The1978Cincinnati Reds season was the 109th season for the franchise inMajor League Baseball, and their 9th season atRiverfront Stadium. The Reds finished in second place in theNational League West with a record of 92-69, 2½ games behind theLos Angeles Dodgers. The Reds were managed bySparky Anderson and played their home games atRiverfront Stadium. Following the season, Anderson was replaced as manager byJohn McNamara, andPete Rose left to sign with thePhiladelphia Phillies for the 1979 season.

• October 31, 1977:Woodie Fryman andBill Caudill were traded by the Reds to theChicago Cubs forBill Bonham.^[1]
• October 31, 1977:Joe Henderson was purchased from the Reds by theToronto Blue Jays.^[2]
• December 9, 1977:Dave Collins was acquired by the Reds from theSeattle Mariners forShane Rawley.
• February 25, 1978:Dave Revering and cash were traded by the Reds to theOakland Athletics forDoug Bair.^[3]

In honor ofSaint Patrick's Day, Reds general managerDick Wagner had green versions of the Reds' uniforms made. The Reds hosted theNew York Yankees atAl Lopez Field on March 17, 1978. This was the first time a major league team wore green trimmed uniforms on March 17, a practice adopted in subsequent years by multiple major league teams.^[4]

During the season, Pete Rose tied theNational League record with a 44-gamehitting streak held byWillie Keeler. The streak began on June 14, and came to an end on August 1.

On June 16, 1978 atRiverfront Stadium,Tom Seaver recorded a 4-0 no-hitter against theSt. Louis Cardinals. It was the only no-hitter of his professional career.

• June 6, 1978:1978 Major League Baseball draft
  • Skeeter Barnes was drafted by the Reds in the 16th round. Player signed June 8, 1978.^[5]
  • Otis Nixon was drafted by the Reds in the 21st round, but did not sign.^[6]

• May 19, 1978:Dale Murray was traded by the Reds to theNew York Mets forKen Henderson.

On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th and youngest player in major league history to collect his3,000th career hit, with a single offExpos pitcherSteve Rogers. Three days later, due to an illness and back spasms, Rose was forced to snap a 678consecutive games played streak, which was the longest active streak in the majors at the time.^[7]

On June 14 in Cincinnati, Rose singled in the first inning off Cubs pitcherDave Roberts; Rose would proceed to get a hit in every game he played until August 1, making a run atJoe DiMaggio's record56-game hitting streak, which had stood virtually unchallenged for 37 years. The streak started quietly, but by the time it had reached 30 games, the media took notice and a pool of reporters accompanied Rose and the Reds to every game. On July 19 against thePhillies, Rose was hitless going into the ninth with his team trailing. He ended up walking and the streak appeared over. But the Reds managed to bat through their entire lineup, giving Rose another chance. FacingRon Reed, Rose laid down a perfectbunt single to extend the streak to 32 games.

He eventually tiedWillie Keeler's single season National League record at 44 games; but on August 1, the streak came to an end asGene Garber of theBraves struck out Rose in the ninth inning. The competitive Rose was sour after the game, blasting Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the 7th game of theWorld Series" and adding that "Phil Niekro would have given me a fastball to hit."^[8]

^[9]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

^[10]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

^[10]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings

• 1978 Cincinnati Reds season atBaseball Reference
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.

• Cincinnati Reds seasons
• 1978 Major League Baseball season
• 1978 in sports in Ohio

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