| 1978 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Astrodome | |||
| City | Houston,Texas | |||
| Record | 74–88 (.457) | |||
| Divisional place | 5th | |||
| Owners | General Electric,Ford Motor Company | |||
| General managers | Tal Smith | |||
| Managers | Bill Virdon | |||
| Television | KPRC-TV | |||
| Radio | KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston,Dewayne Staats) | |||
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The1978Houston Astros season was the17th season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their 14th as the Astros, 17th in theNational League (NL), tenth in theNL West division, and 14th at TheAstrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 81–81record for third place and 17games behind the division-champion and NLpennant-winningLos Angeles Dodgers.
AtRiverfront Stadium on April 6,J. R. Richard made his third of five consecutiveOpening Day starts for Houston, who were defeated by theCincinnati Reds, 11–9. The Astros'first round pick in theamateur draft was pitcherRod Boxberger at 11th overall; in the second round, they chose outfielderDanny Heep.
Center fielderTerry Puhl was Astros' representative at theMLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his lone career selection. Third basemanEddie Mathews, who briefly played for Houston in1967, became the second former Astro to beinducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame.
The Astros concluded the season fifth in the NL West with a record of 74–88, 21 games behindLos Angeles, who repeated as both division champions and NL pennant winners. J. R. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher in National League history to reach 300strikeouts, as well as the first Houston Astros pitcher to lead the league, with 303.
| 21 | Terry Puhl | LF |
| 23 | Enos Cabell | 3B |
| 28 | César Cedeño | CF |
| 25 | José Cruz | RF |
| 27 | Bob Watson | 1B |
| 13 | Joe Ferguson | C |
| 18 | Art Howe | 2B |
| 14 | Roger Metzger | SS |
| 50 | J. R. Richard | P |
| Venue: | Riverfront Stadium • CIN 11, | HOU 9 |
On May 20,José Cruz got the Astros off to fast start with a two-run first-inning bomb as they lifted off on theAtlanta Braves, 13–0.[6] He never looked back, capturing both career highs of four hits and sixruns batted in (RBI),[7] and added a stolen base.[6]Denny Walling connected for his first major league home run,[8] and added three RBI.Enos Cabell collected three hits as Astros hitters struck out just once. In his second straightshutout,[8]J. R. Richard was brilliant, striking out 8 to yield agame score of 80, while, at the plate, he added a hit, run scored and an RBI.[6]
Threewild pitches in one inning on May 30 during an overwise gem of an outing byJ. R. Richard set up the lone run of the contest to score as theSan Francisco Giants prevailed, 1–0.[9]
In spite of setting a new record as a team with 7errors on June 12, the Astros'Jesús Alou hit a leadoffdouble to start a rally in the top of the eighthinning. The Astros followed with six runs scored that led to 6–5 win over thePittsburgh Pirates.[10]
Richard surpassedTom Seaver's record of 289 strikeouts on September 19, by whiffing the Braves'Bob Horner in the seventh inning. The strikeout record was for right-handers in the National League.
On September 28, J. R. Richard recorded his 300thstrikeout of the season in a 4–3 win over the Braves, tallying six whiffs to get to 303. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher inNational League history to achieve this milestone in one season, He also homered in the third inning offLarry McWilliams. The Astros rallied to win in the seventh inning with a double byReggie Baldwin and a single byRafael Landestoy.[11]
Enos Cabell became the first Astro to play the full 162-game schedule, while establishing other single-season franchise records. including hits (195) andat bats (660). His hits record stood until1998 whenCraig Biggio collected 210.[12] Hence, Cabell was named the Houston Astros' teamMost Valuable Player (MVP).[13]
For the second consecutive season, Richard led the NL inhits per nine innings (6.278 H/9), the third time by an Astros pitcher.[14]
Richard's 56 wins also led NL right-handers over the previous three seasons.
| 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 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | 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 | — | |||||
| 1978 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Astros win | |
| Astros loss | |
| Postponement | |
| Eliminated from playoff race | |
| Bold | Astros team member |
| 1978 regular season game log: 74–88 (Home: 46–35; Away: 35–46)[20] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 10–12 (Home: 7–5; Away: 3–7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
May: 10–13 (Home: 7–6; Away: 3–7)
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June: 13–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 4–8)
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August: 14–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 5–10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
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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 | Joe Ferguson | 51 | 150 | 31 | .207 | 7 | 22 |
| 1B | Bob Watson | 139 | 461 | 133 | .289 | 14 | 79 |
| 2B | Art Howe | 119 | 420 | 123 | .293 | 7 | 55 |
| SS | Rafael Landestoy | 59 | 218 | 58 | .266 | 0 | 9 |
| 3B | Enos Cabell | 162 | 660 | 195 | .295 | 7 | 71 |
| LF | Denny Walling | 120 | 247 | 62 | .251 | 3 | 36 |
| CF | Terry Puhl | 149 | 585 | 169 | .289 | 3 | 35 |
| RF | José Cruz | 153 | 565 | 178 | .315 | 10 | 83 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio González | 78 | 223 | 52 | .233 | 1 | 16 |
| César Cedeño | 50 | 192 | 54 | .281 | 7 | 23 |
| Dave Bergman | 104 | 186 | 43 | .231 | 0 | 12 |
| Bruce Bochy | 54 | 154 | 41 | .266 | 3 | 15 |
| Luis Pujols | 56 | 153 | 20 | .131 | 1 | 11 |
| Wilbur Howard | 84 | 148 | 34 | .230 | 1 | 13 |
| Jimmy Sexton | 88 | 141 | 29 | .206 | 2 | 6 |
| Jesús Alou | 77 | 139 | 45 | .312 | 2 | 19 |
| Roger Metzger | 45 | 123 | 27 | .220 | 0 | 6 |
| Mike Fischlin | 44 | 86 | 10 | .116 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Baldwin | 38 | 67 | 17 | .254 | 1 | 11 |
| Keith Drumright | 17 | 55 | 9 | .164 | 0 | 2 |
| Ed Herrmann | 16 | 36 | 4 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 8 | 26 | 10 | .385 | 0 | 4 |
| Joe Cannon | 8 | 18 | 4 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Obradovich | 10 | 17 | 3 | .176 | 0 | 2 |
| = Indicates league leader |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. R. Richard | 36 | 275.0 | 18 | 11 | 3.11 | 303 |
| Mark Lemongello | 33 | 210.1 | 9 | 14 | 3.94 | 77 |
| Joe Niekro | 35 | 202.2 | 14 | 14 | 3.86 | 97 |
| Vern Ruhle | 13 | 68.0 | 3 | 3 | 2.12 | 27 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Dixon | 30 | 140.0 | 7 | 11 | 3.99 | 66 |
| Joaquín Andújar | 35 | 110.2 | 5 | 7 | 3.42 | 55 |
| Floyd Bannister | 28 | 110.1 | 3 | 9 | 4.81 | 94 |
| Dan Warthen | 5 | 10.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.22 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Sambito | 62 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 3.07 | 96 |
| Ken Forsch | 52 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 2.70 | 71 |
| Rick Williams | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.67 | 17 |
| Bo McLaughlin | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5.01 | 10 |
| Gene Pentz | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 8 |
| Oscar Zamora | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.20 | 6 |
| Frank Riccelli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Individual | Pos. | Colt .45s / Astros career | Induction | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yr. | Gm. | St. | Fin. | ||||
| Eddie Mathews | 3B | 11 | 1 | 101 | 1967 | 1967 | 1978 | Plaque |
| See also:Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame •Ref:[21] | ||||||||
| Player | K | W–L | ERA | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. R. Richard | 303 | 18–11 | 3.11 | 9.9 |
