# 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 97th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 92nd in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the National League East with a record of 88–73.

## Offseason

* December 8, 1977: Al Oliver and Nelson Norman were traded by the Pirates to the Texas Rangers as part of a four-team trade. Bert Blyleven was traded by the Rangers to the Pirates, and John Milner was traded by the New York Mets to the Pirates. Willie Montañez was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Mets, and the Rangers traded Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets. The Rangers traded Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller to the Braves. The Mets traded Jon Matlack to the Rangers. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Ken Henderson to the Mets on March 15, 1978.
* March 18, 1978: Carl Morton was released by the Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 54‍–‍28 | 36‍–‍44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 73 | .547 | 1½ | 55‍–‍26 | 33‍–‍47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11 | 44‍–‍38 | 35‍–‍45 |
| Montreal Expos | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 41‍–‍39 | 35‍–‍47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 21 | 37‍–‍44 | 32‍–‍49 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 96 | .407 | 24 | 33‍–‍47 | 33‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1978 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 15–3 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 7–11 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Montreal | 7–5 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| New York | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 6–12 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 4-8 | 14–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–2 | 11–7 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–11 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 10–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–8 | — | 9–3 |
| St. Louis | 7–5 | 3–15 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 3–9 | — |

### Game log

1978 Game Log: 88–73 (Home: 55–26; Away: 33–47) :
April: 10–9 (Home: 6–4; Away: 4–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7Cubs1–0Candelaria (1–0)Reuschel—39,0281–0
2April 8Cubs4–3 (10)Bibby (1–0)Sutter—9,3872–0
3April 9Cubs3–4MooreKison (0–1)Sutter11,6322–1
4April 10@ Cardinals2–11DennyRooker (0–1)—19,2412–2
5April 12@ Cardinals1–5ForschCandelaria (1–1)—12,2942–3
6April 13@ Cardinals5–6RasmussenBlyleven (0–1)—12,3512–4
7April 14@ Cubs4–5HernandezBibby (1–1)—45,7772–5
8April 15@ Cubs13–10Rooker (1–1)Lamp—20,6843–5
9April 16@ Cubs1–5ReuschelRobinson (0–1)—20,9213–6
10April 17Phillies2–6LonborgCandelaria (1–2)—7,3433–7
11April 22Cardinals8–7Tekulve (1–0)Urrea—5,1734–7
12April 23Cardinals14–7Kison (1–1)Forsch—5–7
13April 23Cardinals5–4Bibby (2–1)VuckovichRobinson (1)10,0086–7
14April 24@ Mets4–2Tekulve (2–0)Cornejo—9,4957–7
15April 25@ Mets2–1Robinson (1–1)Bruhert—6,9148–7
16April 26@ Mets1–0 (11)Blyleven (1–1)Myrick—6,5069–7
17April 28Giants4–5MontefuscoCandelaria (1–3)Lavelle7,8819–8
18April 29Giants6–2Robinson (2–1)Barr—7,97610–8
19April 30Giants3–7KnepperBlyleven (1–2)—7,92910–9 :
May: 12–16 (Home: 6–6; Away: 6–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
20May 1Padres7–4Bibby (3–1)Fingers—2,78611–9
21May 2Padres1–2OwchinkoCandelaria (1–4)—3,22811–10
22May 3Padres5–7D'AcquistoBibby (3–2)Fingers5,05211–11
23May 5Dodgers2–7HootonBlyleven (1–3)—7,58011–12
24May 6Dodgers3–2Candelaria (2–4)SuttonJackson (1)8,91912–12
25May 7Dodgers6–4Rooker (2–1)JohnTekulve (1)18,20813–12
26May 9@ Giants2–3CurtisTekulve (2–1)—10,45913–13
27May 10@ Giants5–1Blyleven (2–3)Barr—4,76614–13
28May 11@ Giants2–6KnepperCandelaria (2–5)—6,07114–14
29May 12@ Padres4–6LeeTekulve (2–2)Fingers20,24014–15
30May 13@ Padres5–6SpillnerKison (1–2)Fingers32,64814–16
31May 14@ Padres1–0Robinson (3–1)Jones—18,57215–16
32May 15@ Dodgers6–7HoughBlyleven (2–4)—35,29715–17
33May 16@ Dodgers2–3SuttonCandelaria (2–6)Forster32,24315–18
34May 17@ Dodgers1–10JohnRooker (2–2)—33,09715–19
35May 19@ Expos5–3Robinson (4–1)MayTekulve (2)13,08816–19
36May 20@ Expos6–0Blyleven (3–4)Twitchell—13,83417–19
37May 21@ Expos7–0Candelaria (3–6)GrimsleyTekulve (3)20,01618–19
38May 22@ Expos2–5RogersRooker (2–3)Knowles12,30018–20
39May 23Mets3–7EspinosaJackson (0–1)Lockwood2,86918–21
40May 24Mets6–5 (10)Tekulve (3–2)Lockwood—5,30219–21
41May 25Mets2–3 (11)MurrayTekulve (3–3)—5,76619–22
42May 26Expos2–1Candelaria (4–6)RogersTekulve (4)8,81620–22
43May 27Expos1–15MayRooker (2–4)—10,77320–23
44May 28Expos5–2Bibby (4–2)Dues—26,56421–23
45May 29@ Phillies3–4 (14)BrusstarHamilton (0–1)—34,35321–24
46May 30@ Phillies1–6CarltonBlyleven (3–5)—26,12321–25
47May 31@ Phillies2–1Candelaria (5–6)LerchTekulve (5)29,59522–25 :
June: 13–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
48June 2@ Reds2–3TomlinRooker (2–5)—40,49522–26
49June 3@ Reds3–4NormanRobinson (4–2)Sarmiento50,15222–27
50June 4@ Reds4–1Blyleven (4–5)MoskauJackson (2)37,30423–27
51June 5Braves4–8EasterlyTekulve (3–4)—5,24823–28
52June 6Braves4–2Bibby (5–2)DevineTekulve (6)4,91424–28
53June 9Reds11–9Jackson (1–1)BairCandelaria (1)21,71025–28
54June 10Reds4–6SeaverJackson (1–2)—34,00925–29
55June 11Reds3–1Jackson (2–2)SarmientoWhitson (1)24,97226–29
56June 12@ Astros5–6WilliamsWhitson (0–1)Sambito9,88626–30
57June 13@ Astros1–2ForschBibby (5–3)Sambito10,48726–31
58June 14@ Astros6–4Whitson (1–1)RichardTekulve (7)12,44027–31
59June 16@ Braves9–4Blyleven (5–5)NiekroWhitson (2)18,57228–31
60June 17@ Braves5–3Candelaria (6–6)MahlerJackson (3)16,28429–31
61June 18@ Braves7–8HannaBibby (5–4)Skok21,49829–32
62June 19Cubs4–6 (10)SutterJackson (2–3)Hernandez8,87829–33
63June 20Cubs6–1Blyleven (6–5)Holtzman—10,91230–33
64June 21Cubs2–1Candelaria (7–6)Burris—11,06431–33
65June 23@ Mets2–3 (11)MurrayWhitson (1–2)—16,59431–34
66June 24@ Mets7–4 (12)Tekulve (4–4)SiebertHamilton (1)17,81032–34
67June 25@ Mets4–0Blyleven (7–5)Espinosa—16,74833–34
68June 26Cardinals11–8Whitson (2–2)UrreaTekulve (8)5,04534–34
69June 27Cardinals0–2VuckovichCandelaria (7–7)Schultz34–35
70June 27Cardinals1–6FalconeReuss (0–1)—9,22934–36
71June 28Cardinals5–7 (11)ThomasTekulve (4–5)—7,74234–37
72June 29Mets4–3Jackson (3–3)LockwoodWhitson (3)6,36735–37
73June 30Mets5–6MurrayHamilton (0–2)—31,94735–38 :
July: 13–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 4–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
74July 1Mets1–0Rooker (3–5)LockwoodTekulve (9)7,91236–38
75July 3Expos0–2DuesCandelaria (7–8)Rogers7,48036–39
76July 4Expos3–1Blyleven (8–5)SchatzederTekulve (10)37–39
77July 4Expos4–3Robinson (5–2)TwitchellTekulve (11)15,00138–39
78July 6@ Cardinals2–3DennyRooker (3–6)—14,83238–40
79July 7@ Cardinals2–1Candelaria (8–8)VuckovichTekulve (12)13,81339–40
80July 8@ Cardinals0–4MartinezRobinson (5–3)—20,52439–41
81July 9@ Cardinals6–1Blyleven (9–5)ForschTekulve (13)22,10140–41
82July 13Giants0–4KnepperCandelaria (8–9)—13,98440–42
83July 14Giants5–2Rooker (4–6)MontefuscoTekulve (14)15,73341–42
84July 15Giants5–6 (11)LavelleWhitson (2–3)—16,17441–43
85July 16Padres3–2 (10)Whitson (3–3)Fingers—42–43
86July 16Padres10–6Jackson (4–3)KinneyTekulve (15)16,30343–43
87July 17Padres8–7 (10)Tekulve (5–5)Fingers—7,04544–43
88July 18Dodgers2–7SuttonRobinson (5–4)—15,12544–44
89July 19Dodgers6–3Rooker (5–6)RauTekulve (16)15,52745–44
90July 20Dodgers7–6 (10)Kison (2–2)Forster—13,82346–44
91July 21@ Giants3–0Bibby (6–4)Knepper—23,88247–44
92July 22@ Giants2–3 (10)CurtisTekulve (5–6)—18,87247–45
93July 23@ Giants1–3BarrCandelaria (8–10)—41,92347–46
94July 25@ Padres1–2OwchinkoRooker (5–7)—17,52247–47
95July 26@ Padres5–6PerryKison (2–3)Fingers16,55647–48
96July 27@ Padres3–6ShirleyWhitson (3–4)Fingers14,07647–49
97July 28@ Dodgers3–7JohnCandelaria (8–11)Forster43,60047–50
98July 29@ Dodgers1–2SuttonRobinson (5–5)—46,13947–51
99July 30@ Dodgers5–3Rooker (6–7)RauTekulve (17)48,58748–51
100July 31@ Expos2–3GarmanBlyleven (9–6)—22,15248–52 :
August: 18–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
101August 1@ Expos3–4RogersBibby (6–5)Knowles21,28748–53
102August 2@ Expos3–0Kison (3–3)SchatzederTekulve (18)15,37849–53
103August 4Phillies0–2ChristensonRooker (6–8)—49–54
104August 4Phillies5–2Robinson (6–5)Kaat—30,86550–54
105August 6Phillies2–3RuthvenBlyleven (9–7)—50–55
106August 6Phillies0–5CarltonBibby (6–6)—31,14150–56
107August 7@ Cubs4–5MooreReuss (0–2)Sutter18,61550–57
108August 8@ Cubs9–5Robinson (7–5)Reuschel—26,03751–57
109August 9@ Cubs4–5RobertsWhitson (3–5)—23,31051–58
110August 10@ Phillies1–3RuthvenBlyleven (9–8)—34,67251–59
111August 11@ Phillies4–15CarltonKison (3–4)—35,10151–60
112August 12@ Phillies1–10LerchBibby (6–7)—30,11051–61
113August 13@ Phillies7–3Robinson (8–5)Christenson—38,11952–61
114August 14Reds7–4Rooker (7–8)MoskauTekulve (19)26,51453–61
115August 15Reds3–4 (10)BairWhitson (3–6)—16,40053–62
116August 16Reds13–2Candelaria (9–11)BonhamJackson (4)15,49054–62
117August 17Astros5–1Robinson (9–5)Richard—55–62
118August 17Astros3–2Kison (4–4)LemongelloTekulve (20)8,47056–62
119August 18Astros6–3Bibby (7–7)RuhleTekulve (21)8,63257–62
120August 19Astros4–2Blyleven (10–8)BannisterTekulve (22)22,01558–62
121August 20Astros7–6Rooker (8–8)DixonTekulve (23)59–62
122August 20Astros3–1Reuss (1–2)Niekro—21,85160–62
123August 22@ Braves3–1Robinson (10–5)MahlerTekulve (24)9,34861–62
124August 23@ Braves4–3 (12)Jackson (5–3)Campbell—6,55362–62
125August 24@ Braves5–1Blyleven (11–8)NiekroTekulve (25)7,96563–62
126August 25@ Astros5–7NiekroRooker (8–9)Andujar11,64163–63
127August 26@ Astros2–7RichardKison (4–5)—9,98563–64
128August 27@ Astros8–5Jackson (6–3)LemongelloTekulve (26)10,94764–64
129August 28@ Reds3–1Candelaria (10–11)NormanWhitson (4)23,61265–64
130August 29@ Reds5–0Blyleven (12–8)LaCoss—24,96766–64 :
September: 21–9 (Home: 17–1; Away: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1Braves8–3Robinson (11–5)NiekroTekulve (27)67–64
132September 1Braves3–0Kison (5–5)MahlerTekulve (28)14,30668–64
133September 2Braves4–3 (12)Jackson (7–3)Camp—9,58069–64
134September 3Braves6–3Tekulve (6–6)Garber—8,59470–64
135September 4Mets7–4Whitson (4–6)LockwoodJackson (5)71–64
136September 4Mets7–0Bibby (8–7)Berenguer—25,76572–64
137September 5Mets8–0Reuss (2–2)Koosman—18,47673–64
138September 6@ Cardinals4–1Robinson (12–5)Denny—7,94574–64
139September 7@ Cardinals4–5LopezJackson (7–4)Littell7,80574–65
140September 8@ Mets2–3MurrayBlyleven (12–9)—4,74974–66
141September 9@ Mets1–4KobelRooker (8–10)—8,88174–67
142September 10@ Mets9–11BernardTekulve (6–7)Cornejo9,25674–68
143September 11@ Phillies3–10CarltonRobinson (12–6)—33,19874–69
144September 12@ Phillies5–1Candelaria (11–11)ChristensonTekulve (29)31,35575–69
145September 13Cardinals7–1Blyleven (13–9)Falcone—6,39876–69
146September 14Cardinals7–4Rooker (9–10)Forsch—5,29477–69
147September 15Expos6–1Kison (6–5)Fryman—15,14678–69
148September 16Expos12–5Robinson (13–6)Grimsley—8,07979–69
149September 17Expos5–3Blyleven (14–9)MayTekulve (30)8,54480–69
150September 19@ Cubs12–11 (11)Jones (1–0)Sutter—6,13781–69
151September 20@ Cubs1–5KrukowRooker (9–11)—5,26981–70
152September 21@ Cubs3–2 (14)Whitson (5–6)SutterBibby (1)2,42382–70
153September 23@ Expos2–3GrimsleyBlyleven (14–10)—20,32482–71
154September 24@ Expos0–4SandersonKison (6–6)—23,26082–72
155September 25Cubs7–4Candelaria (12–11)Krukow—5,93783–72
156September 26Cubs5–2Robinson (14–6)Lamp—6,51584–72
157September 27Cubs8–3Reuss (3–2)Burris—7,46785–72
158September 29Phillies5–4Tekulve (7–7)Reed—86–72
159September 29Phillies2–1Tekulve (8–7)Carlton—45,13487–72
160September 30Phillies8–10LerchJackson (7–5)Reed28,90587–73 :
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
161October 1Phillies5–3Jones (2–0)SaucierTekulve (31)30,22488–73 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Notable transactions

* April 4, 1978: Miguel Diloné, Elías Sosa and a player to be named later were traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for Manny Sanguillén. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Mike Edwards to the Athletics on April 7.
* June 1, 1978: Jim Fregosi was released by the Pirates.
* June 6, 1978: Vance Law was drafted by the Pirates in the 39th round of the 1978 amateur draft.
* September 22, 1978: Cito Gaston was purchased by the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves.

## 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 | Ed Ott | 112 | 379 | 102 | .269 | 9 | 38 |
| 1B | Willie Stargell | 122 | 390 | 115 | .295 | 28 | 97 |
| 2B | Rennie Stennett | 106 | 333 | 81 | .243 | 3 | 35 |
| SS | Frank Taveras | 157 | 654 | 182 | .278 | 0 | 38 |
| 3B | Phil Garner | 154 | 528 | 138 | .261 | 10 | 66 |
| LF | Bill Robinson | 136 | 499 | 123 | .246 | 14 | 80 |
| CF | Omar Moreno | 155 | 515 | 121 | .235 | 2 | 33 |
| RF | Dave Parker | 148 | 581 | 194 | .334 | 30 | 117 |

#### 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 |
| John Milner | 108 | 295 | 80 | .271 | 6 | 38 |
| Manny Sanguillén | 85 | 220 | 58 | .264 | 3 | 16 |
| Duffy Dyer | 58 | 175 | 37 | .211 | 0 | 13 |
| Dale Berra | 56 | 135 | 28 | .207 | 6 | 14 |
| Steve Brye | 66 | 115 | 27 | .235 | 1 | 9 |
| Mario Mendoza | 57 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 1 | 3 |
| Ken Macha | 29 | 52 | 11 | .212 | 0 | 5 |
| Fernando González | 9 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Fregosi | 20 | 20 | 4 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Doe Boyland | 6 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Nicosia | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave May | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Alberto Lois | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Cito Gaston | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Alexander | 7 | 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 |
| Bert Blyleven | 34 | 243.2 | 14 | 10 | 3.03 | 182 |
| Don Robinson | 35 | 228.1 | 14 | 6 | 3.47 | 135 |
| John Candelaria | 30 | 189.0 | 12 | 11 | 3.24 | 94 |
| Jim Rooker | 28 | 163.1 | 9 | 11 | 4.24 | 76 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Bibby | 34 | 107.0 | 8 | 7 | 3.53 | 72 |
| Bruce Kison | 28 | 96.0 | 6 | 6 | 3.19 | 62 |
| Jerry Reuss | 23 | 82.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.90 | 42 |
| Odell Jones | 3 | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | 10 |

#### 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 |
| Kent Tekulve | 91 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 2.33 | 77 |
| Grant Jackson | 60 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3.26 | 45 |
| Ed Whitson | 43 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3.28 | 64 |
| Dave Hamilton | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.42 | 15 |
| Will McEnaney | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.38 | 6 |
| Clay Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Willie Stargell, Hutch Award

### All-Stars

1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Willie Stargell, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Clippers | International League | Johnny Lipon |
| AA | Shreveport Captains | Texas League | Steve Demeter |
| A | Salem Pirates | Carolina League | Jim Mahoney |
| A | Charleston Patriots | Western Carolinas League | Bill Scripture |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Woody Huyke |