| 1978 California Angels | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Anaheim Stadium |
| City | Anaheim, California |
| Owners | Gene Autry |
| General managers | Buzzie Bavasi |
| Managers | Dave Garcia,Jim Fregosi |
| Television | KTLA |
| Radio | KMPC (Dick Enberg,Don Drysdale, Al Wisk) |
The1978 California Angels season was the18th season of the Angels franchise in theAmerican League, the 13th inAnaheim, and their 13th season playing their home games atAnaheim Stadium. The Angels finished the season tied for second in theAmerican League West with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses.
Late in the season, the Angels suffered the loss ofoutfielderLyman Bostock when Bostock was murdered on September 23 inGary, Indiana.[1]
This was the Angels' first winning season since1970.
On May 12, AngelspitcherNolan Ryan struck outBuddy Bell for the 2500thstrikeout of his career.[8]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 56–25 | 36–45 |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 52–30 | 35–45 |
| California Angels | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 50–31 | 37–44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 73 | 89 | .451 | 19 | 38–43 | 35–46 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 90 | .441 | 20½ | 38–42 | 33–48 |
| Oakland Athletics | 69 | 93 | .426 | 23 | 38–42 | 31–51 |
| Seattle Mariners | 56 | 104 | .350 | 35 | 32–49 | 24–55 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
| 1978 California Angels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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 | Brian Downing | 133 | 412 | 105 | .255 | 7 | 46 |
| 1B | Ron Jackson | 105 | 387 | 115 | .297 | 6 | 57 |
| 2B | Bobby Grich | 144 | 487 | 122 | .251 | 6 | 42 |
| SS | Dave Chalk | 135 | 470 | 119 | .253 | 1 | 34 |
| 3B | Carney Lansford | 121 | 453 | 133 | .294 | 8 | 52 |
| LF | Joe Rudi | 133 | 497 | 127 | .256 | 17 | 79 |
| CF | Rick Miller | 132 | 475 | 125 | .263 | 1 | 37 |
| RF | Lyman Bostock | 147 | 568 | 168 | .296 | 5 | 71 |
| DH | Don Baylor | 158 | 591 | 151 | .255 | 34 | 99 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Landreaux | 93 | 260 | 58 | .223 | 5 | 23 |
| Ron Fairly | 91 | 235 | 51 | .217 | 10 | 40 |
| Rance Mulliniks | 50 | 119 | 22 | .185 | 1 | 6 |
| Terry Humphrey | 53 | 114 | 25 | .219 | 1 | 9 |
| Jim Anderson | 48 | 108 | 21 | .194 | 0 | 7 |
| Merv Rettenmund | 50 | 108 | 29 | .269 | 1 | 14 |
| Tony Solaita | 60 | 94 | 21 | .223 | 1 | 14 |
| Danny Goodwin | 24 | 58 | 16 | .276 | 2 | 10 |
| Dave Machemer | 10 | 22 | 6 | .273 | 1 | 2 |
| Ike Hampton | 19 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 1 | 4 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Tanana | 33 | 239.0 | 18 | 12 | 3.65 | 137 |
| Nolan Ryan | 31 | 234.2 | 10 | 13 | 3.72 | 260 |
| Chris Knapp | 30 | 188.1 | 14 | 8 | 4.21 | 126 |
| Don Aase | 29 | 178.2 | 11 | 8 | 4.03 | 93 |
| Dave Frost | 11 | 80.1 | 5 | 4 | 2.58 | 30 |
| John Caneira | 2 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 7.04 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Hartzell | 54 | 157.0 | 6 | 10 | 3.44 | 55 |
| Ken Brett | 31 | 100.0 | 3 | 5 | 4.95 | 43 |
| Tom Griffin | 24 | 56.0 | 3 | 4 | 4.02 | 35 |
| Al Fitzmorris | 9 | 31.2 | 1 | 0 | 1.71 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave LaRoche | 59 | 10 | 9 | 25 | 2.82 | 70 |
| Dyar Miller | 41 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2.66 | 34 |
| Mike Barlow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: El Paso