1978 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 89th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 21st season in Los Angeles, California, and their 16th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California.

1978 Los Angeles Dodgers
National League Champions National League West Champions
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles, California
Record	95–67 (.586)
Divisional place	1st
Owner	Walter O'Malley
President	Peter O'Malley
General managers	Al Campanis
Managers	Tommy Lasorda
Television	KTTV (11)
Radio	KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter XEGM Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos
← 1977 Seasons 1979 →

The team won their second straight National League pennant and losing to the New York Yankees in the World Series again. Dodger coach Jim Gilliam died at the end of the season and his uniform number, 19, was retired by the team prior to Game 1 of the World Series; the team also wore a black memorial patch with Gilliam's number during the World Series. Unlike the previous Dodger team, no member of the team hit 30 home runs after seeing four members hit that mark the previous season (the team leader was Reggie Smith, with 29).

Offseason

• November 23, 1977: Dennis Lewallyn was purchased from the Dodgers by the Minnesota Twins.^[1]
• January 31, 1978: Elías Sosa was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	95	67	.586	—	54‍–‍27	41‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds	92	69	.571	2½	49‍–‍31	43‍–‍38
San Francisco Giants	89	73	.549	6	50‍–‍31	39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres	84	78	.519	11	50‍–‍31	34‍–‍47
Houston Astros	74	88	.457	21	50‍–‍31	24‍–‍57
Atlanta Braves	69	93	.426	26	39‍–‍42	30‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents

1978 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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 lineup

Opening Day starters
Name	Position
Davey Lopes	Second baseman
Bill Russell	Shortstop
Reggie Smith	Rightfielder
Ron Cey	Third baseman
Steve Garvey	First baseman
Dusty Baker	Leftfielder
Rick Monday	Centerfielder
Steve Yeager	Catcher
Don Sutton	Starting Pitcher

Notable transactions

• May 17, 1978: Glenn Burke was traded by the Dodgers to the Oakland Athletics for Billy North.^[3]
• May 20, 1978: Mike Garman was traded by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Larry Landreth and Gerry Hannahs.^[4]
• July 1, 1978: The Dodgers traded players to be named later to the Houston Astros for Joe Ferguson and cash. The Dodgers completed the deal by sending Rafael Landestoy to the Astros on July 7 and Jeff Leonard to the Astros on September 11.^[5]

Roster

1978 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 41 Bobby Castillo 51 Terry Forster 29 Mike Garman 29 Gerry Hannahs 46 Burt Hooton 49 Charlie Hough 25 Tommy John 21 Dennis Lewallyn 31 Doug Rau 38 Lance Rautzhan 36 Rick Rhoden 48 Dave Stewart 43 Rick Sutcliffe 20 Don Sutton 35 Bob Welch		Catchers 13 Joe Ferguson  9 Jerry Grote 40 Brad Gulden  5 Johnny Oates  7 Steve Yeager Infielders 10 Ron Cey  6 Steve Garvey 57 Pedro Guerrero  3 Enzo Hernández 15 Davey Lopes 23 Ted Martínez 18 Bill Russell		Outfielders 12 Dusty Baker  3 Glenn Burke 33 Vic Davalillo 34 Lee Lacy  3 Rudy Law 16 Rick Monday  4 Billy North 17 Joe Simpson  8 Reggie Smith 52 Myron White Other batters 11 Manny Mota		Manager  2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches 26 Red Adams 54 Monty Basgall 58 Mark Cresse 19 Jim Gilliam 28 Preston Gómez 45 Jim Lefebvre

Notable events

On August 20, before a night game in New York against the New York Mets, Steve Garvey approached Don Sutton in the Dodgers' clubhouse over an article in The Washington Post in which Sutton was quoted as saying to Tom Boswell:

"All you ever hear about on our team is Steve Garvey, the all-American boy...well, the best player on this team for the past two years--and we all know it--is Reggie Smith. Reggie doesn't go out and publicize himself. He doesn't smile at the right people or say the right things. Reggie's not a façade or a Madison Avenue image. He's a real person."

Garvey and Sutton wrestled for two minutes in the clubhouse over Sutton's words and had to be pulled apart by teammates. Neither was seriously injured. Both had facial scratches and bruises and Garvey had a bloodshot left eye where it appeared a finger or thumb had been inserted by Sutton. Days later, Sutton publicly apologized for the incident, but not to Garvey personally.^[6]

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	Steve Yeager	94	228	44	.193	4	23
1B	Steve Garvey	162	639	202	.316	21	113
2B	Davey Lopes	151	587	163	.278	17	58
3B	Ron Cey	159	555	150	.270	23	84
SS	Bill Russell	155	625	179	.286	3	46
LF	Dusty Baker	149	522	137	.262	11	66
CF	Bill North	110	304	71	.234	0	10
RF	Reggie Smith	128	447	132	.295	29	93

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
Rick Monday	119	342	87	.254	19	57
Lee Lacy	103	245	64	.261	13	40
Joe Ferguson	67	198	47	.237	7	28
Vic Davalillo	75	77	24	.312	1	11
Johnny Oates	40	75	23	.307	0	6
Jerry Grote	41	70	19	.271	0	9
Ted Martinez	54	55	14	.255	1	5
Manny Mota	37	33	10	.303	0	6
Glenn Burke	16	19	4	.211	0	2
Rudy Law	11	12	3	.250	0	1
Pedro Guerrero	5	8	5	.625	0	1
Joe Simpson	10	5	2	.400	0	1
Myron White	7	4	2	.500	0	1

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
Don Sutton	34	238.1	15	11	3.55	154
Burt Hooton	32	236.0	19	10	2.71	104
Tommy John	33	213.0	17	10	3.30	124
Doug Rau	30	199.0	15	9	3.26	95

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
Rick Rhoden	30	164.2	10	8	3.66	79
Bob Welch	23	111.1	7	4	2.02	66

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
Terry Forster	47	5	4	22	1.93	46
Charlie Hough	55	5	5	7	3.28	66
Lance Rautzhan	43	2	1	4	2.93	25
Bobby Castillo	18	0	4	1	3.97	30
Mike Garman	10	0	1	0	4.41	5

Postseason

Jim Gilliam's number 19 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1978.

1978 National League Championship Series

Main article: 1978 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3 games to 1 in the NLCS.

Game 1

October 4, Veterans Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	4	2	1	1	0	0	1	9	13	1
Philadelphia	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	5	12	1
W: Bob Welch (1-0)  L: Larry Christenson (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: PHI – Jerry Martin (1)   LAD – Steve Garvey 2 (2)   Davey Lopes (1)   Steve Yeager (1)

Game 2

October 5, Veterans Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	4	8	0
Philadelphia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
W: Tommy John (1-0)  L: Dick Ruthven (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: PHI – None   LAD – Davey Lopes (2)

Game 3

October 6, Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Philadelphia	0	4	0	0	0	3	1	0	1	9	11	1
Los Angeles	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	8	2
W: Steve Carlton (1-0)  L: Don Sutton (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: PHI – Steve Carlton (1), Greg Luzinski (1); LAD – Steve Garvey (3)

Game 4

October 7, Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Philadelphia	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	8	2
Los Angeles	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	13	0
W: Terry Forster (1-0)  L: Tug McGraw (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: PHI – Greg Luzinski (2), Bake McBride (1); LAD – Ron Cey (1)   Steve Garvey (4)

1978 World Series

Main article: 1978 World Series

The Dodgers again lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series.

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

Game 1

Tuesday, October 10, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	5	9	1
Los Angeles	0	3	0	3	1	0	3	1	X	11	15	2
WP: Tommy John (1–0)   LP: Ed Figueroa (0–1) Home runs: NYY: Reggie Jackson (1) LAD: Dusty Baker (1), Davey Lopes 2 (2)

Game 2

Wednesday, October 11, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	11	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	X	4	7	0
WP: Burt Hooton (1–0)   LP: Catfish Hunter (0–1)   Sv: Bob Welch (1) Home runs: NYY: None LAD: Ron Cey (1)

Game 3

Friday, October 13, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
New York	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	X	5	10	1
WP: Ron Guidry (1–0)   LP: Don Sutton (0–1) Home runs: LAD: None NYY: Roy White (1)

Game 4

Saturday, October 14, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	1
New York	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	4	9	0
WP: Goose Gossage (1–0)   LP: Bob Welch (0–1) Home runs: LAD: Reggie Smith (1) NYY: None

Game 5

Sunday, October 15, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	3
New York	0	0	4	3	0	0	4	1	X	12	18	0
WP: Jim Beattie (1–0)   LP: Burt Hooton (1–1)

Game 6

Tuesday, October 17, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	3	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	7	11	0
Los Angeles	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	1
WP: Catfish Hunter (1–1)   LP: Don Sutton (0–2) Home runs: NYY: Reggie Jackson (2) LAD: Davey Lopes (3)

Awards and honors

• Gold Glove Awards
  • Davey Lopes
• NL Player of the Month
  • Rick Monday (April 1978)
• NL Player of the Week
  • Rick Monday (Apr. 17–23)
  • Steve Garvey (Aug. 14–20)

All-Stars

• 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Steve Garvey, starter, first base
  • Rick Monday, starter, outfield
  • Ron Cey, reserve
  • Tommy John, reserve
  • Davey Lopes, reserve
  • Reggie Smith, reserve
• Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award
  • Steve Garvey
• TSN National League All-Star
  • Davey Lopes
  • Steve Garvey

Postseason

• NLCS Most Valuable Player
  • Steve Garvey

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	Del Crandall
AA	San Antonio Dodgers	Texas League	Don LeJohn
A	Lodi Dodgers	California League	Stan Wasiak
A	Clinton Dodgers	Midwest League	Dick McLaughlin
Rookie	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	Jim Lefebvre

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball Draft

Main article: 1978 Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers drafted 35 players in the June draft and 12 in the January draft. Of those, seven players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.

The Dodgers did not have a first round pick this year in the June draft as their pick was given to the Pittsburgh Pirates as compensation for their signing of free agent pitcher Terry Forster. In the second round, they selected SS Clay Smith from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Smith played in the Dodgers farm system through 1981, hitting .271 in 277 games in the rookie leagues and class-A before he was released.

This draft netted the Dodgers two key players for their championship teams of the 1980s. They drafted Mike Marshall in the 6th round and Steve Sax in the 9th. Marshall would hit 148 homers in 11 seasons and made the All-Star team in 1984 while playing both the outfield and first base. Sax played 14 seasons (8 of them with the Dodgers) and hit .281 with 444 steals. The Dodgers starting second baseman for most of the 1980s, he was the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year and a five time All-Star.

1978 Draft Picks

January draft [7] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Brian Holton RHP Louisburg College Yes 1978–1992 MLB 2 Greg Schultz SS Sacramento City College Yes 1978–1985 AAA 3 Brad Patterson RHP Umpqua Community College No 4 Mathew Reeves LHP Sacramento City College Yes 1978–1982 A 5 Bryan Little SS Louisburg College No Expos-1980 1980–1988 MLB 6 Jimmy Boring RHP Georgia Perimeter College No 7 Larry Pittman 1B Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College No Mets-1979 1979–1981 A 9 Anthony Murdaugh RHP University of South Carolina No 9 Peter Zorich RHP Lower Columbia College No January Secondary phase [8] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Russell McDonald RHP DeAnza College Yes 1978–1984 AAA 2 Daniel Sijer LHP Shoreline Community College No Padres-1979 1979–1980 A 3 Stephen Smith RHP Gulf Coast Community College No June draft [9] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 2 Clay Smith SS Northwest Classen High School Yes 1978–1981 A 3 Augie Ruiz LHP University of Miami Yes 1978–1984 AAA 4 Glenn Gallagher LHP Peekskill High School No Blue Jays-1981 1981–1984 AA 5 John Robbins OF Lockhart High School Yes 1978–1980 A 6 Mike Marshall 1B Buffalo Grove High School Yes 1978–1999 MLB 7 Mark Nipp RHP University of Oklahoma Yes 1978–1981 AAA 8 William Swiacki RHP Amherst College Yes 1978–1982 AAA 9 Steve Sax SS Marshall High School Yes 1978–1994 MLB 10 Rodney Kemp OF San Jose State University Yes 1978–1980 A 11 John Malkin C Cardinal Spellman High School Yes 1978–1985 AAA 12 Francis Wilczewski RHP Independence High School Yes 1978–1979 A 13 Melvin Meadows OF White Oak High School Yes 1979 Rookie 14 Jeffrey Kopjo OF Lyons Township High School Yes 1978–1979 Rookie 15 Stephen Maples C Skyline High School Yes 1978–1980 A 16 Brian Hayes LHP University of Southern California Yes 1978–1980 AA 17 Joseph Pocoroba SS Crespi Carmelite High School Yes 1978–1979 Rookie 18 Eric Bullock OF South Gate High School No Astros-1981 1981–1995 MLB 19 Gary Weiss IF University of Houston Yes 1978–1981 MLB 20 Chris Iwasaki OF Reedley College No 21 Dave LaPoint RHP Monadnock Regional High School No 22 Thomas Banducci RHP William Floyd High School Yes 1978 Rookie 23 Chris Gandy 1B University of California, Riverside Yes 1978–1980 A 24 Warren Reeh LHP Yes 1978 Rookie 25 William Murray SS Tamalpais High School No Dodgers-1981 1981 A 26 David Albrecht LHP Appleton East High School No 27 James Taylor C University of South Carolina No 28 Robert White LHP Lake Mills High School Yes 1978–1980 A 29 Joseph Herbert OF Columbia High School Yes 1978 Rookie 30 Kevin Patten OF Miami University of Ohio No Braves-1979 1979 Rookie 31 Kent Johnson RHP Muncie Northside High School Yes 1978–1979 A 32 Daniel Forer LHP Iowa Western Community College No Dodgers-1981 1981 A 33 Michael Vienne RHP St. Mary's High School No 34 Mark Pirruccello C Servite High School No Royals-1982 1982–1984 AA June secondary phase [10] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Dann Bilardello C Cabrillo College Yes 1978–1994 MLB 2 Keith Schrimsher RHP University of South Florida No Reds-1979 1979–1980 A