1978 Minnesota Twins season

1978 Minnesota Twins
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s) Calvin Griffith
Manager(s) Gene Mauch
Local television WTCN
(Harmon Killebrew, Joe Boyle)
Local radio 830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal, Frank Quilici)
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The 1978 Minnesota Twins finished 73-89, fourth in the American League West.

Offseason

Regular season

On May 7, shortstop Roy Smalley set a Twins record by drawing five walks in a 15-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Smalley went 1 for 1 and scored three times.[7]

Third baseman Mike Cubbage, on July 27, became the fifth Twin to hit for the cycle (following Rod Carew, 1970; César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976 and Lyman Bostock, 1976). Cubby went double, homer, single, triple off Toronto Blue Jays' pitching. In subsequent years, five others will match the feat: Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986; Carlos Gómez, 2008; Jason Kubel, 2009; and Michael Cuddyer, 2009.

787,878 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in the American League. Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: first baseman Rod Carew. In that game at San Diego Stadium, Carew—in his twelfth consecutive All-Star appearance—performed an All-Star first by hitting two triples in the game.

Carew won his seventh AL batting title[8] with a .333 average, leading the team in hits and runs scored. Shortstop Roy Smalley hit 19 HR and collected 77 RBI. Dan Ford hit 11 HR and collected 82 RBI.

Reliever Mike Marshall was signed in May and replaced Tom Johnson and Bill Campbell as manager Gene Mauch's all-purpose reliever. Marshall went on to rack up 10 relief wins along with 21 saves. Three starters had double digit wins: Dave Goltz (15-10), Roger Erickson (14-13), Geoff Zahn (14-14).

Season standings

AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 92 70 0.568 56–25 36–45
Texas Rangers 87 75 0.537 5 52–30 35–45
California Angels 87 75 0.537 5 50–31 37–44
Minnesota Twins 73 89 0.451 19 38–43 35–46
Chicago White Sox 71 90 0.441 20½ 38–42 33–48
Oakland Athletics 69 93 0.426 23 38–42 31–51
Seattle Mariners 56 104 0.350 35 32–49 24–55

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League Records

Sources:

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

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

Roster

1978 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

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
1B Carew, RodRod Carew 152 564 188 .333 5 70
2B Randall, BobBob Randall 119 330 89 .270 0 21
SS Smalley, RoyRoy Smalley 158 586 160 .273 19 77
LF Norwood, WillieWillie Norwood 125 428 109 .255 8 46
CF Ford, DanDan Ford 151 592 162 .274 11 82
DH Adams, GlennGlenn Adams 116 310 80 .258 7 35

Other batters

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
Rivera, BomboBombo Rivera 101 251 68 .271 3 23
Morales, JoséJosé Morales 101 242 76 .314 2 38
Wolfe, LarryLarry Wolfe 88 235 55 .234 3 25
Kusick, CraigCraig Kusick 77 191 33 .173 4 20
Borgmann, GlennGlenn Borgmann 49 123 26 .211 3 15
Edwards, DaveDave Edwards 15 44 11 .250 1 3

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Erickson, RogerRoger Erickson 37 265.2 14 13 3.96 121
Zahn, GeoffGeoff Zahn 35 252.1 14 14 3.03 106
Goltz, DaveDave Goltz 29 220.1 15 10 2.49 116
Jackson, DarrellDarrell Jackson 19 92.1 4 6 4.48 54

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Perzanowski, StanStan Perzanowski 13 56.2 2 7 5.24 31
Johnson, DaveDave Johnson 6 12 0 2 7.50 7
Redfern, PetePete Redfern 3 9.2 0 2 6.52 4

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Marshall, MikeMike Marshall 54 10 12 21 2.45 56
Johnson, TomTom Johnson 18 1 4 3 5.51 21
Scarce, MacMac Scarce 17 1 1 0 3.94 17
Holly, JeffJeff Holly 15 1 1 0 3.57 12
Harrison, RoricRoric Harrison 9 0 1 0 7.50 7

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Mud Hens International League Cal Ermer
AA Orlando Twins Southern League Johnny Goryl
A Visalia Oaks California League Roy McMillan
A Wisconsin Rapids Twins Midwest League Rick Stelmaszek
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Visalia, Elizabethton

Notes

  1. Jim Hughes at Baseball Reference
  2. Steve Luebber at Baseball Reference
  3. Bombo Rivera at Baseball Reference
  4. Jesús Vega at Baseball Reference
  5. Jesse Orosco at Baseball Reference
  6. Don Carrithers at Baseball Reference
  7. "Smalley Draws 5 Walks". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  8. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 107, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  9. http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1978&t=MIN
  10. Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference
  11. Lenny Faedo at Baseball Reference
  12. Kent Hrbek at Baseball Reference

References

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