January • January 19 –
Eddie Mathews, a 12-time
All-Star third baseman who slugged 512 career homers over his 17-year career, is elected to the
Hall of Fame by the
Baseball Writers' Association of America on 301 of 379 ballots. • January 20 –
George Bamberger, who has spent the past decade as the highly successful pitching coach of the
Baltimore Orioles, fills the
Milwaukee Brewers' managerial vacancy, open since
Alex Grammas' firing in November 1977. Bamberger, 54, has never managed before, but between 1968 and 1977, his Oriole staff included 18 twenty-game winners and helped win five
American League East championships, three AL pennants, and the
1970 World Series. • January 21 – The
Texas Rangers sign first baseman
Mike Jorgensen, who was granted
free agency from the
Oakland Athletics on October 30, 1977. • January 25 – The
San Diego Padres send southpaw
Dave Tomlin and $125,000 to the
Texas Rangers in return for veteran
Gaylord Perry, who will win this year's
National League Cy Young Award. • January 31 –
Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn voids the
Oakland Athletics' trade of
Vida Blue to the
Cincinnati Reds, citing the "best interests of baseball" clause. As compensation, the A's send
Doug Bair to the Reds for minor-league prospect
Dave Revering on February 25.
February • February 2 – The
San Diego Padres sign veteran southpaw
Mickey Lolich, 37, who was granted free agency from the
New York Mets on January 5. • February 3 –
Nick Mileti sells the
Cleveland Indians to a group headed by trucking industry magnate
Francis "Steve" O'Neill, 78, who most recently was a limited partner in
George Steinbrenner's
New York Yankees ownership syndicate. O'Neill's group includes longtime executive
Gabe Paul, who begins a second stint as the Indians' club president. • February 8 – The
Milwaukee Brewers reacquire power hitter
Gorman Thomas from the
Texas Rangers for cash. In 1978, Thomas, 27, who had failed an earlier, 1973–1976 audition with Milwaukee, will develop into an everyday centerfielder for the Brewers and bash 175 homers over the next five seasons. • February 15 –
Bob Howsam, general manager of the
Cincinnati Reds since January 1967 and club president since March 1974, turns over both roles to longtime assistant
Dick Wagner, 50. Howsam, two weeks shy of his 60th birthday, was Cincinnati's hard-nosed front-office boss during the "
Big Red Machine" era; his clubs won five
NL West titles, four
National League pennants and two
World Series (, ). He's known to be a firm opponent of the
free agency era and its rising player salaries. • February 17 – The
Boston Red Sox sign veteran left-handed reliever
Tom Burgmeier, 34, granted free agency from the
Minnesota Twins on November 2, 1977. • February 28 • The
San Diego Padres trade first baseman
Mike Ivie to the
San Francisco Giants for versatile infielder
Derrel Thomas. Ivie, 25, was the first overall pick in the
June 1970 amateur draft. • The
Texas Rangers trade left-hander and former Texas schoolboy sensation
David Clyde, the first overall pick in the
June 1973 draft, along with veteran outfielder
Willie Horton, to the
Cleveland Indians for pitcher
Tom Buskey and outfielder
John Lowenstein.
March • March 6 – The
Detroit Tigers acquire veteran right-hander
Jack Billingham, 35, from the
Cincinnati Reds for young lefty
George Cappuzzello and minor-league outfielder John Valle. • March 15 • The
San Francisco Giants win the "
Vida Blue Sweepstakes", obtaining the star southpaw from
Charlie Finley's cross-bay
Oakland Athletics in exchange for seven players and a cash payment of between $300,000 and $400,000.
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn immediately says he will not block the transaction. The seven players traded by the Giants are pitchers
Dave Heaverlo,
Phil Huffman,
John Henry Johnson and
Alan Wirth, catcher
Gary Alexander, infielder
Mario Guerrero ("
player to be named later") and outfielder
Gary Thomasson. Blue will go
18–10 (
2.79), make the
National League All-Star team, and finish third in NL
Cy Young Award balloting in 1978. • The
Toronto Blue Jays make two deals: they send pitcher
Dennis DeBarr to the
Cleveland Indians for designated hitter
Rico Carty; then they trade hurler
Tom Bruno and cash to the
St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder
Rick Bosetti. • March 17 – At
Al Lopez Field in
Tampa, Florida, the
Cincinnati Reds host the
New York Yankees in a
spring training match-up wearing green uniforms in honor of
St. Patrick's Day. In , the
Boston Red Sox become the second team to adopt this tradition. • March 21 – With 17 days to go in spring training, the
San Diego Padres fire manager
Alvin Dark and replace him with
Roger Craig, the club's pitching coach. It's Craig's first MLB managing opportunity. • March 24 – The
New York Mets trade veteran shortstop
Bud Harrelson to the
Philadelphia Phillies for second baseman
Fred Andrews and cash. Harrelson, 33, has appeared in 1,322 games over 13 seasons in a Met uniform, and is a member of their
1969 World Series champions and
1973 National League pennant-winners. • March 28 – Among the players who draw career-ending unconditional releases, as teams cut rosters to prepare for Opening Day, are pitcher
Larry Dierker (released by the
St. Louis Cardinals), designated hitter and 2025
Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
Dick Allen (dropped by the
Oakland Athletics), and second baseman
Denny Doyle (cut by the
Boston Red Sox). • March 30 • The
Boston Red Sox pull off a blockbuster trade, acquiring top-of-the-rotation starter
Dennis Eckersley, 23, from the
Cleveland Indians, along with backup catcher
Fred Kendall, for pitchers
Mike Paxton and
Rick Wise, catcher
Bo Díaz and third baseman
Ted Cox. Eckersley will go
20–8 (
2.99) for 1978 Bosox. • The
Oakland Athletics trade pitcher
Pablo Torrealba to the
Chicago White Sox for fellow hurler
Steve Renko and catcher
Jim Essian.
April • April 1 – Starting off with a bang, Japanese star
Sadaharu Oh hits a
grand slam home run on opening day. It is his 757th home run. • April 4 • The
Kansas City Royals sell the contract of two-time
American League All-Star first baseman
John Mayberry to the
Toronto Blue Jays. • The
Pittsburgh Pirates reacquire veteran catcher
Manny Sanguillén from the
Oakland Athletics for pitcher
Elias Sosa, outfielder
Miguel Dilone and second baseman
Mike Edwards ("
PTBNL"). Sanguillén, 34, was a three-time
National League All-Star during his previous term (1967, 1969–1976) with the Bucs. • April 9 – Comeback hopeful
Steve Busby, making his first major-league start since July 6, 1976, hurls 5 innings before being relieved and
Darrell Porter drives in two runs as the
Kansas City Royals top the Cleveland Indians, 5–4. • April 13 – The
New York Yankees defeat the
Chicago White Sox 4–2 in their home opener on Reggie Candy Bar Day.
Reggie Jackson slugs a 3-run home run in the first inning, and the field is showered with candy bars which were given out free to the fans at the game. • April 16 – The
St. Louis Cardinals'
Bob Forsch hurls a
no-hitter in beating the
Philadelphia Phillies 5–0. Forsch walks two and strikes out three in pitching the first home no-hitter by a Cardinal since
Jesse Haines in . His brother, the
Houston Astros'
Ken Forsch, will toss a no-hitter the
following season against the
Atlanta Braves – making them the first big-league brothers to each author a no-hitter. • April 20 – With two out in the top of the fourth inning, the
Atlanta Braves'
Jeff Burroughs hits a ground ball up the middle that
San Diego Padres rookie
shortstop Ozzie Smith dives for behind second base. As he was in the air, the ball hits the base and caroms behind Smith. As he is diving in the opposite direction, Smith reaches out with his bare hand and catches the ball. He bounces up, and throws Burroughs out at first. The Padres win the game 2–0. • April 25 – The struggling, 6–11
St. Louis Cardinals fire second-year manager
Vern Rapp. His permanent replacement, former Redbird star
Ken Boyer, will take the helm of the club on April 29. • April 27 –
Willie McCovey drives in four runs and a double and his 496th home run in leading
Vida Blue and the
San Francisco Giants to a 5–3 win over the
Atlanta Braves. • April 29 •
Pete Rose smashes three home runs in the
Cincinnati Reds' 14–7 win over the
New York Mets at
Shea Stadium. • In
Ken Boyer's debut as manager, the
St. Louis Cardinals defeat the
Los Angeles Dodgers 1–0. The game tied a record for quickest game in Cardinals history, lasting just one hour and thirty-three minutes.
May • May 5 –
Pete Rose singles off Montreal's
Steve Rogers for career hit 3,000 and gets a hug at first base from former teammate
Tony Pérez. The
Montreal Expos beat the
Cincinnati Reds 4–3. • May 12 – At
Royals Stadium, a potential game-ending routine fly ball becomes an
Amos Otis walk-off inside-the-park home run as
Reggie Jackson and
Mickey Rivers collide in the outfield. The
Kansas City Royals defeat the
New York Yankees, 4–3. The misplay turns a sure
Goose Gossage save into a sour loss for the current World Series champion Yankees. • May 14 – With the
Chicago Cubs losing 7–5 to the
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Dave Kingman hits a two-run
home run with two outs in the ninth inning to send the game into
extra innings. Kingman, who had also homered in the sixth, hits his third home run of the day in the fifteenth inning to give the Cubs a 10–7 victory over the Dodgers at
Dodger Stadium, and end his day with eight RBIs. Following the game,
Paul Olden, a reporter for Los Angeles radio station
KLAC, asks Dodger manager
Tommy Lasorda, "What's your opinion of Kingman's performance?" during his post-game interview. Lasorda goes off in a now-famous obscenity-laced tirade. • May 15 – The
Minnesota Twins sign relief pitcher
Mike Marshall, the
National League Cy Young Award winner, who had been granted free agency from the
Texas Rangers on November 9, 1977. In Minnesota, Marshall, 35, will reunite with manager
Gene Mauch, for whom he starred with the
Montreal Expos in –, and become the Twins' bullpen ace. • May 16 • The surprising
Detroit Tigers improve to 20–9 on the season with a 16-inning, 4–2 home victory over the
Seattle Mariners. Second-year catcher
Lance Parrish's
walk-off home run seals the win. Parrish, 21, is one of the Tigers' core of young players who have sparked a rejuvenation of the franchise after a difficult mid-1970s rebuilding program. • With his team in last place and suffering through its worst start since ,
Chicago White Sox owner
Bill Veeck trades
Bobby Bonds to the
Texas Rangers for outfielders
Claudell Washington and
Rusty Torres and a minor league
player to be named later. Acquired in a high-profile trade from the
California Angels the previous December, Bonds, 32, plays just 26 games in a White Sox uniform. • May 17 –
Oakland Athletics outfielder
Bill North, a veteran of the club's 1973–1974 pennant- and World Series-winning teams, is traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers for
Glenn Burke. North will become a free agent at the end of 1978 season. • May 20 – At
Olympic Stadium,
Willie Stargell of the
Pittsburgh Pirates hits two home runs off
Wayne Twitchell in a 6–0 victory over the
Montreal Expos. His second is a 535-foot shot in the fourth inning that lands in the upper deck – the only fair ball ever to be hit there. • May 23 • After almost eight full months, the
Boston Red Sox are finally sold—to a group now headed by former sole owner
Jean R. Yawkey, ex-Red Sox catcher and front-office lieutenant
Haywood Sullivan, and the club's former
athletic trainer,
Buddy LeRoux. The
American League accepts the restructured deal, valued at $20.5 million, after it initially nixed Yawkey's attempt to sell the team to Sullivan and LeRoux for $15 million in September 1977; under that arrangement, the duo would have invested only $200,000 of their own capital and borrowed the rest to obtain a 52 percent share. With the retention of the wealthy Mrs. Yawkey in a leading ownership role, the sale (reportedly the highest price yet paid for a sports franchise in the U.S.) goes through. • With the
Oakland Athletics leading the
American League West Division (24–15), manager
Bobby Winkles walks off the job because of owner
Charlie Finley's constant second-guessing.
Jack McKeon, whom Winkles had replaced in the manager's chair on June 8, 1977, gets his old job back. It's Finley's 15th managerial change in his 18 years as owner. • May 26 – The
St. Louis Cardinals obtain outfielder
George Hendrick from the
San Diego Padres for pitcher
Eric Rasmussen. Hendrick, 28, will become a two-time
NL All-Star and
Silver Slugger Award winner in his seven years in St. Louis. • May 30 – In his
National League debut,
Silvio Martínez fires a complete game one-hitter as the
Cardinals beat the
New York Mets, 8–2. The only hit Martínez gives up is a two-run homer by
Steve Henderson.
June • June 1 – The
Kansas City Royals trade pitcher
Jim Colborn, an 18-game winner in 1977, to the
Seattle Mariners for outfielder
Steve Braun. • June 2 – For the fourth time in five seasons, cowboy
Gene Autry changes horses in midstream when his 25–21
California Angels fire manager
Dave Garcia and replace him with former Angels' star shortstop
Jim Fregosi. Between and 1978, only in did Autry keep the same manager (
Dick Williams) in place all season; Fregosi, 36, is the team's seventh non-interim skipper in eight years. Released by the
Pittsburgh Pirates the day before, he goes right from the active ranks to the manager's job. During his playing days with the Angels, to , Fregosi made six
American League All-Star teams. As their skipper, he pulls the Halos out of a losing skid and compiles a 62–54 mark through season's end; the club finishes 87–75, tied for second in the
AL West, five games behind the
Kansas City Royals. • June 3 –
Davey Johnson becomes the first major leaguer to hit two
pinch-hit grand slams in a season, as the
Philadelphia Phillies beat the
Los Angeles Dodgers, 5–1. • June 6 – In the
1978 Major League Baseball draft, slugging third baseman
Bob Horner of the
Arizona State Sun Devils is chosen first overall by the
Atlanta Braves. In the second round of the same draft (48th overall), the
Baltimore Orioles select
Cal Ripken Jr., a shortstop out of
Maryland's
Aberdeen High School. Future
Baseball Hall of Famer Ripken is then best known as the son and namesake of the Orioles'
third-base coach. • June 10 – The
New York Yankees trade veteran left-hander
Ken Holtzman to his original MLB team, the
Chicago Cubs, for 22-year-old righty
Ron Davis, a prospect then pitching in
Double-A. Davis will go
14–2 (
2.85) with nine
saves for the
1979 Yankees. • June 14 •
Pete Rose starts his 44-game hitting streak by collecting two hits in the
Cincinnati Reds' 3–1 win over the
Chicago Cubs. • The second-place
New York Yankees add to their bench strength by acquiring veteran outfielder and pinch hitter
Jay Johnstone from the
Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher
Rawly Eastwick. The Bombers also receive outfield prospect
Bobby Brown in the transaction. • June 15 • The high-flying
Boston Red Sox, currently 42–19 and six games ahead of the
New York Yankees in the
AL East, subtract from their bench strength by selling the contract of reserve outfielder and ace left-handed pinch hitter
Bernie Carbo to the
Cleveland Indians. Bosox left-hander
Bill Lee protests the deal by staging a one-day walkout; he and Carbo are among of group of Red Sox players who've fallen out of favor with general manager
Haywood Sullivan and manager
Don Zimmer. • The
Philadelphia Phillies reacquire right-handed pitcher and former top draft pick
Dick Ruthven from the
Atlanta Braves, straight up, for relief pitcher
Gene Garber. Struggling so far with the downtrodden Braves, Ruthven, 27, will post a 13–5
record in 20 starts to help the Phils win their third straight
NL East championship in 1978. • The
Houston Astros sell the contract of
Roger Metzger, their longtime starting shortstop and a former
Gold Glove Award winner, to the
San Francisco Giants. • The
New York Yankees continue to strengthen their roster, obtaining backup outfielder
Gary Thomasson from the
Oakland Athletics for infielder
Mickey Klutts, outfielder
Dell Alston and $50,000. • The
Chicago Cubs trade outfielder
Héctor Cruz to the
San Francisco Giants for pitcher
Lynn McGlothen. The Cubs also trade
Joe Wallis to the
Cleveland Indians for fellow outfielder
Mike Vail. •
Cleveland then sends
Wallis to the
Oakland Athletics for catcher/designated hitter
Gary Alexander. • June 16 • In a 12-season MLB career marked by near-misses — five one-hit games and eight two-hit games until today —
Cincinnati's Tom Seaver finally hurls a
no-hitter. The
St. Louis Cardinals are the 4–0 victims as Seaver strikes out three batters, and walks three. • Fresh off the
Arizona State University campus with no minor league experience, the
Atlanta Braves'
Bob Horner homers in his first major league game off
Bert Blyleven of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. • June 17 – The
New York Yankees'
Ron Guidry strikes out 18 batters — 15 in six innings — in a 4–0 shutout of the
California Angels, setting an
American League record for left-handers. The victory raises the southpaw's record to 11–0. • June 26 – In only their second season, the 22–47
Toronto Blue Jays are world beaters—for one day—as they score 24 runs on 24 hits against a 40–30 Baltimore Orioles squad. The result is a
football-like final score of 24–10 before 16,184 at Toronto's
Exhibition Stadium. • June 27 –
Joe Rudi hits a pinch-hit grand slam homer in the seventh to help his
California Angels knock the
Kansas City Royals out of a tie for first place with a 5–4 Angels win. • June 29 –
Don Sutton sets a
Los Angeles Dodgers career strikeout record, fanning
Gary Matthews in the first inning for his 2,284th career K. He passes a Dodger record previously held by
Don Drysdale in a 7–3 win over the
Atlanta Braves. • June 30 •
Bill Veeck's 34–40
Chicago White Sox, in fifth place in the
AL West but only 5½ games out of first, change managers, replacing current
Baseball-Hall-of-Famer Bob Lemon with future Hall-of-Famer
Larry Doby. Lemon is sacked despite having led the
1977 ChiSox to a stellar 90–72 record. Doby becomes MLB's second black manager, after
Frank Robinson, former skipper of the
Cleveland Indians. • In the first game of a 10–9, 10–5 doubleheader loss to the
Atlanta Braves at
Fulton County Stadium, the
San Francisco Giants'
Willie McCovey hits his 500th career home run. With the blow, hit off Braves pitcher
Jamie Easterly, McCovey becomes the 12th member of the 500th home run club. Giant
Mike Ivie adds his second pinch
grand slam of the year in the opener. San Francisco's
Jack Clark socks three homers in the twin bill.
July • July 1 – The
Los Angeles Dodgers reacquire catcher/outfielder
Joe Ferguson, whom they traded away in June 1976, obtaining him along with cash considerations from the
Houston Astros in exchange for two "
players to be named later": infielder
Rafael Landestoy and outfield prospect
Jeffrey Leonard. • July 4 – At the unofficial halfway milestone of the regular season, there are tight races in three of MLB's four divisions. The
San Francisco Giants lead their traditional enemies, the
Los Angeles Dodgers (46–34), by two games in the
NL West, with the
Cincinnati Reds (46–35) only 2½ back. In the
NL East, the two-time defending division champ
Philadelphia Phillies (43–32) sport a four-game bulge over the
Chicago Cubs (40–37). On the crowded
AL West leaderboard, the
California Angels (42–38) sit in first place, with every other club in the division, except the last-place
Seattle Mariners, within six games of the top. However, the
AL East race appears to be a runaway, with the
Boston Red Sox (53–24) nine full games in front of the
Milwaukee Brewers and
New York Yankees (both 45–34). • July 9 – The first dark cloud appears on the
Boston Red Sox' 1978 horizon when shortstop
Rick Burleson suffers an ankle injury. The
AL All-Star will miss 17 games, and the Bosox will win only six of them before Burleson returns to the lineup on July 28. Burleson's replacement, veteran
Frank Duffy, makes three errors in today's game, a 7–1 loss to the
Cleveland Indians; a
.973 career fielder, Duffy cannot maintain that level of defense in 1978, posting a .929 mark in 21 games as Boston's backup shortstop. • July 11 – At
San Diego, the
National League wins the
All-Star Game over the
American League, 7–3.
Dodgers first baseman
Steve Garvey earns the MVP trophy.
Vida Blue starts for the NL, becoming the first pitcher to start for both leagues in the All-Star Game. Blue also started in
1971 and
1975 for the American League. • July 13 –
Jerry Koosman and
Tom Seaver lock up for the second time since Seaver's trade to the
Cincinnati Reds. Koosman and the Mets beat Seaver and the Reds, 4–2. Only one of the three runs Seaver gives up is earned. • July 17 • The
Kansas City Royals defeat the
New York Yankees 9–7 in 11 innings, but the game is remembered for
Reggie Jackson ignoring signs from third-base coach
Dick Howser. With the score tied 5–5 in the bottom of the tenth and
Thurman Munson on first, manager
Billy Martin signals for Jackson to
sacrifice bunt. Jackson makes a half-hearted attempt on the first pitch, and Martin removes the bunt sign. Jackson, however, then defies Martin and still attempts a bunt, popping out to the catcher. Jackson is suspended by Martin for five games. • In a
Monday Night Baseball game televised nationally by
ABC, the
San Francisco Giants'
Rob Andrews hits his first major league home run. The hit turns out to be the game-winning run in a 9-7 win over the
St. Louis Cardinals. The game is only shown nationally because ABC's scheduled game between the
Boston Red Sox and
Minnesota Twins is long-delayed by rain. • July 21 • As
Reggie Jackson is returning from suspension,
Billy Martin says in a post-game interview about Jackson and Yankee owner
George Steinbrenner, "One's a born liar [referring to Jackson], and the other's convicted [Steinbrenner, referring to his 1974 conviction on charges of making illegal presidential campaign contributions]." Martin later appears on live television tearfully announcing his resignation from the Yankees, although some sources believe that Steinbrenner actually fired him. With the Yankees at 50–42 and 12 games behind the front-running
Boston Red Sox, Steinbrenner names
Bob Lemon manager for the remainder of the season; he'd been fired from the
Chicago White Sox three weeks earlier. •
Cleveland Indians starter
Mike Paxton strikes out four batters in the fifth inning of an 11–0 win over the
Seattle Mariners. • July 26 –
Johnny Bench hits his 300th career home run. • July 31 – The slumping
Boston Red Sox defeat the
Chicago White Sox, 9–2, at
Fenway Park. It's only Boston's third win in their final 13 July games, and their
AL East lead has shrunk from nine games on July 19 to five games (over the
Milwaukee Brewers) today. The
New York Yankees are third, 7½ back.
August • August 1 – The
Atlanta Braves trounce the
Cincinnati Reds, 16–4, and stop
Pete Rose's hitting streak at 44 games.
Larry McWilliams and
Gene Garber are the Atlanta pitchers. Rose goes 0-for-4, including striking out in the 9th inning to end the game. Rose's streak is the second-longest in major league history. He goes 70-for-182 during the skein (a
batting average of .385). • August 2–3 – In a game played over successive nights in
The Bronx, the first-place
Boston Red Sox overcome an early, 5–0 deficit, tie the score at five, and battle the
New York Yankees into
extra innings. When a 1 a.m. curfew suspends the contest in the 15th frame, it resumes the next night. In the top of the 17th,
Rick Burleson's two-run single gives Boston a 7–5 lead, and
Bob Stanley holds the Yanks scoreless in the home half to deliver a Bosox victory. The Red Sox also win a rain-shortened regularly scheduled game on August 3, 8–1, increasing their margin over the fourth-place Yankees to 8½ games. However, Boston will lose its next six games against its foes when the teams meet again in September. • August 5 – At Old-Timers Day at
Yankee Stadium, recently fired
Billy Martin is announced as the Bombers' manager for the 1980 season. • August 6 – Setting a record no batter wants, in the ninth inning of an important game, future
Baseball Hall of Fame slugger
Willie Stargell strikes out for the 1,711th time, breaking the major-league record for Ks by a hitter previously held by
Mickey Mantle. Stargell's strikeout comes in the ninth inning of a 3–2 loss to the
Philadelphia Phillies. • August 10 –
Ron Guidry fires a three-hitter to become the
American League's first 16-game winner this year, and
Chris Chambliss knocks in four runs with a single and a double, leading the
New York Yankees to their fifth straight win, a 9–0 triumph over the
Milwaukee Brewers. Now in second place, the Yankees (64–49) trail the
Boston Red Sox (71–41) by 7½ games in the
AL East. • August 15 – The
Toronto Blue Jays trade designated hitter
Rico Carty to the
Oakland Athletics for pitcher
Phil Huffman and DH
Willie Horton. Carty, 38, is in the process of slugging 31 homers in his next-to-last MLB season. • August 20 – Before the
Los Angeles Dodgers' game against the
New York Mets,
Steve Garvey and
Don Sutton engage in a clubhouse fistfight over sardonic comments made by Sutton in an interview with
The Washington Post describing Garvey as the "All-American boy". • August 25 – A one-day strike by the
Major League Umpires Association causes amateur arbiters (and two MLB coaches,
Jerry Zimmerman of the
Minnesota Twins and
Don Leppert of the
Toronto Blue Jays) to officiate today's 14 MLB games. A federal judge based in Philadelphia then enjoins the union from staging a longer walk-out to protest pay and working conditions. The abortive work stoppage is a prelude to the
1979 Major League umpires strike, which will last from March 7 to May 17. • August 31 •
Joe Morgan,
George Foster and
Johnny Bench hit home runs to help the
Cincinnati Reds snap a six-game losing streak via 12–6 win over the
St. Louis Cardinals.
Tom Seaver goes seven innings for the win and reliever
Tom Hume gave a ninth inning grand slam by
Wayne Garrett. • The
Cleveland Indians trade outfielder
Johnny Grubb to the
Texas Rangers for two
"players to be named later": pitcher
Bobby Cuellar and minor-league outfielder Dave Rivera.
September • September 3 - in
Pittsburgh,
Willie Stargell collects his 2,000th career Hit against
Craig Skok of the Braves in the ninth inning.
Dale Berra homers in the ninth and the Pirates win 6-3. • September 5 – The
Montreal Expos beat the
Chicago Cubs 10–8 in a 9-inning game that sees a Major-League record 45 players participate. • September 7 – The "
Boston Massacre" begins. The
Boston Red Sox enter today's opening game of a four-game series in Boston with a four-game lead over the
New York Yankees; a lead which had been fourteen games just weeks earlier. The Yankees defeat the Red Sox 15–3, and go on to sweep the series, erasing the Red Sox lead in the
American League East Division. • September 14 – Thirty-nine-year-old
Atlanta Braves pitcher
Jim Bouton earns his 62nd and final big league victory (and first since 1970), a 4–1 win over the
San Francisco Giants. Bouton is best known as the author of the baseball diary
Ball Four. His win over the Giants comes four days after his first start against the
Los Angeles Dodgers in which he was hit hard for six hits and six runs over five innings. The Giants were vocal with their displeasure over the Braves using Bouton in the Dodger game because they were still in a tight division race with their arch-rivals, only to lose to him in this, his very next start. • September 20 – The Yankees'
Ron Guidry suffers his third and final loss in a stellar 25–3,
Cy Young Award-winning season. The Yankees are defeated by the
Toronto Blue Jays with left-hander
Mike Willis the winning pitcher. All three of Guidry's losses in 1978 were to left-handers named "Mike":
Caldwell,
Flanagan, and Willis. • September 22 • Third baseman
Butch Hobson, still in the
Boston Red Sox' lineup despite crippling bone chips in his right elbow, commits his record-setting 43rd error of the 1978 season. His miscue leads to two unearned runs, as the Red Sox fall 5–4 to the
Toronto Blue Jays and remain two games behind the
New York Yankees in the
AL East race. Manager
Don Zimmer finally replaces Hobson and makes utilityman
Jack Brohamer his starting third baseman on September 23. The Red Sox then win eight games in a row to force the
1978 American League East tie-breaker game on October 2. •
Ralph Houk, 59, manager of the
Detroit Tigers since , announces his retirement after five years at the helm. Houk supervised the rebuilding of the Tigers on the field: in , they went 57–102; this season, their record will be 86–76 with their roster featuring some of the brightest young stars in baseball. Former MLB catcher
Les Moss, the highly successful, 53-year-old manager of the Tigers'
Triple-A Evansville affiliate, is named Houk's successor. • September 23 –
California Angels outfielder and marquee free-agent signing
Lyman Bostock, 27, is shot to death while riding in a car with his uncle and several others following a dinner party in
Gary, Indiana. The estranged husband of a female passenger pulls alongside Bostock's uncle's car and fires a single shotgun blast into the vehicle, inflicting fatal head wounds on the Angels' star. The shooter is ultimately acquitted by reason of insanity. • September 30 • The
Philadelphia Phillies overcome a first-inning grand slam by
Willie Stargell to beat the host
Pittsburgh Pirates, their
in-state rivals, 10–8, to clinch their third straight National League East Title. Winning pitcher
Randy Lerch contributes two home runs to his cause. The loss snaps the Pirates' streak of 24 straight wins at
Three Rivers Stadium. • With one game left in the season, volatile
Texas Rangers owner
Brad Corbett fires manager
Billy Hunter and replaces him with coach
Pat Corrales. Hunter had turned down a five-year contract extension offered by Corbett a few weeks earlier. The Rangers are 86–75, second in the
AL West and five games behind the division champion
Kansas City Royals.
October • October 1 • Led by home runs from
Rick Burleson and
Jim Rice, and
Luis Tiant's two-hit pitching, the
Boston Red Sox shut out the
Toronto Blue Jays 5–0 at
Fenway Park, closing out the regular season with an eight-game winning streak. They will have to play a one-game playoff at Fenway the very next day against the
New York Yankees, whom they had led by as many as 14 games in July, as the
Cleveland Indians and
Rick Waits defeat the Yankees 9–2 at
Yankee Stadium. News of the Indians' victory is announced on Fenway Park's video screen with the words "THANK YOU, RICK WAITS – GAME TOMORROW." His brilliant two-hitter comes in what will be Tiant's final appearance in a Red Sox uniform. •
Gaylord Perry of the
San Diego Padres records his 3,000th career strikeout. • October 2 –
Bucky Dent's crucial 7th-inning home run helps the
New York Yankees beat the
Boston Red Sox, 5–4, in a
one-game playoff for the American League East title. It is another defining moment in the
Yankees – Red Sox rivalry. With
Kansas City,
Los Angeles and
Philadelphia also having won their divisions, all four defending division winners repeat.
Ron Guidry closes out the year with a 25–3 record, but not before giving up a home run to
Carl Yastrzemski—the only one he will allow to a left-handed hitter all season • October 3 – Three-time former
All-Star outfielder
Bobby Bonds changes addresses again when the
Texas Rangers trade him, along with pitcher
Len Barker, to the
Cleveland Indians for pitcher
Jim Kern and infielder
Larvell Blanks. After spending his first seven seasons with the
San Francisco Giants, Bonds has now been traded five times in less than four calendar years. • October 4 –
Steve Garvey smashes two home runs and a triple to pace the
Los Angeles Dodgers to a 9–5 win over the
Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of the
National League Championship Series.
Davey Lopes and
Steve Yeager also homer at
Veterans Stadium. • October 7 • The
Los Angeles Dodgers win the
National League Championship Series, three games to one, with a 4–3 home victory over the
Philadelphia Phillies.
Bill Russell's 10th-inning, two-out single scores
Ron Cey with the winning run. A walk to Cey and a routine liner that
Garry Maddox muffs in center field sets up Russell's game-winner.
Dusty Baker collects four hits for the Dodgers. • For the third straight year, the
New York Yankees defeat the
Kansas City Royals in the
American League Championship Series, also three games to one. In their Game 4, 2–1 clinching victory,
Ron Guidry goes eight innings for his second win of the ALCS, and
Goose Gossage nails down the
save.
Roy White's sixth-inning homer provides the winning run. The Yankees and Dodgers will thus meet for the second straight year in the World Series—their tenth such clash since . • October 10 - Shortly before the start of game one of the world series, the
Los Angeles Dodgers hold a special ceremony where the franchise retires the number 19 in honor of one of the team coaches,
Jim Gilliam, who died suddenly from a massive brain hemorrhage two days prior to the start of the series. Gilliam becomes the first non hall of fame member of the Dodgers to receive this honor. • October 17 – The
New York Yankees win their fourth straight game, 7–2, to clinch their second consecutive
World Series over the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Yankees shortstop
Bucky Dent is named Series MVP. • October 18 • The
St. Louis Cardinals fire general manager
Bing Devine, 62, and replace him with former Redbird executive
John Claiborne, 38. Devine was a major architect of the Cardinals' mid-1960s three-time pennant-winners and 2x
World Series champions, but in 1978 his club fell to a 69–93 record, their worst in over a half-century. •
John J. McHale,
president/
CEO of the
Montreal Expos since the team's founding in , adds additional responsibilities when he also becomes the Expos' general manager. McHale, 57, succeeds
Charlie Fox as the third GM in franchise history. • October 19 – The
Chicago White Sox change managers again, replacing
Larry Doby, who led them to a 37–50 record from July 1 through the end of the 1978 campaign, with shortstop
Don Kessinger, 36, who will be a player-manager. It's
Bill Veeck's fourth managerial change in less than three years as owner of the ChiSox. • October 25 • The
San Diego Padres'
Gaylord Perry (
21–6,
2.73) is named winner of the 1978
National League Cy Young Award; the 40-year-old veteran, who won the 1972 AL Cy Young Award with the
Cleveland Indians, becomes the first pitcher to earn the award in each major league. • The
Padres trade third baseman
Dave Roberts, outfielder
Oscar Gamble and $300,000 to the
Texas Rangers for catcher
Bill Fahey, first baseman
Mike Hargrove and infielder
Kurt Bevacqua. • October 27 –
George Bamberger of the
Milwaukee Brewers is named the
United Press International American League Manager of the Year. He guided the Brewers to 93 triumphs and the Brewers' first winning season. Bamberger receives 20 first-place votes to nine for
Bob Lemon of the
New York Yankees.
November • November 1 –
Ron Guidry of the
New York Yankees is named winner of the
American League Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote, taking all 28 first-place tallies. • November 2 – Thirty-eight players are granted free agency after playing out their contracts, including
Pete Rose,
Tommy John and
Luis Tiant. • November 6 – Pitcher
Andy Messersmith, the co-plaintiff with
Dave McNally in the 1975 arbitration case that led to the
Seitz decision and
free agency, is unconditionally released by the
New York Yankees. He will return to the
Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he took to arbitration in the Seitz case, as a free agent in February 1979 and finish his career there. • November 7 –
Jim Rice of the
Boston Red Sox, who led his league in almost every offensive category (including
hits,
triples,
home runs,
runs batted in,
slugging percentage,
OPS, and
total bases), is rewarded by being selected
American League MVP. • November 10 – In a ten-player transaction, the
New York Yankees send former Cy Young Award winner
Sparky Lyle along with
Mike Heath,
Larry McCall,
Dave Rajsich,
Domingo Ramos and cash consideration to the
Texas Rangers, in exchange for
Juan Beníquez,
Mike Griffin,
Paul Mirabella,
Dave Righetti and minor-leaguer Greg Jemison. Righetti, considered the top left-handed pitching prospect in the minors, will win AL Rookie of the Year honors in . • November 13 • Pitcher
Luis Tiant, famed as "El Tiante" when he won 122 games with the
Boston Red Sox since joining them in , signs as a free agent with the Bosox' dreaded rivals, the
New York Yankees. • Left-hander
Larry Gura, who was granted free agency November 2, decides to return to his 1978 team, the
Kansas City Royals. Gura had gone
16–4 (
2.72) this past season, and he'll post two 18-win seasons for the Royals in and . • November 16 – Future
Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and
Pittsburgh Pirates right-fielder
Dave Parker, already a Gold Glove recipient, now wins the 1978
National League Most Valuable Player Award with 21 of 24 first-place votes. • November 21 – The
New York Yankees sign free-agent left-hander
Tommy John, formerly with the
Los Angeles Dodgers. • November 22 –
Detroit Tigers second baseman
Lou Whitaker wins the
American League Rookie of the Year Award with 21 of 28 first places votes over future Hall-of-Famer
Paul Molitor of the
Milwaukee Brewers. • November 27 • The
Houston Astros acquire catcher
Alan Ashby from the
Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher
Mark Lemongello, third baseman
Pedro Hernández and outfielder
Joe Cannon. Ashby will play for the Astros for 11 seasons and later become a member of their broadcast team. • The
Baltimore Orioles obtain outfielder
John Lowenstein on
waivers from the
Texas Rangers. Lowenstein, 31, will play a key role on two
American League pennant-winning teams, including the Orioles'
1983 World Series champions. • November 28 – The
Cincinnati Reds dismiss their nine-year,
Cooperstown-bound manager,
Sparky Anderson, who has refused his front office's demand that he overhaul his coaching staff. Since , Anderson has led the Reds to five
NL West titles, four
National League pennants, two
World Series championships (–), and averaged 96 wins per season. Cincinnati appoints
John McNamara as Anderson's successor the same day; McNamara, 46, is the former skipper of the
Oakland Athletics (–) and
San Diego Padres (–). • November 29 – The
Baltimore Orioles sign veteran right-hander
Steve Stone, who had been granted free agency from the
Chicago White Sox. In Baltimore, Stone, 31, will win 25 games and the
American League Cy Young Award before beginning his long broadcasting career.
December • December 4 • The
Detroit Tigers obtain right-hander
Aurelio López and outfielder
Jerry Morales from the
St. Louis Cardinals for two left-handers,
Bob Sykes and minor-leaguer John Murphy. López, 30, will earn the nickname "Señor Smoke" coming out of the Detroit bullpen, and play a key role on the Tigers'
1984 world championship team. • The
California Angels trade first baseman
Ron Jackson and designated hitter
Danny Goodwin to the
Minnesota Twins for outfielder
Dan Ford. • December 5 • The
Philadelphia Phillies sign free-agent
Pete Rose to a four-year, $3.2 million contract after he plays out his contract with his hometown team, the
Cincinnati Reds. Rose is expected to become the Phils' regular first baseman in 1979. • Free-agent third baseman
Darrell Evans decides to remain with the
San Francisco Giants, signing a five-year, $1.44 million contract. • The
Toronto Blue Jays acquire shortstop prospect
Alfredo Griffin, along with minor-league first baseman Phil Lansford, from the
Cleveland Indians for pitcher
Víctor Cruz. Griffin, 21, will win the
American League Rookie of the Year Award and spend six seasons as Toronto's starting shortstop. • The
New York Mets acquire left-hander
Pete Falcone from the
St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher
Kim Seaman and outfielder
Tom Grieve. Falcone is a cousin of Mets' bullpen coach
Joe Pignatano. • December 6 – The
Philadelphia Phillies trade outfield prospect
"Super Joe" Charboneau to the
Cleveland Indians for pitcher
Cardell Camper. Charboneau will win the
American League Rookie of the Year Award. • December 7 – Purging another discontented player via another one-sided trade, the
Boston Red Sox send veteran left-hander
Bill "Spaceman" Lee to the
Montreal Expos for utility infielder
Stan Papi. Lee—at odds with Boston management, especially skipper
Don Zimmer—is a three-time 17-game winner with the Red Sox. He wins 16 games for Montreal in . Papi plays 51 games in a Bosox uniform and bats .188. • December 8 • The
New York Mets trade pitcher
Jerry Koosman to the
Minnesota Twins for minor league pitcher Greg Field and a player to be named later. The trade leaves
Ed Kranepool as the last remaining member of the ″Miracle Mets″ team that won the
1969 World Series. The Twins will complete the trade by sending
Jesse Orosco to the Mets on February 7, . • Two of the
American League's top third basemen change teams, when the
Cleveland Indians trade
Buddy Bell to the
Texas Rangers for
Toby Harrah in a one-for-one transaction. • The
Seattle Mariners deal their 25-year-old
All-Star shortstop,
Craig Reynolds, to the
Houston Astros for left-hander
Floyd Bannister, 23. Both Reynolds and Bannister will become All-Stars in their respective new leagues. ==Movies==