1978 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1978 Baltimore Orioles season was the 78th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 25th in Baltimore, and the 25th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 90 wins and 71 losses.

Offseason

November 23, 1977: Elrod Hendricks was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
December 7, 1977: Bryn Smith, Rudy May, and Randy Miller were traded by the Orioles to the Montreal Expos for Don Stanhouse, Joe Kerrigan, and Gary Roenicke.
January 6, 1978: Ken Rudolph was released by the Orioles.
February 21, 1978: Tony Muser was released by the Orioles.

Regular season

Season standings

v
t
e
AL East
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	63	.613	—	55‍–‍26	45‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox	99	64	.607	1	59‍–‍23	40‍–‍41
Milwaukee Brewers	93	69	.574	6½	54‍–‍27	39‍–‍42
Baltimore Orioles	90	71	.559	9	51‍–‍30	39‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers	86	76	.531	13½	47‍–‍34	39‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians	69	90	.434	29	42‍–‍36	27‍–‍54
Toronto Blue Jays	59	102	.366	40	37‍–‍44	22‍–‍58

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League record v t e Sources:
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	—

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball Draft
- Cal Ripken Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the 2nd round, (46th overall). Player signed June 13, 1978.
- Bobby Bonner was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round.
- Mike Boddicker was drafted by the Orioles in the 6th round.

Roster

1978 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 55 Nelson Briles 46 Mike Flanagan 37 John Flinn 59 Dave Ford 32 Joe Kerrigan 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 16 Scott McGregor 22 Jim Palmer 48,26 Don Stanhouse 52 Earl Stephenson 53 Sammy Stewart 49 Tim Stoddard		Catchers 24 Rick Dempsey 44 Elrod Hendricks 8 Dave Skaggs Infielders 7 Mark Belanger 25 Rich Dauer 11 Doug DeCinces 3 Kiko Garcia 14 Lee May 33 Eddie Murray 2 Billy Smith		Outfielders 39 Mike Anderson 1 Al Bumbry 10 Terry Crowley 36 Mike Dimmel 6 Larry Harlow 18 Pat Kelly 9 Carlos López 27 Andrés Mora 35 Gary Roenicke 29 Ken Singleton		Manager 4 Earl Weaver Coaches 41 Jim Frey (First base) 44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen) 31 Ray Miller (Pitching) 47 Cal Ripken (Third base) 20 Frank Robinson (Hitting)

1978 Baltimore Orioles

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

4 Earl Weaver

Coaches

41 Jim Frey (First base)
44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen)
31 Ray Miller (Pitching)
47 Cal Ripken (Third base)
20 Frank Robinson (Hitting)

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	Rick Dempsey	146	441	114	.259	6	32
1B	Eddie Murray	161	610	174	.285	27	95
2B	Rich Dauer	133	459	121	.264	6	46
3B	Doug DeCinces	142	511	146	.286	28	80
SS	Mark Belanger	135	348	74	.213	0	16
LF	Pat Kelly	100	274	75	.274	11	40
CF	Larry Harlow	147	460	112	.243	8	26
RF	Ken Singleton	149	502	147	.293	20	81
DH	Lee May	148	556	137	.246	25	80

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
Billy Smith	85	250	65	.260	5	30
Andrés Mora	76	229	49	.214	8	14
Carlos López	120	193	46	.238	4	20
Kiko Garcia	79	186	49	.263	0	13
Al Bumbry	33	114	27	.237	2	6
Terry Crowley	62	95	24	.253	0	12
Dave Skaggs	36	86	13	.151	0	2
Gary Roenicke	27	58	15	.259	3	15
Mike Anderson	53	32	3	.094	0	3
Elrod Hendricks	13	18	6	.333	1	1
Mike Dimmel	8	0	0	----	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
Jim Palmer	38	296.0	21	12	2.46	138
Mike Flanagan	40	281.1	19	15	4.03	167
Dennis Martínez	40	276.1	16	11	3.52	142
Scott McGregor	35	233.0	15	13	3.32	94
Sammy Stewart	2	11.1	1	1	3.18	11

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
Nelson Briles	16	54.1	4	4	4.64	30
Dave Ford	2	15.0	1	0	0.00	5

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Don Stanhouse	56	6	9	24	2.89	42
Tippy Martinez	42	3	3	5	4.83	57
Joe Kerrigan	26	3	1	3	4.77	41
John Flinn	13	1	1	0	8.04	8
Tim Stoddard	8	0	1	0	6.00	14
Earl Stephenson	2	0	0	0	2.79	4
Larry Harlow	1	0	0	0	67.50	1
Elrod Hendricks	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Ken Boyer, Al Widmar and Frank Robinson
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	Lance Nichols
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	Jimmy Williams
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	J. R. Miner

Notes

1978 Media Guide (PDF). Baltimore Orioles. p. 48. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
"Elrod Hendricks". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Bryn Smith". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Ken Rudolph". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Tony Muser". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"1978 Baltimore Orioles Roster". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
Connolly, Dan (2015). 100 things Orioles fans should know & do before they die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5.
"Cal Ripken Jr". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Bobby Bonner". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
"Mike Boddicker". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.

References

Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
1978 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
1978 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

1978 MLB season by team

AL East	Baltimore Boston Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee New York Toronto
AL West	California Chicago Kansas City Minnesota Oakland Seattle Texas

NL East	Chicago Montréal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis
NL West	Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco

Baltimore Orioles

Established in 1901
Formerly the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Browns
Based in Baltimore, Maryland

Franchise

Ballparks

Spring training: Majestic Park; West End Park; Coffee Pot Park; Wright Field; Tech Field; Perris Hill Park; Yuma Municipal Stadium; City Island Ball Park; Scottsdale Stadium; Miami Stadium; Ed Smith Stadium; Al Lang Stadium; Fort Lauderdale Stadium

Culture

Lore

Rivalries

Washington Nationals

Key personnel

Owner: David Rubenstein
Executive Vice President/General Manager: Mike Elias
Manager: Brandon Hyde

World Series
championships (3)

American League
pennants (7)

AL East
division titles (10)

AL Wild Card
(4)

Minor league
affiliates

Broadcasting

TV: Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Radio: Orioles Radio Network
Announcers: Kevin Brown; Geoff Arnold; Scott Garceau; Melanie Newman; Jim Palmer; Ben McDonald

Seasons (121)
1900s	1900 · 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Category
Commons

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