| 1978 St. Louis Cardinals | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 69–93 (.426) |
| Divisional place | 5th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | August "Gussie" Busch |
| General manager(s) | Bing Devine |
| Manager(s) | Vern Rapp, Jack Krol, Ken Boyer |
| Local television | KSD-TV (Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Jay Randolph, Bob Starr) |
| Local radio | KMOX (Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Bob Starr) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1978 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 97th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 87th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 69-93 during the season and finished fifth in the National League East, 21 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
Offseason
- October 25, 1977: The Cardinals traded a player to be named later to the San Francisco Giants for Frank Riccelli. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Jim Dwyer to the Giants on June 15, 1978.[1]
- December 8, 1977: Dave Rader and Héctor Cruz were traded by the Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry Morales, Steve Swisher, and cash.[2]
- February 2, 1978: Ken Rudolph was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[3]
- March 15, 1978: Rick Bosetti was traded by the Cardinals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tom Bruno and cash.[4]
Regular season
In late April, the Cardinals fired manager Vern Rapp, who had started at 7-11. He was briefly replaced by coach Jack Krol for two games (1-1) before giving the job on a permanent basis to their former MVP third-baseman Ken Boyer, who went 61-81 the rest of the way.
On June 16, Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds made history by pitching a no-hitter against the Cardinals. It would be the only no-hitter of his career.
First baseman Keith Hernandez won a Gold Glove.
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
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 | — | |||||
Opening Day starters
- Lou Brock
- John Denny
- Keith Hernandez
- Jerry Morales
- Ken Reitz
- Tony Scott
- Ted Simmons
- Garry Templeton
- Mike Tyson[5]
Notable transactions
- May 26, 1978: Eric Rasmussen was traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for George Hendrick.[6]
- June 8, 1978: Frank Riccelli was traded by the Cardinals to the Houston Astros for Bob Coluccio.[1]
- July 18, 1978: John Tamargo was traded by the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later. The Giants completed the deal by sending Rob Dressler to the Cardinals on July 24.[7]
Roster
| 1978 St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 | Ted Simmons | 152 | 516 | 148 | .287 | 22 | 80 |
| 1B | Keith Hernandez | 159 | 542 | 138 | .255 | 11 | 64 |
| 2B | Mike Tyson | 125 | 377 | 88 | .233 | 3 | 26 |
| SS | Garry Templeton | 155 | 647 | 181 | .280 | 2 | 47 |
| 3B | Ken Reitz | 150 | 540 | 133 | .246 | 10 | 75 |
| LF | Lou Brock | 92 | 298 | 66 | .221 | 0 | 12 |
| CF | George Hendrick | 102 | 382 | 110 | .288 | 17 | 67 |
| RF | Jerry Morales | 130 | 457 | 109 | .239 | 4 | 46 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Mumphrey | 125 | 367 | 96 | .262 | 2 | 37 |
| Tony Scott | 96 | 219 | 50 | .228 | 1 | 14 |
| Mike Phillips | 76 | 164 | 44 | .268 | 1 | 28 |
| Steve Swisher | 45 | 115 | 32 | .278 | 1 | 10 |
| Roger Freed | 52 | 92 | 22 | .239 | 2 | 20 |
| Dane Iorg | 35 | 85 | 23 | .271 | 0 | 4 |
| Jim Dwyer | 34 | 65 | 14 | .215 | 1 | 4 |
| Wayne Garrett | 33 | 63 | 21 | .333 | 1 | 10 |
| Ken Oberkfell | 24 | 50 | 6 | .120 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Kennedy | 10 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Lentine | 8 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary Sutherland | 10 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| John Tamargo | 6 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Ramsey | 12 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Coluccio | 5 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Denny | 33 | 234.0 | 14 | 11 | 2.96 | 103 |
| Bob Forsch | 34 | 233.2 | 11 | 17 | 3.70 | 114 |
| Silvio Martínez | 22 | 138.1 | 9 | 8 | 3.64 | 45 |
| Pete Falcone | 19 | 75.0 | 2 | 7 | 5.76 | 28 |
| Eric Rasmussen | 10 | 60.1 | 2 | 5 | 4.18 | 32 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Vuckovich | 45 | 198.1 | 12 | 12 | 2.54 | 149 |
| John Urrea | 27 | 98.2 | 4 | 9 | 5.38 | 61 |
| Aurelio López | 25 | 65.0 | 4 | 2 | 4.29 | 46 |
| Tom Bruno | 18 | 49.2 | 4 | 3 | 1.99 | 33 |
| Dan O'Brien | 7 | 18.0 | 0 | 2 | 4.50 | 12 |
| Rob Dressler | 3 | 13.0 | 0 | 1 | 2.08 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Littell | 72 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 2.79 | 130 |
| Buddy Schultz | 62 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3.80 | 70 |
| Roy Thomas | 16 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.81 | 16 |
| George Frazier | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4.09 | 8 |
| Dave Hamilton | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.43 | 8 |
Awards and records
League leaders
- Garry Templeton, National League leader, Triples
Farm system
References
- ^ a b Frank Riccelli page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dave Rader page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ken Rudolph page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Bosetti page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "1978 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac".
- ^ Eric Rasmussen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ John Tamargo page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
External links
- 1978 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference
- 1978 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
This page was last edited on 8 May 2023, at 14:20