1978 Minnesota Twins | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium | |
City | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) | |
General managers | Calvin Griffith | |
Managers | Gene Mauch | |
Television |
WTCN ( Harmon Killebrew, Joe Boyle) | |
Radio |
830 WCCO AM ( Herb Carneal, Frank Quilici) | |
|
The 1978 Minnesota Twins finished 73–89, fourth in the American League West.
On May 7, shortstop Roy Smalley Jr. set a Twins record by drawing five walks in a 15-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Smalley went 1 for 1 and scored three times. [7]
Third baseman Mike Cubbage, on July 27, became the fifth Twin to hit for the cycle (following Rod Carew, 1970; César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976 and Lyman Bostock, 1976). Cubbage went double, homer, single, triple off Toronto Blue Jays' pitching. In subsequent years, five others will match the feat: Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986; Carlos Gómez, 2008; Jason Kubel, 2009; and Michael Cuddyer, 2009.
787,878 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in the American League. Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: first baseman Rod Carew. In that game at San Diego Stadium, Carew—in his twelfth consecutive All-Star appearance—performed an All-Star first by hitting two triples in the game.
Carew won his seventh AL batting title [8] with a .333 average, leading the team in hits and runs scored. Shortstop Roy Smalley hit 19 HR and collected 77 RBI. Dan Ford hit 11 HR and collected 82 RBI.
Reliever Mike Marshall was signed in May and replaced Tom Johnson and Bill Campbell as manager Gene Mauch's all-purpose reliever. Marshall went on to rack up 10 relief wins along with 21 saves. Three starters had double digit wins: Dave Goltz (15-10), Roger Erickson (14-13), and Geoff Zahn (14-14).
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | — | 56–25 | 36–45 |
Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 5 | 52–30 | 35–45 |
California Angels | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 5 | 50–31 | 37–44 |
Minnesota Twins | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 19 | 38–43 | 35–46 |
Chicago White Sox | 71 | 90 | 0.441 | 20½ | 38–42 | 33–48 |
Oakland Athletics | 69 | 93 | 0.426 | 23 | 38–42 | 31–51 |
Seattle Mariners | 56 | 104 | 0.350 | 35 | 32–49 | 24–55 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | — |
1978 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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= Indicates team leader |
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 | Butch Wynegar | 135 | 454 | 104 | .229 | 4 | 45 |
1B | Rod Carew | 152 | 564 | 188 | .333 | 5 | 70 |
2B | Bob Randall | 119 | 330 | 89 | .270 | 0 | 21 |
SS | Roy Smalley | 158 | 586 | 160 | .273 | 19 | 77 |
3B | Mike Cubbage | 125 | 394 | 111 | .282 | 7 | 57 |
LF | Willie Norwood | 125 | 428 | 109 | .255 | 8 | 46 |
CF | Dan Ford | 151 | 592 | 162 | .274 | 11 | 82 |
RF | Hosken Powell | 121 | 381 | 94 | .247 | 3 | 31 |
DH | Glenn Adams | 116 | 310 | 80 | .258 | 7 | 35 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombo Rivera | 101 | 251 | 68 | .271 | 3 | 23 |
José Morales | 101 | 242 | 76 | .314 | 2 | 38 |
Larry Wolfe | 88 | 235 | 55 | .234 | 3 | 25 |
Rob Wilfong | 92 | 199 | 53 | .266 | 1 | 11 |
Rich Chiles | 87 | 198 | 53 | .268 | 1 | 22 |
Craig Kusick | 77 | 191 | 33 | .173 | 4 | 20 |
Glenn Borgmann | 49 | 123 | 26 | .211 | 3 | 15 |
Dave Edwards | 15 | 44 | 11 | .250 | 1 | 3 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roger Erickson | 37 | 265.2 | 14 | 13 | 3.96 | 121 |
Geoff Zahn | 35 | 252.1 | 14 | 14 | 3.03 | 106 |
Dave Goltz | 29 | 220.1 | 15 | 10 | 2.49 | 116 |
Darrell Jackson | 19 | 92.1 | 4 | 6 | 4.48 | 54 |
Paul Thormodsgard | 12 | 66.0 | 1 | 6 | 5.05 | 23 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gary Serum | 34 | 184.1 | 9 | 9 | 4.10 | 80 |
Stan Perzanowski | 13 | 56.2 | 2 | 7 | 5.24 | 31 |
Dave Johnson | 6 | 12.0 | 0 | 2 | 7.50 | 7 |
Pete Redfern | 3 | 9.2 | 0 | 2 | 6.52 | 4 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Marshall | 54 | 10 | 12 | 21 | 2.45 | 56 |
Greg Thayer | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.80 | 30 |
Tom Johnson | 18 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5.51 | 21 |
John Sutton | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.45 | 18 |
Mac Scarce | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.94 | 17 |
Jeff Holly | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.57 | 12 |
Roric Harrison | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.50 | 7 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Visalia, Elizabethton