# 1979 Philadelphia Phillies season

The 1979 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 97th season in the history of the franchise, and the 9th season for the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The team finished fourth in the National League East, 14 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Offseason

Prior to the 1979 season, Pete Rose signed a four-year, $3.2-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, temporarily making him the highest-paid athlete in team sports. The Phillies were in the middle of the greatest era in the history of the franchise when Rose came on board. They had won the National League East three years running (1976–78) two of which were won with 101 win seasons.
The Phillies entered the 1979 season with one of the strongest lineups in the league with the addition of Rose but with numerous injuries on the pitching staff. AP sports writer Hal Bock picked the Phils to finish second behind the Pirates as the Phillies would enter the season with pitchers Larry Christenson, prospect Jim Wright, and Dick Ruthven all injured.

### Notable transactions

* December 4, 1978: Jeff Schneider was drafted from the Phillies by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1978 rule 5 draft.
* December 5, 1978: Carmelo Castillo was drafted by the Cleveland Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1978 minor league draft.
* December 5, 1978: Pete Rose was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.
* December 6, 1978: Joe Charboneau was traded by the Phillies to the Cleveland Indians for Cardell Camper.
* January 9, 1979: Mark Davis was drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round (1st pick) of the secondary phase of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft.
* February 23, 1979: Barry Foote, Ted Sizemore, Jerry Martin, Derek Botelho, and Henry Mack (minors) were traded by the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs for Manny Trillo, Greg Gross and Dave Rader.
* March 27, 1979: Richie Hebner and José Moreno were traded by the Phillies to the New York Mets for Nino Espinosa.
* March 27, 1979: Rudy Meoli was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.
* March 28, 1979: Dan Boitano was traded by the Phillies to the Milwaukee Brewers for Gary Beare.
* March 29, 1979: Del Unser was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.

## Regular season

* Richie Ashburn OF, TV Retired 1979
On April 18, in a victory versus the Pirates, Greg Luzinski became the first visiting player to hit a home run into the fifth level of Three Rivers Stadium.
On May 17, 1979, the Phillies beat the Cubs 23–22 at Wrigley Field in ten innings with a 30-mph wind blowing out to left field. After the game, the Phils were 14 games over .500 and in first place by 3+1⁄2 games over the Montreal Expos.
On July 10 Del Unser hit his third consecutive pinch hit home run. Unser tied a Major League Baseball record with homers in three straight pinch at bats. The at bats were on June 30, July 5, and July 10.
By August 29, the team had fallen to fifth place and two games under .500, 12+1⁄2 games behind the Pirates. Mid-season injuries to Manny Trillo, Larry Bowa, and Greg Luzinski contributed to hurt the club. The team's decline led to the firing of manager Danny Ozark on August 31 who was replaced by Dallas Green. Green was named interim manager, a position made permanent shortly after the end of the season.

### Alternate uniforms

The Phillies front office introduced an alternate all-burgundy version of the team uniform for the 1979 season to be worn for Saturday games. They were called "Saturday Night Specials", in a derisive nod to cheap handguns then called by that name and were worn for the first and last time on May 19, 1979, a 10–5 loss to the Expos. The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 50‍–‍31 |
| Montreal Expos | 95 | 65 | .594 | 2 | 56‍–‍25 | 39‍–‍40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 12 | 42‍–‍39 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 84 | 78 | .519 | 14 | 43‍–‍38 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Chicago Cubs | 80 | 82 | .494 | 18 | 45‍–‍36 | 35‍–‍46 |
| New York Mets | 63 | 99 | .389 | 35 | 28‍–‍53 | 35‍–‍46 |

### Record vs. opponents

1979 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 1–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 4–8 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–7 | 6–12 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 11–7 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 6–12 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 6–6 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 9–1 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 15–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 |
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–15 | — | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 5–7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 11–7 |
| San Diego | 12–6 | 3–9 | 7–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 |
| St. Louis | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 3, 1979: Todd Cruz was traded by the Phillies to the Kansas City Royals for Doug Bird.
* May 11, 1979: Jim Kaat was purchased from the Phillies by the New York Yankees.
* June 5, 1979: Roy Smith was drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed on July 30.
* June 16, 1979: Jim Lonborg was released by the Phillies.
* June 29, 1979: Rudy Meoli was purchased from the Phillies by the Minnesota Twins.

### 1979 Game Log

Legend :
| | Phillies win |
| | Phillies loss |
| | Phillies tie |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Phillies team member |
1979 Game Log Overall Record: 84–78 :
April (14–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6@ Cardinals1–8John Denny (1–0)Steve Carlton (0–1)None40,5260–1
2April 7@ Cardinals2–3Pete Vuckovich (1–0)Ron Reed (0–1)None15,2940–2
3April 8@ Cardinals2–2 (5)NoneNoneNone20,0550–2
–April 9PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: April 10
4April 10Pirates7–3Dick Ruthven (1–0)Enrique Romo (0–2)None48,2351–2
5April 11Pirates5–4Steve Carlton (1–1)Bert Blyleven (0–1)None26,2812–2
6April 12@ Mets2–3Pat Zachry (2–0)Randy Lerch (0–1)None8,7192–3
–April 14@ MetsPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 2 as a traditional double-header
7April 15 (1)@ Mets3–2Dick Ruthven (2–0)Craig Swan (1–1)Tug McGraw (1)see 2nd game3–3
8April 15 (2)@ Mets6–3Nino Espinosa (1–0)Neil Allen (0–1)Ron Reed (1)18,4014–3
–April 16@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 3 as a traditional double-header
9April 17@ Pirates13–2Steve Carlton (2–1)Bert Blyleven (0–2)None7,7395–3
10April 18@ Pirates3–2Randy Lerch (1–1)Don Robinson (1–1)None12,1956–3
11April 20Mets8–0Dick Ruthven (3–0)Craig Swan (1–2)None33,2537–3
12April 21Mets3–0Nino Espinosa (2–0)Neil Allen (0–2)Tug McGraw (2)31,8518–3
13April 22Mets2–4Jesse Orosco (1–0)Steve Carlton (2–2)Skip Lockwood (2)35,0208–4
14April 23Dodgers4–3 (10)Tug McGraw (1–0)Lance Rautzhan (0–2)None32,8269–4
15April 24Dodgers7–6 (10)Ron Reed (1–1)Jerry Reuss (1–2)None31,14010–4
16April 25Dodgers5–4Ron Reed (2–1)Rick Sutcliffe (1–1)None34,30311–4
17April 27Padres2–0Nino Espinosa (3–0)Gaylord Perry (2–1)None28,52212–4
18April 28Padres0–5John D'Acquisto (2–1)Steve Carlton (2–3)None31,63312–5
19April 29Padres4–3Ron Reed (3–1)Rollie Fingers (1–2)None50,72213–5
20April 30Giants4–1Dick Ruthven (4–0)Philip Nastu (0–1)Tug McGraw (3)29,16914–5 :
May (13–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
21May 1Giants0–7Bob Knepper (2–2)Nino Espinosa (3–1)None29,04814–6
22May 3@ Dodgers2–5Rick Sutcliffe (2–2)Steve Carlton (2–4)None41,21514–7
23May 4@ Dodgers5–2Randy Lerch (2–1)Don Sutton (3–3)None42,71715–7
24May 5@ Dodgers11–0Dick Ruthven (5–0)Andy Messersmith (1–2)None45,16916–7
25May 6@ Dodgers4–0Nino Espinosa (4–1)Doug Rau (0–4)None42,18417–7
26May 7@ Padres11–6Steve Carlton (3–4)Bob Owchinko (0–1)Rawly Eastwick (1)20,76618–7
27May 8@ Padres9–8 (12)Jim Kaat (1–0)John D'Acquisto (2–3)None12,28819–7
28May 9@ Padres2–0Dick Ruthven (6–0)Eric Rasmussen (0–3)None15,60620–7
29May 10@ Padres3–2Nino Espinosa (5–1)Gaylord Perry (3–3)Ron Reed (2)17,20821–7
30May 11@ Giants1–2Bob Knepper (3–2)Steve Carlton (3–5)Gary Lavelle (4)22,86021–8
31May 12@ Giants1–4Ed Halicki (3–3)Randy Lerch (2–2)None23,83621–9
32May 13@ Giants12–3Ron Reed (4–1)Vida Blue (6–3)None32,58522–9
33May 15@ Cubs1–7Lynn McGlothen (5–4)Nino Espinosa (5–2)None13,83422–10
34May 16@ Cubs13–0Steve Carlton (4–5)Rick Reuschel (2–5)None18,01523–10
35May 17@ Cubs23–22 (10)Rawly Eastwick (1–0)Bruce Sutter (1–1)None14,95224–10
36May 18Expos3–5Stan Bahnsen (1–1)Dick Ruthven (6–1)Elías Sosa (4)31,48124–11
37May 19Expos5–10Rudy May (2–0)Rawly Eastwick (1–1)Dan Schatzeder (1)33,21224–12
38May 20Expos6–10Stan Bahnsen (2–1)Nino Espinosa (5–3)Elías Sosa (5)48,63124–13
39May 21Cardinals5–3Steve Carlton (5–5)John Denny (3–3)None28,19225–13
40May 22Cardinals3–1Tug McGraw (2–0)Bob Forsch (1–4)None33,37926–13
41May 23Cardinals1–3Silvio Martínez (2–1)Dick Ruthven (6–2)Mark Littell (3)32,34926–14
42May 25Cubs0–3Lynn McGlothen (6–5)Nino Espinosa (5–4)Bruce Sutter (8)34,45626–15
43May 26Cubs1–4Dennis Lamp (4–1)Larry Christenson (0–1)Dick Tidrow (3)32,31326–16
44May 27Cubs6–4Steve Carlton (6–5)Bill Caudill (0–1)None47,08727–16
45May 28Cubs1–4Dick Tidrow (3–1)Randy Lerch (2–3)Bruce Sutter (9)51,38127–17
46May 29@ Expos0–9Steve Rogers (5–2)Dick Ruthven (6–3)None32,07827–18
47May 30@ Expos0–2Bill Lee (5–2)Nino Espinosa (5–5)None21,76127–19
48May 31@ Expos0–1Scott Sanderson (4–3)Larry Christenson (0–2)None22,38827–20 :
June (12–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
49June 1@ Reds2–4Doug Bair (3–0)Steve Carlton (6–6)Pedro Borbón (2)48,96827–21
50June 2@ Reds2–4Mike LaCoss (6–0)Randy Lerch (2–4)Doug Bair (7)37,90727–22
51June 3 (1)@ Reds6–4Ron Reed (5–1)Pedro Borbón (2–2)Tug McGraw (4)see 2nd game28–22
52June 3 (2)@ Reds2–12Tom Hume (4–4)Jim Lonborg (0–1)None50,26228–23
53June 4@ Astros0–3Randy Niemann (2–0)Larry Christenson (0–3)None19,06228–24
54June 5@ Astros8–0Steve Carlton (7–6)Rick Williams (2–2)None28,24429–24
55June 6@ Astros3–4Joe Sambito (3–2)Ron Reed (5–2)Bert Roberge (2)28,95529–25
56June 8Braves5–11 (10)Gene Garber (3–7)Ron Reed (5–3)None41,13629–26
57June 9Braves9–3Larry Christenson (1–3)Mickey Mahler (2–6)None38,03530–26
58June 10Braves3–10Phil Niekro (7–9)Steve Carlton (7–7)None58,70730–27
59June 11Astros4–2Randy Lerch (3–4)J. R. Richard (6–5)None31,08531–27
60June 12Astros4–0Nino Espinosa (6–5)Rick Williams (2–3)None34,17732–27
61June 13Astros3–4Joe Niekro (10–2)Dick Ruthven (6–4)None33,62732–28
62June 15Reds3–6Tom Seaver (4–5)Larry Christenson (1–4)None50,22232–29
63June 16Reds4–3Tug McGraw (3–0)Doug Bair (3–1)None50,22433–29
64June 17Reds9–3Randy Lerch (4–4)Doug Bair (3–2)None46,15334–29
65June 18@ Braves5–10Rick Matula (4–5)Nino Espinosa (6–6)None9,39434–30
66June 19@ Braves4–10Phil Niekro (8–9)Larry Christenson (1–5)None8,14634–31
67June 20@ Braves10–4Steve Carlton (8–7)Eddie Solomon (3–3)None8,68135–31
68June 22@ Expos5–6Ross Grimsley (7–4)Randy Lerch (4–5)Elías Sosa (7)40,72935–32
69June 23@ Expos0–3Steve Rogers (7–4)Nino Espinosa (6–7)None24,43935–33
70June 24@ Expos5–2Larry Christenson (2–5)Bill Lee (7–4)Tug McGraw (5)41,59336–33
71June 25@ Cubs2–8Lynn McGlothen (8–6)Steve Carlton (8–8)None27,24636–34
72June 26@ Cubs5–3Dick Ruthven (7–4)Donnie Moore (1–3)Tug McGraw (6)35,97037–34
73June 27@ Cubs4–11Mike Krukow (5–5)Randy Lerch (4–6)None29,85837–35
74June 29 (1)@ Cardinals8–7Kevin Saucier (1–0)Bob Forsch (3–8)Tug McGraw (7)see 2nd game38–35
75June 29 (2)@ Cardinals1–7Pete Vuckovich (7–4)Larry Christenson (2–6)None29,30038–36
76June 30@ Cardinals6–4 (10)Ron Reed (6–3)George Frazier (0–1)Tug McGraw (8)30,96039–36 :
July (15–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
77July 1 (1)@ Cardinals7–13Mark Littell (5–2)Tug McGraw (3–1)Nonesee 2nd game39–37
78July 1 (2)@ Cardinals1–2Mark Littell (6–2)Randy Lerch (4–7)None41,90339–38
79July 2Mets6–2Nino Espinosa (7–7)Dock Ellis (1–6)None29,14240–38
80July 3Mets4–2Warren Brusstar (1–0)Wayne Twitchell (3–2)Tug McGraw (9)56,28541–38
81July 4Mets1–0Steve Carlton (9–8)Andy Hassler (2–4)None40,21542–38
82July 5Mets2–3Craig Swan (8–6)Dickie Noles (0–1)None28,72042–39
83July 6Giants6–1Nino Espinosa (8–7)John Curtis (4–5)None36,09743–39
84July 7Giants6–8Pedro Borbón (4–2)Ron Reed (6–4)None42,04743–40
85July 8Giants5–3Steve Carlton (10–8)Bob Knepper (6–3)None41,38744–40
86July 9Giants4–2Dickie Noles (1–1)Vida Blue (7–7)Warren Brusstar (1)38,35345–40
87July 10Padres6–5Doug Bird (1–0)Rollie Fingers (7–6)None30,23446–40
88July 11Padres3–7John D'Acquisto (6–5)Randy Lerch (4–8)None35,24846–41
89July 12Padres4–3Steve Carlton (11–8)Rollie Fingers (7–7)Tug McGraw (10)33,50147–41
90July 13Dodgers3–2Dickie Noles (2–1)Rick Sutcliffe (8–8)Tug McGraw (11)46,54248–41
91July 14Dodgers10–7Nino Espinosa (9–7)Don Sutton (7–11)Tug McGraw (12)40,60249–41
92July 15Dodgers10–3Randy Lerch (5–8)Bob Welch (4–6)Rawly Eastwick (2)47,31550–41
–July 171979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at the Kingdome in Seattle
93July 19@ Giants0–1John Curtis (6–5)Dickie Noles (2–2)None20,73250–42
94July 20@ Giants6–4Randy Lerch (6–8)Tom Griffin (4–5)Ron Reed (3)21,11051–42
95July 21@ Giants1–4Bob Knepper (7–4)Steve Carlton (11–9)None25,38651–43
96July 22@ Padres5–2Nino Espinosa (10–7)John D'Acquisto (6–7)Tug McGraw (13)23,30852–43
97July 23@ Padres5–6Rollie Fingers (8–7)Ron Reed (6–5)None16,78552–44
98July 24@ Dodgers3–15Burt Hooton (9–7)Randy Lerch (6–9)None39,33652–45
99July 25@ Dodgers8–16Rick Sutcliffe (9–8)Dick Ruthven (7–5)None34,37052–46
100July 27Cardinals0–5Bob Forsch (4–9)Nino Espinosa (10–8)None40,79252–47
101July 28Cardinals4–5Mark Littell (7–3)Ron Reed (6–6)None40,06352–48
102July 29Cardinals5–6Pete Vuckovich (10–7)Randy Lerch (6–10)None38,06952–49
103July 30Cubs5–4 (10)Ron Reed (7–6)Bruce Sutter (4–3)None37,15153–49
104July 31Cubs4–1Nino Espinosa (11–8)Mike Krukow (8–6)None37,41254–49 :
August (12–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
105August 1@ Mets9–6Dickie Noles (3–2)Dock Ellis (2–9)Rawly Eastwick (3)12,29555–49
106August 2 (1)@ Mets7–4Ron Reed (8–6)Andy Hassler (4–5)Nonesee 2nd game56–49
107August 2 (2)@ Mets1–2Pete Falcone (3–7)Kevin Saucier (1–1)Neil Allen (2)15,31956–50
108August 3 (1)@ Pirates3–6Enrique Romo (7–3)Tug McGraw (3–2)Nonesee 2nd game56–51
109August 3 (2)@ Pirates1–5Jim Bibby (8–2)Larry Christenson (2–7)None45,30956–52
110August 4@ Pirates0–4John Candelaria (10–7)Nino Espinosa (11–9)None34,75456–53
111August 5 (1)@ Pirates8–12Kent Tekulve (5–6)Rawly Eastwick (1–2)Nonesee 2nd game56–54
112August 5 (2)@ Pirates2–5Enrique Romo (8–3)Dickie Noles (3–3)Kent Tekulve (20)46,00656–55
113August 7Expos4–2Larry Christenson (3–7)Scott Sanderson (7–7)None38,23757–55
114August 8Expos4–3Ron Reed (9–6)Elías Sosa (5–7)None36,47658–55
115August 9Expos6–4Nino Espinosa (12–9)Bill Lee (10–9)Rawly Eastwick (4)46,23359–55
116August 10 (1)Pirates4–3 (12)Rawly Eastwick (2–2)Grant Jackson (6–4)Nonesee 2nd game60–55
117August 10 (2)Pirates2–3Bruce Kison (7–6)Randy Lerch (6–11)Kent Tekulve (21)63,34660–56
118August 11Pirates11–14Enrique Romo (9–3)Rawly Eastwick (2–3)Kent Tekulve (22)51,11860–57
–August 12PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 19 as a traditional double-header
119August 13Pirates1–9Jim Bibby (9–2)Larry Christenson (3–8)None43,11160–58
120August 14@ Reds1–2 (10)Tom Hume (7–6)Steve Carlton (11–10)None38,44260–59
121August 15@ Reds3–2Nino Espinosa (13–9)Fred Norman (10–9)None36,67861–59
122August 17@ Astros5–2Randy Lerch (7–11)Frank LaCorte (1–1)None33,78262–59
123August 18@ Astros1–0Larry Christenson (4–8)J. R. Richard (12–12)Ron Reed (4)37,73563–59
124August 19@ Astros3–2Steve Carlton (12–10)Joaquín Andújar (12–9)None30,63164–59
125August 20Braves2–5Phil Niekro (16–16)Ron Reed (9–7)Gene Garber (20)35,15664–60
126August 21Braves4–5Larry Bradford (1–0)Rawly Eastwick (2–4)Gene Garber (21)30,23464–61
127August 22Braves3–4Eddie Solomon (5–10)Larry Christenson (4–9)Gene Garber (22)30,34964–62
128August 24Astros5–3Steve Carlton (13–10)Joaquín Andújar (12–10)None32,12465–62
129August 25Astros1–3Joe Niekro (18–7)Nino Espinosa (13–10)Joe Sambito (16)43,10965–63
130August 26Astros1–4Pete Ladd (1–0)Kevin Saucier (1–2)Joe Sambito (17)32,55965–64
131August 27Reds2–4Tom Hume (9–6)Larry Christenson (4–10)None28,42165–65
132August 28Reds2–5Frank Pastore (3–6)Steve Carlton (13–11)Tom Hume (11)31,11365–66
133August 29Reds6–7Mario Soto (2–2)Kevin Saucier (1–3)Doug Bair (16)30,13365–67
134August 31@ Braves6–2 (6)Doug Bird (2–0)Tony Brizzolara (6–9)None6,00966–67 :
September (18–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
135September 1@ Braves6–4Larry Christenson (5–10)Phil Niekro (17–18)Ron Reed (5)16,99067–67
136September 2@ Braves2–1 (10)Ron Reed (10–7)Joey McLaughlin (4–3)None10,04068–67
137September 3 (1)@ Pirates2–0Steve Carlton (14–11)Bert Blyleven (11–5)Tug McGraw (14)see 2nd game69–67
138September 3 (2)@ Pirates3–7Jim Rooker (3–6)Randy Lerch (7–12)Kent Tekulve (25)43,44469–68
–September 5MetsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 6 as a traditional double-header
139September 6 (1)Mets3–5Ed Glynn (1–2)Nino Espinosa (13–11)Andy Hassler (2)see 2nd game69–69
140September 6 (2)Mets2–1Randy Lerch (8–12)Pete Falcone (5–12)Rawly Eastwick (5)21,09170–69
141September 7@ Cubs3–4Dennis Lamp (11–8)Tug McGraw (3–3)None10,35970–70
142September 8@ Cubs9–8Rawly Eastwick (3–4)Bruce Sutter (4–5)None20,76771–70
143September 9@ Cubs2–15Rick Reuschel (17–9)Kevin Saucier (1–4)None20,92271–71
144September 11@ Mets5–2Nino Espinosa (14–11)Pete Falcone (5–13)Rawly Eastwick (6)4,71372–71
145September 12@ Mets4–0Randy Lerch (9–12)Craig Swan (12–12)None4,15873–71
146September 13@ Mets2–1Steve Carlton (15–11)Juan Berenguer (0–1)Tug McGraw (15)3,89074–71
147September 14Cubs0–2 (10)Bruce Sutter (5–6)Ron Reed (10–8)None20,83874–72
148September 15Cubs8–1Dan Larson (1–0)Lynn McGlothen (11–13)None33,04275–72
149September 16Cubs4–3Ron Reed (11–8)Dick Tidrow (12–5)None30,26176–72
150September 17@ Cardinals7–5Steve Carlton (16–11)Darold Knowles (2–5)Tug McGraw (16)6,47977–72
151September 18@ Cardinals5–3 (10)Tug McGraw (4–3)Dan O'Brien (1–1)None7,34078–72
152September 19 (1)Pirates6–9Kent Tekulve (10–7)Rawly Eastwick (3–5)Grant Jackson (14)see 2nd game78–73
153September 19 (2)Pirates6–5Jack Kucek (1–0)Enrique Romo (10–5)Kevin Saucier (1)30,56679–73
154September 20Pirates2–1Randy Lerch (10–12)Kent Tekulve (10–8)None16,29980–73
–September 21ExposPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 22 as a traditional double-header
155September 22 (1)Expos9–8 (10)Ron Reed (12–8)Dale Murray (5–10)Nonesee 2nd game81–73
156September 22 (2)Expos2–8David Palmer (10–2)Dickie Noles (3–4)None35,18681–74
157September 23Expos4–7Bill Lee (16–10)Nino Espinosa (14–12)None26,50781–75
158September 24Cardinals2–7Pete Vuckovich (15–10)Randy Lerch (10–13)None17,69481–76
159September 25Cardinals1–4John Fulgham (10–6)Dan Larson (1–1)None16,16381–77
160September 26Cardinals11–5Steve Carlton (17–11)Silvio Martínez (15–8)None18,45882–77
161September 28@ Expos3–2 (11)Ron Reed (13–8)Woodie Fryman (3–6)None40,30383–77
162September 29@ Expos2–3Elías Sosa (8–7)Rawly Eastwick (3–6)None50,33283–78
163September 30@ Expos2–0Steve Carlton (18–11)Steve Rogers (13–12)None50,82484–78 :
The September 20, 1979, game was protested by the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth inning. The protest was later denied. :

### Roster
## 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 | Bob Boone | 119 | 398 | 114 | .286 | 9 | 58 |
| 1B | Pete Rose | 163 | 628 | 208 | .331 | 4 | 59 |
| 2B | Manny Trillo | 118 | 431 | 112 | .260 | 6 | 42 |
| SS | Larry Bowa | 147 | 539 | 130 | .241 | 0 | 31 |
| 3B | Mike Schmidt | 160 | 541 | 137 | .253 | 45 | 114 |
| LF | Greg Luzinski | 137 | 452 | 114 | .252 | 18 | 81 |
| CF | Garry Maddox | 148 | 548 | 154 | .281 | 13 | 61 |
| RF | Bake McBride | 151 | 582 | 163 | .280 | 12 | 60 |

#### 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 |
| Greg Gross | 118 | 174 | 58 | .333 | 0 | 15 |
| Del Unser | 95 | 141 | 42 | .298 | 6 | 29 |
| Tim McCarver | 79 | 137 | 33 | .241 | 1 | 12 |
| Mike Anderson | 79 | 78 | 18 | .231 | 1 | 2 |
| Rudy Meoli | 30 | 73 | 13 | .178 | 0 | 6 |
| Bud Harrelson | 53 | 71 | 20 | .282 | 0 | 7 |
| Ramón Avilés | 27 | 61 | 17 | .279 | 0 | 12 |
| Dave Rader | 31 | 54 | 11 | .204 | 1 | 5 |
| José Cardenal | 29 | 48 | 10 | .208 | 0 | 9 |
| Keith Moreland | 14 | 48 | 18 | .375 | 0 | 8 |
| Lonnie Smith | 17 | 30 | 5 | .167 | 0 | 3 |
| John Poff | 12 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 1 |
| John Vukovich | 10 | 15 | 3 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Pete Mackanin | 13 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 1 | 2 |

### 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 |
| Steve Carlton | 35 | 251.0 | 18 | 11 | 3.62 | 213 |
| Randy Lerch | 37 | 214.0 | 10 | 13 | 3.74 | 92 |
| Nino Espinosa | 33 | 212.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.65 | 88 |
| Dick Ruthven | 20 | 122.1 | 7 | 5 | 4.27 | 58 |
| Larry Christenson | 19 | 106.0 | 5 | 10 | 4.50 | 53 |
| Dickie Noles | 14 | 90.0 | 3 | 4 | 3.80 | 42 |
| Dan Larson | 3 | 19.0 | 1 | 1 | 4.26 | 9 |

#### 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 Kaat | 3 | 8.1 | 1 | 0 | 4.32 | 2 |
| Jim Lonborg | 4 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 11.05 | 7 |

#### 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 |
| Tug McGraw | 65 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 5.16 | 57 |
| Ron Reed | 61 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4.15 | 58 |
| Rawly Eastwick | 51 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4.90 | 47 |
| Doug Bird | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.16 | 33 |
| Kevin Saucier | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4.19 | 21 |
| Warren Brusstar | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.91 | 3 |
| Jack Kucek | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.31 | 2 |
| Mike Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Oklahoma City 89ers | American Association | Lee Elia |
| AA | Reading Phillies | Eastern League | Jim Snyder |
| A | Peninsula Pilots | Carolina League | Ron Clark |
| A | Spartanburg Phillies | Western Carolinas League | Bill Dancy |
| A-Short Season | Central Oregon Phillies | Northwest League | Tom Harmon |
| Rookie | Helena Phillies | Pioneer League | Roly de Armas |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Central Oregon