished 73-89, fourth in the American League West.

Offseason

• October 3, 1977: Jim Hughes was released by the Twins.^[1]
• October 3, 1977: Steve Luebber was released by the Twins.^[2]
• October 25, 1977: Bombo Rivera was purchased by the Twins from the Montreal Expos.^[3]
• December 6, 1977: Jesús Vega was drafted by the Twins from the Milwaukee Brewers in the minor league draft.^[4]
• January 10, 1978: Jesse Orosco was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft.^[5]
• March 23, 1978: Don Carrithers was released by the Twins.^[6]

Regular season

On May 7, shortstop Roy Smalley set a Twins record by drawing five walks in a 15-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Smalley went 1 for 1 and scored three times.^[7]

Third baseman Mike Cubbage, on July 27, became the fifth Twin to hit for the cycle (following Rod Carew, 1970; César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976 and Lyman Bostock, 1976). Cubby went double, homer, single, triple off Toronto Blue Jays' pitching. In subsequent years, five others will match the feat: Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986; Carlos Gómez, 2008; Jason Kubel, 2009; and Michael Cuddyer, 2009.

787,878 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in the American League. Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: first baseman Rod Carew. In that game at San Diego Stadium, Carew—in his twelfth consecutive All-Star appearance—performed an All-Star first by hitting two triples in the game.

Carew won his seventh AL batting title^[8] with a .333 average, leading the team in hits and runs scored. Shortstop Roy Smalley hit 19 HR and collected 77 RBI. Dan Ford hit 11 HR and collected 82 RBI.

Reliever Mike Marshall was signed in May and replaced Tom Johnson and Bill Campbell as manager Gene Mauch's all-purpose reliever. Marshall went on to rack up 10 relief wins along with 21 saves. Three starters had double digit wins: Dave Goltz (15-10), Roger Erickson (14-13), Geoff Zahn (14-14).

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	92	70	0.568	—	56–25	36–45
Texas Rangers	87	75	0.537	5	52–30	35–45
California Angels	87	75	0.537	5	50–31	37–44
Minnesota Twins	73	89	0.451	19	38–43	35–46
Chicago White Sox	71	90	0.441	20½	38–42	33–48
Oakland Athletics	69	93	0.426	23	38–42	31–51
Seattle Mariners	56	104	0.350	35	32–49	24–55

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–8	4–6	8–1	9–6	7–8	2–8	7–8	5–5	6–9	11–0	9–1	7–4	8–7
Boston	8–7	—	9–2	7–3	7–8	12–3	4–6	10–5	9–2	7–9	5–5	7–3	3–7	11–4
California	6–4	2–9	—	8–7	6–4	4–7	9–6	5–5	12–3	5–5	9–6	9–6	5–10	7–3
Chicago	1–8	3–7	7–8	—	8–2	2–9	8–7	4–7	8–7	1–9	7–8	7–8	11–4	4–6
Cleveland	6–9	8–7	4–6	2–8	—	5–10	5–6	5–10	5–5	6–9	4–6	8–1	1–9	10–4
Detroit	8–7	3–12	7–4	9–2	10–5	—	4–6	7–8	4–6	4–11	6–4	8–2	7–3	9–6
Kansas City	8–2	6–4	6–9	7–8	6–5	6–4	—	6–4	7–8	6–5	10–5	12–3	7–8	5–5
Milwaukee	8–7	5–10	5–5	7–4	10–5	8–7	4–6	—	4–7	10–5	9–1	5–5	6–4	12–3
Minnesota	5–5	2–9	3–12	7–8	5–5	6–4	8–7	7–4	—	3–7	9–6	6–9	6–9	6–4
New York	9–6	9–7	5–5	9–1	9–6	11–4	5–6	5–10	7–3	—	8–2	6–5	6–4	11–4
Oakland	0–11	5–5	6–9	8–7	6–4	4–6	5–10	1–9	6–9	2–8	—	13–2	6–9	7–4
Seattle	1–9	3–7	6–9	8–7	1–8	2–8	3–12	5–5	9–6	5–6	2–13	—	3–12	8–2
Texas	4–7	7–3	10–5	4–11	9–1	3–7	8–7	4–6	9–6	4–6	9–6	12–3	—	4–7
Toronto	7–8	4–11	3–7	6–4	4–10	6–9	5–5	3–12	4–6	4–11	4–7	2–8	7–4	—

Opening Day starters

• Rod Carew
• Dan Ford
• Craig Kusick
• Willie Norwood
• Bob Randall
• Bombo Rivera
• Roy Smalley
• Larry Wolfe
• Butch Wynegar
• Geoff Zahn^[9]

Notable transactions

• May 15, 1978: Mike Marshall was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[10]
• June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
  • Lenny Faedo was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (16th pick).^[11]
  • Kent Hrbek was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round.^[12]

Roster

1978 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 19 Roger Erickson 30 Dave Goltz 37 Roric Harrison 21,36 Jeff Holly 31 Darrell Jackson 27 Dave Johnson 21 Tom Johnson 33,28 Mike Marshall 39 Stan Perzanowski 17 Pete Redfern 28 Mac Scarce 20 Gary Serum 40 John Sutton 18 Greg Thayer 23 Paul Thormodsgard 38 Geoff Zahn		Catchers 14 Glenn Borgmann 16 Butch Wynegar Infielders 29 Rod Carew 26 Mike Cubbage 22 Craig Kusick 34 José Morales 32 Bob Randall  5 Roy Smalley  7 Rob Wilfong  1 Larry Wolfe		Outfielders  8 Glenn Adams 12 Rich Chiles 33 Dave Edwards 15 Dan Ford 24 Willie Norwood 10 Hosken Powell  9 Bombo Rivera		Manager  4 Gene Mauch Coaches 41 Karl Kuehl  6 Tony Oliva 42 Camilo Pascual 43 Jerry Zimmerman

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

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
1B	Carew, RodRod Carew	152	564	188	.333	5	70
2B	Randall, BobBob Randall	119	330	89	.270	0	21
SS	Smalley, RoyRoy Smalley	158	586	160	.273	19	77
LF	Norwood, WillieWillie Norwood	125	428	109	.255	8	46
CF	Ford, DanDan Ford	151	592	162	.274	11	82
DH	Adams, GlennGlenn Adams	116	310	80	.258	7	35

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
Rivera, BomboBombo Rivera	101	251	68	.271	3	23
Morales, JoséJosé Morales	101	242	76	.314	2	38
Wolfe, LarryLarry Wolfe	88	235	55	.234	3	25
Kusick, CraigCraig Kusick	77	191	33	.173	4	20
Borgmann, GlennGlenn Borgmann	49	123	26	.211	3	15
Edwards, DaveDave Edwards	15	44	11	.250	1	3

Pitching

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
Erickson, RogerRoger Erickson	37	265.2	14	13	3.96	121
Zahn, GeoffGeoff Zahn	35	252.1	14	14	3.03	106
Goltz, DaveDave Goltz	29	220.1	15	10	2.49	116
Jackson, DarrellDarrell Jackson	19	92.1	4	6	4.48	54

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
Perzanowski, StanStan Perzanowski	13	56.2	2	7	5.24	31
Johnson, DaveDave Johnson	6	12	0	2	7.50	7
Redfern, PetePete Redfern	3	9.2	0	2	6.52	4

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
Marshall, MikeMike Marshall	54	10	12	21	2.45	56
Johnson, TomTom Johnson	18	1	4	3	5.51	21
Scarce, MacMac Scarce	17	1	1	0	3.94	17
Holly, JeffJeff Holly	15	1	1	0	3.57	12
Harrison, RoricRoric Harrison	9	0	1	0	7.50	7

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Johnny Goryl
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Roy McMillan
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Rick Stelmaszek
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Visalia, Elizabethton

Notes

1. Jim Hughes at Baseball Reference
2. Steve Luebber at Baseball Reference
3. Bombo Rivera at Baseball Reference
4. Jesús Vega at Baseball Reference
5. Jesse Orosco at Baseball Reference
6. Don Carrithers at Baseball Reference
7. "Smalley Draws 5 Walks". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
8. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 107, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
9. http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1978&t=MIN
10. Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference
11. Lenny Faedo at Baseball Reference
12. Kent Hrbek at Baseball Reference

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from 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.