1978 Baltimore Orioles season explained

Baltimore Orioles
Season:	1978
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)

The 1978 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 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

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		CatchersInfielders		Outfielders		ManagerCoaches (First base) (Bullpen) (Pitching) (Third base) (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		146	441	114	.259	6	32
1B		161	610	174	.285	27	95
2B		133	459	121	.264	6	46
3B		142	511	146	.286	28	80
SS		135	348	74	.213	0	16
LF		100	274	75	.274	11	40
CF		147	460	112	.243	8	26
RF		149	502	147	.293	20	81
DH		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
	85	250	65	.260	5	30
	76	229	49	.214	8	14
	120	193	46	.238	4	20
	79	186	49	.263	0	13
	33	114	27	.237	2	6
	62	95	24	.253	0	12
	36	86	13	.151	0	2
	27	58	15	.259	3	15
	53	32	3	.094	0	3
	13	18	6	.333	1	1
	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
	38	296.0	21	12	2.46	138
	40	281.1	19	15	4.03	167
	40	276.1	16	11	3.52	142
	35	233.0	15	13	3.32	94
	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
	16	54.1	4	4	4.64	30
	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
	56	6	9	24	2.89	42
	42	3	3	5	4.83	57
	26	3	1	3	4.77	41
	13	1	1	0	8.04	8
	8	0	1	0	6.00	14
	2	0	0	0	2.79	4
	1	0	0	0	67.50	1
	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami

References

• Book: Johnson. Lloyd. Wolff. Miles. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. 2nd. Durham, North Carolina. Baseball America. 1997. 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1978 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1978 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

Notes and References

1. Book: 1978 Media Guide . Baltimore Orioles . 48 . May 4, 2020.
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hendrel01.shtml Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithbr01.shtml Bryn Smith page at Baseball Reference
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rudolke01.shtml Ken Rudolph page at Baseball Reference
5. https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/muserto01.shtml Tony Muser page at Baseball Reference
6. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1978&t=BAL 1978 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac
7. 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.11
8. https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripkeca01.shtml Cal Ripken page at Baseball Reference
9. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bonnebo01.shtml Bobby Bonner page at Baseball Reference
10. https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boddime01.shtml Mike Boddicker page at Baseball Reference