1978 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1978 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's second season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 59 wins and 102 losses.
1978 Toronto Blue Jays | |
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Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Results | |
Record | 59–102 (.364) |
Divisional place | 7th |
Other information | |
Owners | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce |
General managers | Pat Gillick |
Managers | Roy Hartsfield |
Local television | CBC Television (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee) CBFT (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron) |
Local radio | CKFH (Early Wynn, Tom Cheek) |
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Offseason
Transactions
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1978 season.[1]
October 1977
October 25 | Released Phil Roof. |
October 31 | Purchased Joe Henderson from the Cincinnati Reds. |
November 1977
November 11 | Signed free agent Luis Gómez from the Minnesota Twins to a contract. |
December 1977
December 5 | Selected Willie Upshaw from the New York Yankees in the 1977 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
December 6 | Acquired Tom Underwood and Víctor Cruz from the St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Vuckovich and a player to be named later (John Scott on December 16, 1977). |
December 8 | Acquired Pat Kelly and Butch Alberts from the California Angels for Ron Fairly. Purchased Tommy Hutton from the Philadelphia Phillies. |
January 1978
January 1 | Acquired Mike Cosgrove from the Cleveland Indians in an unknown transaction. |
January 16 | Signed free agent Mark DeJohn of the New York Mets to a contract. |
February 1978
February 15 | Signed free agent Luis Meléndez from the San Diego Padres to a contract. |
February 25 | Purchased Steve Grilli from the Detroit Tigers. |
March 1978
March 14 | Signed Charlie Puleo as an amateur free agent. |
March 15 | Acquired Rico Carty from the Cleveland Indians for Dennis DeBarr. Acquired Rick Bosetti from the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Bruno and cash. |
March 18 | Released Doug Rader. |
March 22 | Released Jerry Johnson. |
March 23 | Acquired Mickey Scott from the California Angels for Mike Cosgrove. |
March 25 | Acquired Sheldon Mallory from the Oakland Athletics for Steve Staggs. |
March 27 | Released Héctor Torres. Selected Larry Demery off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. |
March 29 | Released Joe Henderson. Purchased Mike Stanton from the Houston Astros. |
March 31 | Signed free agent Dave Wallace from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract. Returned Larry Demery to the Pittsburgh Pirates following previous waiver transaction. |
Regular season
Opening Day starters
Season standings
AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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New York Yankees | 100 | 63 | 0.613 | — | 55–26 | 45–37 |
Boston Red Sox | 99 | 64 | 0.607 | 1 | 59–23 | 40–41 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 93 | 69 | 0.574 | 6½ | 54–27 | 39–42 |
Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 71 | 0.559 | 9 | 51–30 | 39–41 |
Detroit Tigers | 86 | 76 | 0.531 | 13½ | 47–34 | 39–42 |
Cleveland Indians | 69 | 90 | 0.434 | 29 | 42–36 | 27–54 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 59 | 102 | 0.366 | 40 | 37–44 | 22–58 |
Record vs. opponents
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 7–8 | 4–6 | 8–1 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 11–0 | 9–1 | 7–4 | 8–7 |
Boston | 8–7 | — | 9–2 | 7–3 | 7–8 | 12–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–2 | 7–9 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 3–7 | 11–4 |
California | 6–4 | 2–9 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 12–3 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 7–3 |
Chicago | 1–8 | 3–7 | 7–8 | — | 8–2 | 2–9 | 8–7 | 4–7 | 8–7 | 1–9 | 7–8 | 7–8 | 11–4 | 4–6 |
Cleveland | 6–9 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 2–8 | — | 5–10 | 5–6 | 5–10 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 4–6 | 8–1 | 1–9 | 10–4 |
Detroit | 8–7 | 3–12 | 7–4 | 9–2 | 10–5 | — | 4–6 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–11 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
Kansas City | 8–2 | 6–4 | 6–9 | 7–8 | 6–5 | 6–4 | — | 6–4 | 7–8 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 12–3 | 7–8 | 5–5 |
Milwaukee | 8–7 | 5–10 | 5–5 | 7–4 | 10–5 | 8–7 | 4–6 | — | 4–7 | 10–5 | 9–1 | 5–5 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
Minnesota | 5–5 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 7–4 | — | 3–7 | 9–6 | 6–9 | 6–9 | 6–4 |
New York | 9–6 | 9–7 | 5–5 | 9–1 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 5–6 | 5–10 | 7–3 | — | 8–2 | 6–5 | 6–4 | 11–4 |
Oakland | 0–11 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 5–10 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 2–8 | — | 13–2 | 6–9 | 7–4 |
Seattle | 1–9 | 3–7 | 6–9 | 8–7 | 1–8 | 2–8 | 3–12 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 5–6 | 2–13 | — | 3–12 | 8–2 |
Texas | 4–7 | 7–3 | 10–5 | 4–11 | 9–1 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 9–6 | 12–3 | — | 4–7 |
Toronto | 7–8 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–10 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 4–11 | 4–7 | 2–8 | 7–4 | — |
Transactions
Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1978 regular season.[2]
April 1978
April 4 | Purchased John Mayberry from the Kansas City Royals. |
April 10 | Released Mark DeJohn. |
April 11 | Purchased Don Kirkwood from the Chicago White Sox. |
April 13 | Purchased Balor Moore from the California Angels. |
April 28 | Acquired Tim Johnson from the Milwaukee Brewers for Tim Nordbrook. |
May 1978
May 13 | Signed free agent Tom Buskey from the Texas Rangers as a free agent. |
May 22 | Purchased Joe Coleman from the Oakland Athletics. |
July 1978
July 20 | Sold player rights of Tommy Hutton to the Montreal Expos. |
August 1978
August 15 | Acquired Willie Horton and Phil Huffman from the Oakland Athletics for Rico Carty. |
September 1978
September 12 | Acquired Mark Wiley from the San Diego Padres for Andy Dyes. |
September 12 | Purchased Dale Mohorcic from the Victoria Mussels of the Northwest League. |
Roster
1978 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
1978 Game Log 59–102 (Home 37–44, Away 22–58) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April 8–13 (Home 4–7, Away 4–6)
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May 9–18 (Home 7–7, Away 2–11)
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June 9–17 (Home 6–8, Away 3–9)
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July 13–18 (Home 7–7, Away 6–11)
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August 16–14 (Home 10–3, Away 6–11)
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September 4–21 (Home 3–12, Away 1–9)
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Player stats
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
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C | Rick Cerone | 88 | 282 | 25 | 63 | 8 | 2 | .223 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
1B | John Mayberry | 152 | 515 | 51 | 129 | 15 | 2 | .250 | 22 | 70 | 1 |
2B | Dave McKay | 145 | 504 | 59 | 120 | 20 | 8 | .238 | 7 | 45 | 4 |
3B | Roy Howell | 140 | 551 | 67 | 149 | 28 | 3 | .270 | 8 | 61 | 0 |
SS | Luis Gómez | 153 | 413 | 39 | 92 | 7 | 3 | .223 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
LF | Al Woods | 62 | 220 | 19 | 53 | 12 | 3 | .241 | 3 | 25 | 1 |
CF | Rick Bosetti | 136 | 568 | 61 | 147 | 25 | 5 | .259 | 5 | 42 | 6 |
RF | Bob Bailor | 154 | 621 | 74 | 164 | 29 | 7 | .264 | 1 | 52 | 5 |
DH | Rico Carty | 104 | 387 | 51 | 110 | 16 | 0 | .284 | 20 | 68 | 1 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | Avg | HR | RBI | SB |
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Alan Ashby | 81 | 264 | 27 | 69 | 15 | 0 | .261 | 9 | 29 | 1 |
Otto Vélez | 91 | 248 | 29 | 66 | 14 | 2 | .266 | 9 | 38 | 1 |
Willie Upshaw | 95 | 224 | 26 | 53 | 8 | 2 | .237 | 1 | 17 | 4 |
Tommy Hutton | 64 | 173 | 19 | 44 | 9 | 0 | .254 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
Willie Horton | 33 | 122 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 0 | .205 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
Doug Ault | 54 | 104 | 10 | 25 | 1 | 1 | .240 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
Tim Johnson | 68 | 79 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 0 | .241 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Sam Ewing | 40 | 56 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | .179 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
Garth Iorg | 19 | 49 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .163 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Gary Woods | 8 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .158 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Butch Alberts | 6 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .278 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brian Milner | 2 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .444 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Ernie Whitt | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tim Nordbrook | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Jesse Jefferson | 31 | 30 | 211.2 | 7 | 16 | 4.38 | 109 | 103 | 86 | 97 |
Tom Underwood | 31 | 30 | 197.2 | 6 | 14 | 4.10 | 105 | 90 | 87 | 139 |
Jim Clancy | 31 | 30 | 193.2 | 10 | 12 | 4.09 | 96 | 88 | 91 | 106 |
Jerry Garvin | 26 | 22 | 144.2 | 4 | 12 | 5.54 | 92 | 89 | 48 | 67 |
Dave Lemanczyk | 29 | 20 | 136.2 | 4 | 14 | 6.26 | 97 | 95 | 67 | 62 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Balor Moore | 37 | 18 | 144.1 | 6 | 9 | 4.93 | 85 | 79 | 54 | 75 |
Don Kirkwood | 16 | 9 | 68.0 | 4 | 5 | 4.24 | 36 | 32 | 25 | 29 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Víctor Cruz | 32 | 47.1 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 1.71 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 51 |
Mike Willis | 44 | 100.2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4.56 | 55 | 51 | 39 | 52 |
Tom Murphy | 50 | 94.0 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3.93 | 43 | 41 | 37 | 36 |
Joe Coleman | 31 | 60.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.60 | 34 | 31 | 30 | 28 |
Dave Wallace | 6 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 7 |
Tom Buskey | 8 | 13.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
Mark Wiley | 2 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Farm system
Notes
- "1978 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- "1978 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- "All-Stars".
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
- 1978 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference
- 1978 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com