# 1978 Cleveland Indians season

The 1978 Cleveland Indians season was the 78th season for the franchise, the 64th as the Indians and the 47th season at Cleveland Stadium. They failed to improve upon their 71–90 campaign from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the 24th consecutive season, finishing the season at 69–90.

## Offseason

* December 5, 1977: Bruce Compton (minors) and Norm Churchill (minors) were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Rosello.
* February 28, 1978: Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Willie Horton and David Clyde.
* March 15, 1978: Rico Carty was traded by the Indians to the Toronto Blue Jays for Dennis DeBarr.
* March 30, 1978: Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Ted Cox, and Bo Díaz.

## Regular season

On May 12, pitcher Nolan Ryan of the California Angels struck out Buddy Bell for the 2500th strikeout of his career.

### Season standings

vteAL 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 recordvte 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 14, 1978: Dennis Kinney was traded by the Indians to the San Diego Padres for Dan Spillner.
* June 15, 1978: Mike Vail was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Wallis.
* June 15, 1978: Joe Wallis was traded by the Indians to the Oakland Athletics for Gary Alexander.
* June 22, 1978: Bill Laxton was traded by the Indians to the San Diego Padres for Dave Freisleben.
* June 26, 1978: Dennis DeBarr was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Reuschel.
* July 3, 1978: Willie Horton was released by the Indians.

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 00 | Paul Dade | RF |
| 18 | Duane Kuiper | 2B |
| 1 | Johnny Grubb | LF |
| 29 | Andre Thornton | 1B |
| 23 | Willie Horton | DH |
| 14 | Larvell Blanks | SS |
| 25 | Buddy Bell | 3B |
| 28 | Rick Manning | CF |
| 13 | Ron Pruitt | C |
| 17 | Wayne Garland | P |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Gary Alexander | 90 | 324 | 39 | 76 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 62 | .235 | 0 |
| Buddy Bell | 142 | 556 | 71 | 157 | 27 | 8 | 6 | 62 | .282 | 1 |
| Larvell Blanks | 70 | 193 | 19 | 49 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 20 | .254 | 0 |
| Dan Briggs | 15 | 49 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .163 | 0 |
| Wayne Cage | 36 | 98 | 11 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 | .245 | 1 |
| Bernie Carbo | 60 | 174 | 21 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 | .287 | 1 |
| Ted Cox | 82 | 227 | 14 | 53 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .233 | 0 |
| Paul Dade | 93 | 307 | 37 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 20 | .254 | 12 |
| Bo Diaz | 44 | 127 | 12 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .236 | 0 |
| Alfredo Griffin | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| Johnny Grubb | 113 | 378 | 54 | 100 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 61 | .265 | 5 |
| Ron Hassey | 25 | 74 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .203 | 2 |
| Willie Horton | 50 | 169 | 15 | 42 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 22 | .249 | 3 |
| Jim Kern | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Duane Kuiper | 149 | 547 | 52 | 155 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 43 | .283 | 4 |
| Larry Lintz | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Rick Manning | 148 | 566 | 65 | 149 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 50 | .263 | 12 |
| Jim Norris | 113 | 315 | 41 | 89 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 27 | .283 | 12 |
| Ron Pruitt | 71 | 187 | 17 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 17 | .235 | 2 |
| Horace Speed | 70 | 106 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .226 | 2 |
| Andre Thornton | 145 | 508 | 97 | 133 | 22 | 4 | 33 | 105 | .262 | 4 |
| Mike Vail | 14 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .235 | 1 |
| Tom Veryzer | 130 | 421 | 48 | 114 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 32 | .271 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 159 | 5365 | 639 | 1400 | 223 | 45 | 106 | 596 | .261 | 64 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| David Clyde | 8 | 11 | 4.28 | 28 | 25 | 0 | 153.1 | 166 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 83 |
| Al Fitzmorris | 0 | 1 | 6.28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Dave Freisleben | 1 | 4 | 7.11 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 44.1 | 52 | 37 | 35 | 31 | 19 |
| Wayne Garland | 2 | 3 | 7.89 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 29.2 | 43 | 27 | 26 | 16 | 13 |
| Don Hood | 5 | 6 | 4.48 | 36 | 19 | 0 | 154.2 | 166 | 82 | 77 | 77 | 73 |
| Jim Kern | 10 | 10 | 3.08 | 58 | 0 | 13 | 99.1 | 77 | 36 | 34 | 58 | 95 |
| Dennis Kinney | 0 | 2 | 4.42 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 38.2 | 37 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 19 |
| Rick Kreuger | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Sid Monge | 4 | 3 | 2.76 | 48 | 2 | 6 | 84.2 | 71 | 36 | 26 | 51 | 54 |
| Mike Paxton | 12 | 11 | 3.86 | 33 | 27 | 1 | 191.0 | 179 | 89 | 82 | 63 | 96 |
| Paul Reuschel | 2 | 4 | 3.11 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 89.2 | 95 | 33 | 31 | 22 | 24 |
| Dan Spillner | 3 | 1 | 3.67 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 56.1 | 54 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 48 |
| Rick Waits | 13 | 15 | 3.20 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 230.1 | 206 | 97 | 82 | 86 | 97 |
| Rick Wise | 9 | 19 | 4.34 | 33 | 31 | 0 | 211.2 | 226 | 116 | 102 | 59 | 106 |
| Team Totals | 69 | 90 | 3.97 | 159 | 159 | 28 | 1407.1 | 1397 | 694 | 621 | 568 | 739 |

## Awards and honors

All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Portland Beavers | Pacific Coast League | Gene Dusan |
| AA | Chattanooga Lookouts | Southern League | John Orsino and Jim Bragan |
| A | Waterloo Indians | Midwest League | Woody Smith |
| A-Short Season | Batavia Trojans | New York–Penn League | Luis Isaac |