The expression on his face really matches his last name.
Steve Stone led the White Sox with 12 victories in 1978. It was the second year he led the team in that category.
After the 1978 season Stone went to the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent. He would have his Cy Young season in 1980 and then pitch in his final major league game a year later.
1978 Stats: 12-12, 4.37 ERA in 30 starts
1978 Highlights:
June 5 - Pitched a 2-0 shutout against the Cleveland Indians
July 24 - Earned the win by pitching a complete game and allowing only one run in Chicago's 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ivan De Jesus was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969. DeJesus worked his way through the Dodgers' system, but there wasn't room for him on the major league club. After having limited playing time in 1974, 1975, and 1976 Ivan was traded (with Bill Buckner and a minor leaguer) to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Monday and Mike Garman.
DeJesus was given a chance by the Cubs and he made the most of it. DeJesus played in 155 or more games in each of the next four seasons (1977-1980). Ivan batted .266 with 91 runs scored in 1977.
Ivan led the NL in runs scored (104) in 1978 and also stole 41 bases.
In 1979 DeJesus scored 92 runs and batted .283. He also had a career high with 10 triples.
Ivan's stats started to drop off in 1980. He dropped to .259 and scored only 78 runs. DeJesus did steal a career high 44 bases.
DeJesus played in 106 games in 1981, but that was the strike year. He had a .194 batting average and Ivan's days in Chicago were numbered. After the 1981 season DeJesus was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa (WHOOOOOOPS!!).
Ivan was the starting shortstop for the Phillies from 1982-1984. He didn't put up the numbers that he did in Chicago. In 1982 DeJesus batted .239 in 161 games, in 1983 he batted .254 in 158 games, and in 1984 Ivan batted .257 in 144 games. In 1983 DeJesus batted .250 (3 for 12) in the NL Championship Series and .125 (2 for 16) in the World Series.
In 1985 the Phillies gave the starting shortstop job to Steve Jeltz. DeJesus was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dave Rucker. Ivan backed up Ozzie Smith at shortstop and Terry Pendleton at third base. Both players were durable, so DeJesus didn't get to play much (.222 in 78 at bats).
DeJesus became a free agent after the 1985 season and signed with the Montreal Expos. He didn't make the team and was released at the end of spring training. Ivan signed with the New York Yankees on May 1 and spent some time with AAA Columbus. He went 0 for 4 in seven games for the Yankees and was released on June 24. Ivan then signed with the Cincinnati Reds in July and played in the minors but was released after a couple of weeks.
In 1987 DeJesus signed with the Cardinals. Ivan spent some time in AAA but was released by the Cardinals in June without getting back to the majors. He signed with the San Francisco Giants, played in AAA Phoenix, and spent a little bit of time in San Francisco (2 for 10 in 9 games).
DeJesus moved on to Detroit in June 1988. He spent most of the year in the minors but was up with the Tigers for about a week in July (.176 in 7 games). Ivan played in the minors for the Tigers in 1989 but he never made it back to the majors.
After his playing career DeJesus had various managing and coaching jobs, mostly in the minors. Ivan served as a coach with the Chicago Cubs in 2010 and in 2011.
1978 Stats: .278, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 104 runs scored
1978 Highlights:
Apr 16 - Went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI to help the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1.
June 16 - Had three hits and knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th inning against the Houston Astros. The Astros were able to tie the game twice in the 9th and 10th innings, but the Cubs eventually won the game 7-6 in 12 innings.
July 28 - Doubled and scored the only run in the game in the 7th inning of Chicago's 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Milt Wilcox had what was thus far his best year in 1978. Milt was third on the Detroit staff in victories and had his first season with double figure wins.
Wilcox had both good and rough streaks in 1978. He lost all five of his starts in June and then he won six straight starts at the end of July and through the month of August.
1978 Stats: 13-12, 3.76 ERA in 29 games (27 starts)
1978 Highlights:
May 7 - Shut out the Oakland A's on four hits as the Tigers won 4-0.
May 31 - Struck out nine batters and walked only one in a 3-0 shutout win against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Bobby Bonds played for two teams in 1978 and neither one of them was the California Angels. After the 1977 season Bonds was traded (with Thad Bosley and Rich Dotson) to the Chicago White Sox for Brian Downing, Chris Knapp, and David Frost. Bonds played in games for the White Sox and then on May 16 was traded to the Texas Rangers for Rusty Torres and Claudell Washington.
Bobby had his last 30-30 season in 1978 -- he hit 31 home runs and stole 43 bases.
Here is a promo video that Bonds did for bat day in 1978:
1978 Stats:
Chicago White Sox: .278, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 26 games
Texas Rangers: .265, 29 HR, 82 RBI in 130 games
TOTAL: .267, 31 HR, 90 RBI in 156 games
1978 Highlights:
June 23 - Went 3 for 3 with two home runs and six RBI to lead the Rangers to a 7-0 victory over the California Angels.
July 28 - Homered twice and knocked in four runs as the Rangers beat the White Sox 9-5.
Sept 25 - Hit a home run in the bottom of the 8th inning and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning in the Rangers' 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Dale Murray spent the 1978 season with two different teams. Murray pitched in 15 games for the Reds and on May 19 he was traded to the New York Mets for Ken Henderson. The 6'4" Murray ended up pitching in 68 games for the season.
1978 Stats:
Cincinnati Reds: 1-1, 2 saves, 4.15 ERA in 15 games
New York Mets: 8-5, 5 saves, 3.65 ERA in 53 games
TOTAL: 9-6, 7 saves, 3.78 ERA in 68 games
1978 Highlights:
Apr 23 - Pitched three scoreless innings and earned the win as the Reds beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
Aug 19 - Was the winning pitcher in New York's 8-4 win over the LA Dodgers. Murray pitched two innings without allowing a run. Dale was 2-0 with 1 save and had a 1.13 ERA in 9 games and 16 innings pitched against the Dodgers.
Andre Thornton had a very nice year as the Cleveland first baseman in 1978. He led the team in home runs and RBI, and he also walked 93 times and scored 97 runs. It's surprising that Thornton didn't make the AL All Star team.
Before the 1978 season Andre had to deal with a family tragedy. On October 17, 1977 the car he was driving slid off of the road in windy and icy conditions. His wife and daughter were both killed in the accident.
When I think of Andre Thornton I think of the old Time Travel tabletop baseball game. It was a game that had special rules so that players across eras could compete against each other. Andre was hit by a pitch and because of the "time travel" factor (and in a very rare play) he was killed by the pitch. I wrote, "dead-do not use" on his card and never used it again. For sentimental reasons, I wish I still had that game.
1978 Stats: .262, 33 HR, 105 RBI in 145 games
1978 Highlghts:
Apr 22 - Hit for the cycle in Cleveland's 13-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Each of his hits was off of a different pitcher.
May 13 - Singled in both Cleveland runs as the Indians beat the California Angels 2-1.
Sept 14 - Doubled in a run in the first inning and later scored on a home run. Thornton had two doubles to help the Indians beat the Red Sox 4-3.
