- Dick Pole's final major league season was in 1978. Pole had a rough time in '78, posting his highest career ERA. He was sent down to AAA in July and never made it back to the majors.
- Pole was released by the Mariners during spring training in 1979. He pitched for several teams in AAA from 1979-1981.
- 1978 Stats:
- Seattle Mariners: 4-11, 6.48 ERA in 21 games (18 starts)
- San Jose Missions (AAA): 0-4, 4.22 ERA in 6 games (5 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 16 - Pitched 8.1 innings and allowed four runs. Pole earned the win in Seattle's 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.
- May 23 - Earned his final career win by allowing two earned runs in seven innings. The Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3.
- In the late 1970s the Detroit Tigers were finishing their turnover of the roster. Mickey Stanley was the last Tiger remaining from the 1968 world championship team. Stanley was a backup outfielder and first baseman in 1978. Mickey was released after the 1978 season.
- 1978 Stats: .265, 3 HR, 8 RBI in 53 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- Aug 11 - Had three hits in Detroit's 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox
- Aug 19 - Had two hits and scored a run to help Detroit beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-4.
- Wayne Nordhagen was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1968. Wayne spent a long time in the minors -- he didn't make it to the majors until 1976 when he was in his fifth organization and was 26 years old. The Yankees traded Nordhagen to the Atlanta Braves in 1973. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975. Wayne was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies in April 1976 and then was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Coggins in July 1976.
- Nordhagen finally made his major league debut on July 16, 1976. He batted .188 in 22 games for the White Sox.
- Wayne was in the majors to stay in 1977. He was a backup outfielder during his career, but he also saw some action behind the plate. Nordhagen batted .315 with 4 HR and 22 RBI in 52 games in 1977.
- Nordhagen had another good year as a bench player in 1978, batting .301 with 5 HR and 35 RBI in 68 games. He didn't play from mid July until early September.
- Wayne was a good bat off of the bench during his career. He batted .280 in 1979.
- Nordhagen got the most playing time of his career in 1980. He played in 123 games and batted .277 with 15 HR and 59 RBI.
- Wayne also got a lot of playing time in the strike-shortened 1981 season. In 65 games Nordhagen batted .308.
- The 1982 season was an odyssey for Wayne. On April 2 he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Aurelio Rodriguez. Wayne was then traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Davis on June 15. On the same day Nordhagen was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bill Robinson. Wayne spent a week in a Pirate uniform and played in one game and then he was traded back to the Blue Jays for Davis. Nordhagen had a bad back that the Pirates didn't know about. Nordhagen went back to the Blue Jays and the Pirates got Davis. All together Wayne batted .275 in 73 games.
- After the 1982 season Nordhagen became a free agent and signed with the Chicago Cubs. He had a tough time in his final season, batting .143 in 21 games. Wayne was released by the Cubs on June 9.
- 1978 Stats: .301, 5 HR, 35 RBI in 68 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 7 - Had two hits and doubled in the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5.
- May 12 - Knocked in a run with a double in the third inning that put the White Sox up 4-0. The White Sox held on to win the rain-shortened game 4-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Before the 1978 season Al Hrabosky was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Littell and Buck Martinez. Hrabosky led the Royals with 20 saves.
- 1978 Stats:
- Regular season: 8-7, 20 saves, 2.88 ERA in 58 games
- AL Championship Series: 0-0, 3.00 ERA in 3 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 8 - Gave up Carl Yastrzemski's 368th career home run. Manager Whitey Herzog ordered Al to intentionally walk Jim Rice to get to the left handed hitting Yaz. Carl hit a 3-run home run to ice the 8-4 Boston victory.
- Aug 15 - Pitched three shutout innings to earn his 15th save in Kansas City's 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers
- Leo Foster's major league career was over when we were pulling his card from 1978 packs. Foster was traded to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Jim Burton on March 29, 1978. Leo played sparingly for AAA Pawtucket in 1978 and then played in Puerto Rico in 1979.
- 1978 Stats:
- Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA): .239, 3 HR, 15 RBI in 48 games
- Manny Mota was used exclusively as a pinch hitter in 1978. Mota set the record (since broken) for pinch hits in 1979.
- 1978 Stats:
- Regular Season: .303 (10 for 33), 0 HR, 6 RBI in 37 games
- NL Championship Series: 1 for 1 in 2 games
- World Series: 0 for 0, 1 BB in 1 game
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 22 - Doubled in three runs to help the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-1.
- Aug 24 - Singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning of the Dodgers' 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies
- Joe Ferguson started the 1978 season with the Houston Astros. On July 1 Joe was traded to the LA Dodgers for Jeffrey Leonard and Rafael Landestoy. Ferguson then teamed up with Steve Yeager behind the plate for the NL Champions. It was Ferguson's second stint with the Dodgers. Yeager got the larger share of the playing time during the playoffs.
- 1978 Stats:
- Houston Astros: .207, 7 HR, 22 RBI in 51 games
- Los Angeles Dodgers: .237, 7 HR, 28 RBI in 61 games
- TOTAL: .224, 14 HR, 50 RBI in 112 games
- NL Championship Series: .000 (0 for 2) in 2 games
- World Series: .500 (2 for 4) in 2 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- Sept 6 - On my 12th birthday Ferguson doubled twice, homered, and knocked in four runs to help the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 9-2.
- Sept 16 - Singled in both Dodger runs in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
- Don Gullett was on the disabled list until early June 1978. Don had a rough start on June 4 and then won four of his next five starts. It looked like Gullett was back from his arm woes. Gullett lost his next two starts and that was it for his career. Rotator cuff problems caused Don to miss the rest of the 1978 season.
- Don had rotator cuff surgery in September 1978. Gullett tried to recover in 1979 and 1980, but he couldn't make it back. Don was released in late 1980.
- 1978 Stats: 4-2, 3.63 ERA in 8 starts
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 15 - Got his first win of the season when he pitched six scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees won 5-2.
- June 30 - Had a complete game victory for his last major league win. The Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 10-2.
- Jerry Tabb starred for the University of Tulsa from 1971-1973. Tabb was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1971 College World Series and was an All-American in 1973. Tabb was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round in 1973. He continued to take classes at the University of Tulsa and got his degree in petroleum engineering in 1976.
- Tabb worked his way through the Cubs system and earned a September call-up in 1976. Jerry batted .292 in 11 games for the Cubs.
- After the 1976 season Jerry was purchased by the Oakland A's. Tabb hit very well in AAA San Jose (.344 in 84 games). Jerry played for the A's for various stretches during the 1977 season and batted .222 with 6 HR and 19 RBI in 51 games. Tabb's progress was blocked by new first baseman Dave Revering.
- Jerry Tabb spent May 1978 with the Oakland A's. That was the last of his time in the major leagues. Tabb played in 97 games for the AAA Vancouver Canadiens and hit very well, but he retired after the 1978 season.
- Jerry went on to be an oil engineer for Texaco and Chevron. He is now the owner of C-T Oil & Gas Consultants in Texas.
- 1978 Stats:
- Oakland A's: .111 (1 for 9), 0 HR, 1 RBI in 12 games
- Vancouver Canadiens (AAA): .357, 18 HR, 75 RBI in 97 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 12: Appeared as a pinch hitter and singled in a run in Oakland's 10-4 win over the Detroit Tigers.
- Bruce Kison started the 1978 season as a relief pitcher. He moved into the starting rotation after the All Star Break and was 4-4 as a starter.
- Kison had problems with a cracked fingernail during the previous season.
- 1978 Stats: 6-6, 3.19 ERA in 28 games (11 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- Aug 2: Pitched eight shutout innings and allowed three hits as the Pirates beat the Montreal Expos 3-0.
- Sept 1: Allowed two hits and no runs in 7 2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates won the game 3-0.
