1978 Cincinnati Reds season

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1978 Cincinnati Reds
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkRiverfront Stadium
CityCincinnati
Record92–69 (.571)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersLouis Nippert
General managersBob Howsam, Dick Wagner
ManagersSparky Anderson
TelevisionWLWT
(Ken Coleman, Bill Brown)
RadioWLW
(Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall)
← 1977 Seasons 1979 →

The 1978 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The Reds finished in second place in the National League West with a record of 92-69, 2½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds were managed by Sparky Anderson and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium. Following the season, Anderson was replaced as manager by John McNamara, and Pete Rose left to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 1979 season.

Offseason[edit]

Spring training[edit]

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, Reds general manager Dick Wagner had green versions of the Reds' uniforms made. The Reds hosted the New York Yankees at Al Lopez Field on March 17, 1978. This was the first time a major league team wore green trimmed uniforms on March 17, a practice adopted in subsequent years by multiple major league teams.[4]

Regular season[edit]

Reds vs. Giants at Riverfront Stadium, 1978. This was the 25th game of Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak.

During the season, Pete Rose tied the National League record with a 44-game hitting streak held by Willie Keeler. The streak began on June 14, and came to an end on August 1.

On June 16, 1978 at Riverfront Stadium, Tom Seaver recorded a 4-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the only no-hitter of his professional career.

Season standings[edit]

NL West 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 67 0.586 — 54–27 41–40
Cincinnati Reds 92 69 0.571 2½ 49–31 43–38
San Francisco Giants 89 73 0.549 6 50–31 39–42
San Diego Padres 84 78 0.519 11 50–31 34–47
Houston Astros 74 88 0.457 21 50–31 24–57
Atlanta Braves 69 93 0.426 26 39–42 30–51

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1978 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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[edit]

Pete Rose hitting streak[edit]

On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th and youngest player in major league history to collect his 3,000th career hit, with a single off Expos pitcher Steve Rogers. Three days later, due to an illness and back spasms, Rose was forced to snap a 678 consecutive games played streak, which was the longest active streak in the majors at the time.[7]

On June 14 in Cincinnati, Rose singled in the first inning off Cubs pitcher Dave Roberts; Rose would proceed to get a hit in every game he played until August 1, making a run at Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak, which had stood virtually unchallenged for 37 years. The streak started quietly, but by the time it had reached 30 games, the media took notice and a pool of reporters accompanied Rose and the Reds to every game. On July 19 against the Phillies, Rose was hitless going into the ninth with his team trailing. He ended up walking and the streak appeared over. But the Reds managed to bat through their entire lineup, giving Rose another chance. Facing Ron Reed, Rose laid down a perfect bunt single to extend the streak to 32 games.

He eventually tied Willie Keeler's single season National League record at 44 games; but on August 1, the streak came to an end as Gene Garber of the Braves struck out Rose in the ninth inning. The competitive Rose was sour after the game, blasting Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the 7th game of the World Series" and adding that "Phil Niekro would have given me a fastball to hit."[8]

Game Date Pitcher Team Singles Doubles
1 06-14-1978 Dave Roberts Chicago Cubs 2 0
2 06-16-1978 John Denny St. Louis Cardinals 2 1
3 06-17-1978 Pete Vukovich St. Louis Cardinals 2 0
4 06-18-1978 Silvio Martinez St. Louis Cardinals 1 0
5 06-20-1978 John Montefusco San Francisco Giants 2 1
6 06-21-1978 Ed Halicki San Francisco Giants 1 0
7 06-22-1978 Bob Knepper San Francisco Giants 1 0
8 06-23-1978 Burt Hooton Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0
9 06-24-1978 Bob Welch Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0
10 06-25-1978 Tommy John Los Angeles Dodgers 2 0
11 06-26-1978 Mark Lemongello Houston Astros 1 0
12 06-27-1978 Joe Niekro Houston Astros 1 0
13 06-28-1978 Tom Dixon Houston Astros 1 0
14 06-29-1978 Floyd Bannister Houston Astros 1 1
15 06-30-1978 Lance Rautzhan Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0
16 06-30-1978 Bob Welch Los Angeles Dodgers 3 0
17 07-01-1978 Rick Rhoden Los Angeles Dodgers 1 1
18 07-02-1978 Doug Rau Los Angeles Dodgers 1 1
19 07-03-1978 Floyd Bannister Houston Astros 3 1
20 07-04-1978 J. R. Richard Houston Astros 1 0
21 07-05-1978 Joe Niekro Houston Astros 1 0
22 07-07-1978 Vida Blue San Francisco Giants 3 0
23 07-07-1978 Jim Barr San Francisco Giants 1 0
24 07-08-1978 John Montefusco San Francisco Giants 1 0
25 07-09-1978 Ed Halicki San Francisco Giants 3 0
26 07-13-1978 Jerry Koosman New York Mets 2 1
27 07-14-1978 Pat Zachry New York Mets 2 0
28 07-15-1978 Craig Swan New York Mets 1 0
29 07-16-1978 Paul Siebert New York Mets 1 1
30 07-17-1978 Stan Bahnsen Montreal Expos 1 0
31 07-18-1978 Hal Dues Montreal Expos 2 1
32 07-19-1978 Ron Reed Philadelphia Phillies 1 0
33 07-20-1978 Jim Kaat Philadelphia Phillies 1 0
34 07-21-1978 Ross Grimsley Montreal Expos 1 0
35 07-22-1978 Dan Schatzeder Montreal Expos 1 0
36 07-22-1978 Steve Rogers Montreal Expos 2 1
37 07-24-1978 Pat Zachry New York Mets 1 0
38 07-25-1978 Craig Swan New York Mets 3 1
39 07-26-1978 Nino Espinosa New York Mets 1 1
40 07-28-1978 Randy Lerch Philadelphia Phillies 1 1
41 07-28-1978 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies 1 0
42 07-29-1978 Jim Lonborg Philadelphia Phillies 3 0
43 07-30-1978 Larry Christenson Philadelphia Phillies 2 0
44 07-31-1978 Phil Niekro Atlanta Braves 1 0

[9]

Roster[edit]

1978 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats[edit]

= Indicates team leader

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

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 Johnny Bench 120 393 102 .260 23 73
1B Dan Driessen 153 524 131 .250 16 70
2B Joe Morgan 132 441 104 .236 13 75
3B Pete Rose 159 655 198 .302 7 52
SS Dave Concepción 153 565 170 .301 6 67
LF George Foster 158 604 170 .281 40 120
CF César Gerónimo 122 296 67 .226 5 27
RF Ken Griffey 158 614 177 .288 10 63

[10]

Other batters[edit]

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
Junior Kennedy 89 157 40 .255 0 11
Mike Lum 86 146 39 .267 6 23
Ken Henderson 64 144 24 .167 3 19
Don Werner 50 113 17 .150 0 11
Vic Correll 52 105 25 .238 1 6
Dave Collins 102 102 22 .216 0 7
Ray Knight 83 65 13 .200 1 4
Rick Auerbach 63 55 18 .327 2 5
Champ Summers 13 35 9 .257 1 3
Arturo DeFreites 9 19 4 .211 1 2
Ron Oester 6 8 3 .375 0 1
Harry Spilman 4 4 1 .250 0 0
Mike Grace 5 3 0 .000 0 0

[10]

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Tom Seaver 36 259.2 16 14 2.88 226
Fred Norman 31 177.1 11 9 3.70 111
Paul Moskau 26 145.0 6 4 3.97 88
Bill Bonham 23 140.1 11 5 3.53 83
Mike LaCoss 16 96.0 4 8 4.50 31

Other pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Tom Hume 42 174.0 8 11 4.14 90
Mario Soto 5 18.0 1 0 2.50 13
Doug Capilla 6 11.0 0 1 9.82 9

Relief pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Doug Bair 70 7 6 28 1.97 91
Manny Sarmiento 63 9 7 5 4.38 72
Pedro Borbón 62 8 2 4 4.98 35
Dave Tomlin 57 9 1 4 5.78 32
Dale Murray 15 1 1 2 4.13 25
Dan Dumoulin 3 1 0 0 1.80 2

Farm system[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Indianapolis Indians American Association Roy Majtyka
AA Nashville Sounds Southern League Chuck Goggin
A Tampa Tarpons Florida State League Mike Compton
A Shelby Reds Western Carolinas League Jim Lett
A-Short Season Eugene Emeralds Northwest League Greg Riddoch
Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Jim Hoff

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Woodie Fryman at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Joe Henderson at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Dave Revering at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Tom Singer (March 17, 2010). "How St. Patrick's became baseball's holiday; Cincy GM Dick Wagner turned the Reds green in '78". MLB.com. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  5. ^ Skeeter Barnes at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Otis Nixon at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Hertzel, Bob (May 8, 1978). "Illness Benches Rose, Ends Streak". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 1. Retrieved August 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. ^ O'Loughlin, Joe (2004). "Former reliever Gene Garber recalls 19-year career and his role in baseball history". Baseball Digest.
  9. ^ "Pete Rose Consecutive Games Hitting Streak by Baseball Almanac".
  10. ^ a b "1978 Cincinnati Reds Statistics".

References[edit]

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