1978 Baseball

Sunday, June 14, 2015

What's a "Strike ut?"
Tony Armas struggled through a tough season in 1978. He didn't play for about five weeks from late April to early June. Tony also didn't play much in the last two months of the season.
1978 Stats: .213, 2 HR, 13 RBI in 91 games
1978 Highlights:

April 19 - Had three hits and knocked in what would prove to be the winning run in the top of the 11th as the A's beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 in 11 innings.
June 25 - Homered, knocked in two runs, and scored twice as the A's bet the Kansas City Royals 6-3.

That fro. That chaw. Those eyes. What a cool card.
Warren Brusstar was an unsung part of a great Philadelphia bullpen in 1978. Brusstar did good work as a middle reliever for the Phillies.
1978 Stats:

July 5 - Pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and earned the win as the Phillies beat the New York Mets 7-5.
Aug 30 - Shut out the San Diego Padres for three innings and picked up a win as the Phillies came from behind to win 6-5.

Biff Pocoroba was Atlanta's representative in the 1978 All Star Game. He appeared behind the plate in the 9th inning but did not bat.
Pocoroba had shoulder problems but elected to try to play through the season in late July. He played his last game of the season on August 8 and finally shut it down for the year. He had shoulder surgery in September. Biff came back in June of the following season but he never was able to get back to the same level of play.
It's interesting that Biff's middle name is Benedict. His replacement at catcher for the Braves was Bruce Benedict.
1978 Stats: .242, 6 HR, 34 RBI in 92 games
1978 Highlights:

May 7 - Signed a six-year, $750,000 contract. It ended up working out well for Biff as he was injured and wasn't the same player after 1978.
June 7 - Hit a grand slam to help the Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0.
June 30 - Hit a 3-run home run and was 2 for 3 with two runs scored in Atlanta's 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Bill Lee had a tumultuous 1978 season. Lee started the season 10-3, but from mid-July to mid-August he lost seven straight decisions. Bill clashed with manager Don Zimmer and was a founding member of the (in)famous Buffalo Heads club. Lee was pulled from the starting rotation in late August and appeared only a few times in relief during the remainder of the season. Lee was traded to the Montreal Expos after the season.
Here is Bill Lee's SABR biography
1978 Stats: 10-10, 3.46 ERA in 28 games (24 starts)
1978 Highlights:

April 9 - Shut out the Chicago White Sox 5-0 in his first start of the season.
May 16 - Ran his record to 6-0 by pitching a complete game 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals
June 23 - Allowed two runs and pitched a complete game as the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2.

Larry Parrish showed improvement in 1978. His breakout season would come the next year. Parrish was the starting third baseman for Montreal from 1975-1981.
1978 Stats: .277, 15 HR, 70 RBI in 144 games
1978 Highlights:

June 7 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBI as the Expos beat the San Diego Padres 8-3.
July 30 - Hit three home runs, knocked in six runs, and scored four runs in Montreal's 19-0 slaughtering of the Atlanta Braves.
Sept 1 - Doubled and scored in the top of the 12 inning in Montreal's 3-2 win over the Padres.

That Brut ad in Yankee Stadium just screams "1970s".
Mike Willis was mostly a middle and late inning reliever for the Blue Jays in 1978. Toronto used three different guys to close out games -- Willis, Victor Cruz, and Tom Murphy.
Willis made two starts in September against the New York Yankees because he was a lefty. Mike was 1-1 in the two starts.
Mike recalls his career in this article.
1978 Stats: 3-7, 7 saves, 4.56 ERA in 44 games (2 starts)
1978 Highlights:

May 16 - Allowed one unearned run in 2 1/3 innings and got the win as Toronto beat the California Angels 5-4.
Aug 23 - Earned the save by pitching 2 2/3 shutout innings in Toronto's 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers
Sept 20 - Allowed six hits and one run in a complete game 8-1 win over the Yankees. Mike \struck out Reggie Jackson three times. It was the third (and last) loss for Ron Guidry, who went 25-3.

That's quite the choke-up grip Mr. Richards is showing.
Gene Richards had career highs in batting average in games played in 1978. Richards started in left field for the Padres (although he made several starts at 1B in April) and usually led off.
1978 Stats: .308, 4 HR, 45 RBI, 90 runs in 154 games
1978 Highlights:

May 12 - Had three hits, knocked in three runs, and scored twice to help the Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4
June 26 - Had three hits and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th as the Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
Sept 21 - Went 4 for 4 in San Diego's 5-1 win over the Giants.