1978 Baseball

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Dave Chalk played all over the infield in 1978. He spent the bulk of his time (92 games) at shortstop and he also played about 20 games each at third base and at second base.
This was Dave's last season as a full-time player. He was a backup infielder from 1979-1981.
Chalk was injured while cutting a dinner roll on a team flight on May 28 and missed 5 games.
1978 Stats: .253, 1 HR, 34 RBI in 135 games
1978 Highlights:

April 19 - Had three hits in California's 11-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
June 28 - Went 4 for 5 as the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 9-5.
July 24 - Had three hits and singled in the winning run in the top of the 16th inning to help the Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4.

Gene Garber had the most noted moment of his career in 1978 when he was the last pitcher Pete Rose faced when his 44-game hitting streak ended on August 1. Other Atlanta pitchers retired Rose earlier in the game, but Garber got the most ink due to Pete complaining after the game about Garber's joy in getting him out in his last at bat.
Gene started the 1978 season with the Phillies but on June 15 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Dick Ruthven. The Phillies had a strong bullpen but they needed more starting pitching.
Garber had probably the best season of his 19 year career in 1978. After coming over from Philadelphia, Gene became the Braves' closer and racked up 22 saves in the last 3 1/2 months of the season.
1978 Stats:

May 7 - Shut out the New York Mets for four innings and earned the win as the Phillies beat the Mets 8-5.
July 3 - Struck out four batters in three shutout innings to save the game for starter Rick Camp. The Braves beat the LA Dodgers 4-2.
Aug 7 - Allowed one run in three innings and saved the game in Atlanta's 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds

Milt May started 89 games behind the plate in 1978, but he was hearing footsteps from Lance Parrish. Parrish replaced May as the starting catcher the next season and May was sold to the Chicago White Sox in May 1979.
1978 Stats: .250, 10 HR, 57 RBI in 105 games
1978 Highlights:

April 11 - Had three hits (including a home run) and knocked in three runs to help the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2.
May 24 - Went 3 for 4 as the Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2.

After the 1977 season Jerry Morales was traded (with Steve Swisher and cash) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Hector Cruz and Dave Rader. Jerry was used as the Cardinals' starting right fielder for most of the season. Morales struggled in St. Louis and after the 1978 season he was traded to the Detroit Tigers.
1978 Stats: .239, 4 HR, 46 RBI in 130 games
1978 Highlights:

May 10 - Hit a 2-run home run to tie the game at 5-5 in the 5th inning. The Cardinals eventually beat the LA Dodgers 6-5.
May 30 - Had three hits and scored two runs as the Cardinals beat the New York Mets 8-2.

Wayne Garland started six games in April. He got roughed up in five of those starts. Garland took the loss in his only quality start of the season.
Wayne had tendonitis during spring training and then in late April he underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Garland was out for the rest of the 1978 season.
1978 Stats: 2-3, 7.89 ERA in 6 starts
1978 Highlights:

April 8 - Started for the Indians on opening day and got the win in spite of allowing five runs in six innings. Cleveland beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5.
April 16 - Allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings but took the loss as the Royals beat the Indians 2-1.

Robin Yount didn't play his first 1978 game until May 6. Yount was 22 years old but was already playing in his fifth season. Robin was named to post season all star teams by The Sporting News, AP, UPI, and Baseball Bulletin.
1978 Stats: .293, 9 HR, 71 RBI in 127 games
1978 Highlights:

July 8 - Had three hits and scored two runs (including the tying run in the bottom of the 8th inning) in Milwaukee's come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
Sept 6 - Had four hits (including two home runs) and knocked in five runs as the Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0.
Sept 19 - Scored both runs and homered as the Brewers shut out the Yankees 2-0.

Mike Hargrove slipped to a career-low .251 average in 1978. He still got on base a lot -- Mike led the AL with 107 walks and had a .388 on base percentage.
A few weeks after the 1978 season Hargrove was traded to the San Diego Padres in a deal that involved five players and about $300,000. The Rangers needed the money after losing over $2 million in 1978. Hargrove was unhappy about the trade.
1978 Stats: .251, 7 HR, 40 RBI in 146 games
1978 Highlights:

June 25 - Had three hits and three RBI to help the Rangers beat the California Angels 9-5.
July 9 - Scored the winning run in the bottom of the 13th as the Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3.