1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1978 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Results
Record	88–73 (.547)
Divisional place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Thomas 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
< Previous season     Next 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.

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
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:
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	—

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
Roster
Pitchers 26 Jim Bibby 22 Bert Blyleven 45 John Candelaria 48 Clay Carroll 30 Dave Hamilton 23 Grant Jackson 36 Odell Jones 25 Bruce Kison 16,24 Will McEnaney 41 Jerry Reuss 43 Don Robinson 19 Jim Rooker 27 Kent Tekulve 31 Ed Whitson		Catchers  5 Duffy Dyer 16 Steve Nicosia 14 Ed Ott Infielders  4 Dale Berra 15 Doe Boyland 29 Jim Fregosi  3 Phil Garner 13 Fernando González 29 Ken Macha 11 Mario Mendoza 35 Manny Sanguillén  8 Willie Stargell  6 Rennie Stennett 10 Frank Taveras		Outfielders 46 Steve Brye 44 Cito Gaston 37 Alberto Lois 34 John Milner 18 Omar Moreno 39 Dave Parker 28 Bill Robinson Other batters 12 Matt Alexander 49 Dave May		Manager  7 Chuck Tanner Coaches 32 Joe Lonnett 42 Al Monchak  2 José Pagán 51 Larry Sherry

Player stats

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
C	Ott, EdEd Ott	112	379	102	.269	9	38

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
Milner, JohnJohn Milner	108	295	80	.271	6	38
Sanguillén, MannyManny Sanguillén	85	220	58	.264	3	16

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
Blyleven, BertBert Blyleven	34	243.2	14	10	3.03	182
Candelaria, JohnJohn Candelaria	30	189	12	11	3.24	94

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
Bibby, JimJim Bibby	34	107	8	7	3.53	72

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

Awards and honors

• Willie Stargell, Hutch Award^[8]

All-Stars

1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Willie Stargell, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Clippers	International League	Johnny Lipon
AA	Shreveport Captains	Texas League	Steve Demeter
A	Salem Pirates	Carolina League	Jim Mahoney
A	Charleston Patriots	Western Carolinas League	Bill Scripture
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Bert Blyleven page at Baseball Reference
3. Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
4. Manny Sanguillen page at Baseball Reference
5. Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference
6. Vance Law page at Baseball Reference
7. Cito Gaston page at Baseball Reference
8. 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.