1978 Oakland Athletics season

1978 Oakland Athletics
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkOakland-Alameda County Coliseum
CityOakland, California
Record69–93 (.426)
Divisional place6th
OwnersCharles O. Finley
ManagersBobby Winkles, Jack McKeon
TelevisionKPIX-TV
(Monte Moore, Bob Waller)
RadioKALX/KNEW (AM)
(Larry Baer & Bob Kozberg/Bud Foster, Bob Cosgrove, Curt Flood & Jim Peterson)
← 1977 Seasons 1979 →

The 1978 Oakland Athletics season was the team's eleventh in Oakland, California. The team sought to rebound from its first losing season in a decade (a 63–98 result in 1977). Despite low expectations, the Athletics remained competitive for nearly three-quarters of the season. Despite posting a respectable 61–56 mark through 117 games, the Athletics collapsed in the season's final weeks; their 8–37 finish ensured a second consecutive season of fewer than 70 wins.

Only one player (Billy North) remained from the team's 1974 championship season. He would be traded to the Dodgers in May.

Prior to the season, owner Charlie Finley nearly sold the team to buyers who would have moved them to Denver.

Offseason

Vida Blue trade

The trade of Vida Blue was a very complicated deal for A's owner Charles O. Finley. At the end of the 1977 season, Finley attempted to trade Vida Blue to the Cincinnati Reds for a player of lesser stature and cash, but baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the deal. The commissioner claimed that it was tantamount to the sale of the star pitcher to the Yankees that the commissioner voided during 1976. The commissioner claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race. Instead, Blue was traded across the bay to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player trade that received the commissioner's blessing.

Proposed sale

After the 1977 season, Charlie Finley had heart bypass surgery and his health was in decline. He had received offers from groups in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., and from billionaire oilman Marvin Davis from Denver.[6] In December 1977, Finley agreed to sell the Athletics to Marvin Davis for 12.5 million dollars. The franchise would move to Denver for the 1978 season. The American League owners approved the sale and the transfer of the franchise.[7] The board of the Oakland Coliseum had prepared a lawsuit against Finley, as there were still 10 years left on their stadium lease. Bowie Kuhn and San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie worked with Finley to attempt to find a compromise that would allow the Athletics to leave Oakland.

Regular season

Season standings

AL West
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

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League record

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 —


Notable transactions

Draft picks

Roster

1978 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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
C Jim Essian 126 278 62 .223 3 26
1B Dave Revering 152 521 141 .271 16 46
2B Mike Edwards 142 414 113 .273 1 23
SS Mario Guerrero 143 505 139 .275 3 38
3B Wayne Gross 118 285 57 .200 7 23
LF Mitchell Page 147 516 147 .285 17 70
CF Joe Wallis 85 279 66 .237 6 26
RF Gary Thomasson 47 154 31 .201 5 16
DH Gary Alexander 58 174 36 .207 10 22

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
Taylor Duncan 104 319 82 .257 2 37
Jeff Newman 105 268 64 .239 9 32
Miguel Diloné 135 258 59 .229 1 14
Tony Armas 91 239 51 .213 2 13
Glenn Burke 78 200 47 .235 1 14
Dell Alston 58 173 36 .208 1 10
Rico Carty 41 141 39 .277 11 31
Willie Horton 32 102 32 .314 3 19
Rob Picciolo 79 93 21 .226 2 7
Bruce Robinson 28 84 21 .250 0 8
Steve Staggs 47 78 19 .244 0 0
Billy North 24 52 11 .212 0 5
Dwayne Murphy 60 52 10 .192 0 5
Tito Fuentes 13 43 6 .140 0 2
Tim Hosley 13 23 7 .304 0 3
Mike Adams 15 15 3 .200 0 1
Larry Murray 11 12 1 .083 0 0
Marty Perez 16 12 0 .000 0 0
Jerry Tabb 12 9 1 .111 0 1
Darrell Woodard 33 9 0 .000 0 0
Scott Meyer 8 9 1 .111 0 0
Mark Budaska 4 4 1 .250 0 0

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
Matt Keough 32 197.1 8 15 3.24 108
John Henry Johnson 33 186.0 11 10 3.39 91
Pete Broberg 35 165.2 10 12 4.62 94
Steve Renko 27 151.0 6 12 4.29 89
Alan Wirth 16 81.2 5 6 3.43 31
Mike Morgan 3 12.1 0 3 7.30 0
Tim Conroy 2 4.2 0 0 7.71 0

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
Rick Langford 37 175.2 7 13 3.43 92
Mike Norris 14 49.0 0 5 5.51 36
Craig Minetto 4 12.0 0 0 3.75 3

Relief pitchers

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

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Elías Sosa 68 109.0 8 2 14 2.64 61
Dave Heaverlo 69 130.0 3 6 10 3.25 71
Bob Lacey 74 119.2 8 9 5 3.01 60
Joe Coleman 10 19.2 3 0 0 1.37 4
Steve McCatty 9 20.0 0 0 0 4.50 10

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Vancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League Jim Marshall
AA Jersey City A's Eastern League John Kennedy
A Modesto A's California League Gaylen Pitts
A-Short Season Bend Timber Hawks Northwest League Ed Nottle

References

  1. ^ Dave Revering page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Vida Blue page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Sheldon Mallory page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Dick Allen page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Mark Williams page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 272, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  7. ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 273
  8. ^ Manny Sanguillén page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Joe Coleman page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Joe Wallis page at Baseball Reference
  11. ^ Mickey Klutts page at Baseball Reference
  12. ^ a b Tito Fuentes page at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ a b Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ Keith Atherton page at Baseball-Reference
  15. ^ Kelvin Moore page at Baseball-Reference