1978 Baltimore Orioles season

1978  Baltimore Orioles
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Record	90–71 (.559)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Jerold Hoffberger
General managers	Hank Peters
Managers	Earl Weaver
Television	WJZ-TV (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell, Brooks Robinson) [1]
Radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
←  1977 Seasons 1979  →

The 1978 Baltimore Orioles season was the 78th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 25th in Baltimore, and the 25th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 90 wins and 71 losses.

Offseason

• November 23, 1977: Elrod Hendricks was signed as a free agent by the Orioles. ^[2]
• December 7, 1977: Bryn Smith, Rudy May, and Randy Miller were traded by the Orioles to the Montreal Expos for Don Stanhouse, Joe Kerrigan, and Gary Roenicke. ^[3]
• January 6, 1978: Ken Rudolph was released by the Orioles. ^[4]
• February 21, 1978: Tony Muser was released by the Orioles. ^[5]

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

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

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League record v t e 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

• Mark Belanger
• Al Bumbry
• Doug DeCinces
• Rick Dempsey
• Larry Harlow
• Dennis Martínez
• Lee May
• Eddie Murray
• Ken Singleton
• Billy Smith ^[6]

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Cal Ripken Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the 2nd round, (46th overall). ^[7] Player signed June 13, 1978. ^[8]
  • Bobby Bonner was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round. ^[9]
  • Mike Boddicker was drafted by the Orioles in the 6th round. ^[10]

Roster

1978 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 55 Nelson Briles 46 Mike Flanagan 37 John Flinn 59 Dave Ford 32 Joe Kerrigan 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 16 Scott McGregor 22 Jim Palmer 48,26 Don Stanhouse 52 Earl Stephenson 53 Sammy Stewart 49 Tim Stoddard		Catchers 24 Rick Dempsey 44 Elrod Hendricks  8 Dave Skaggs Infielders  7 Mark Belanger 25 Rich Dauer 11 Doug DeCinces  3 Kiko Garcia 14 Lee May 33 Eddie Murray  2 Billy Smith		Outfielders 39 Mike Anderson  1 Al Bumbry 10 Terry Crowley 36 Mike Dimmel  6 Larry Harlow 18 Pat Kelly  9 Carlos López 27 Andrés Mora 35 Gary Roenicke 29 Ken Singleton		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 41 Jim Frey (First base) 44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen) 31 Ray Miller (Pitching) 47 Cal Ripken (Third base) 20 Frank Robinson (Hitting)

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	Rick Dempsey	146	441	114	.259	6	32
1B	Eddie Murray	161	610	174	.285	27	95
2B	Rich Dauer	133	459	121	.264	6	46
3B	Doug DeCinces	142	511	146	.286	28	80
SS	Mark Belanger	135	348	74	.213	0	16
LF	Pat Kelly	100	274	75	.274	11	40
CF	Larry Harlow	147	460	112	.243	8	26
RF	Ken Singleton	149	502	147	.293	20	81
DH	Lee May	148	556	137	.246	25	80

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
Billy Smith	85	250	65	.260	5	30
Andrés Mora	76	229	49	.214	8	14
Carlos López	120	193	46	.238	4	20
Kiko Garcia	79	186	49	.263	0	13
Al Bumbry	33	114	27	.237	2	6
Terry Crowley	62	95	24	.253	0	12
Dave Skaggs	36	86	13	.151	0	2
Gary Roenicke	27	58	15	.259	3	15
Mike Anderson	53	32	3	.094	0	3
Elrod Hendricks	13	18	6	.333	1	1
Mike Dimmel	8	0	0	----	0	0

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
Jim Palmer	38	296.0	21	12	2.46	138
Mike Flanagan	40	281.1	19	15	4.03	167
Dennis Martínez	40	276.1	16	11	3.52	142
Scott McGregor	35	233.0	15	13	3.32	94
Sammy Stewart	2	11.1	1	1	3.18	11

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
Nelson Briles	16	54.1	4	4	4.64	30
Dave Ford	2	15.0	1	0	0.00	5

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
Don Stanhouse	56	6	9	24	2.89	42
Tippy Martinez	42	3	3	5	4.83	57
Joe Kerrigan	26	3	1	3	4.77	41
John Flinn	13	1	1	0	8.04	8
Tim Stoddard	8	0	1	0	6.00	14
Earl Stephenson	2	0	0	0	2.79	4
Larry Harlow	1	0	0	0	67.50	1
Elrod Hendricks	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Ken Boyer, Al Widmar and Frank Robinson
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	Lance Nichols
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	Jimmy Williams
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	J. R. Miner

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami

Notes

1. 1978 Media Guide (PDF). Baltimore Orioles. p. 48. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
2. "Elrod Hendricks". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
3. "Bryn Smith". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
4. "Ken Rudolph". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
5. "Tony Muser". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
6. "1978 Baltimore Orioles Roster". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
7. Connolly, Dan (2015). 100 things Orioles fans should know & do before they die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN   978-1-62937-041-5.
8. "Cal Ripken Jr". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
9. "Bobby Bonner". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
10. "Mike Boddicker". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.

References

• 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.
• 1978 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1978 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com