# 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 89th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 21st season in Los Angeles, California, and their 16th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California.
The team won their second straight National League pennant and losing to the New York Yankees in the World Series again. Dodger coach Jim Gilliam died at the end of the season and his uniform number, 19, was retired by the team prior to Game 1 of the World Series; the team also wore a black memorial patch with Gilliam's number during the World Series. Unlike the previous Dodger team, no member of the team hit 30 home runs after seeing four members hit that mark the previous season (the team leader was Reggie Smith, with 29).

## Offseason

* November 23, 1977: Dennis Lewallyn was purchased from the Dodgers by the Minnesota Twins.
* January 31, 1978: Elías Sosa was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 54‍–‍27 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 69 | .571 | 2½ | 49‍–‍31 | 43‍–‍38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | 50‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍42 |
| San Diego Padres | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11 | 50‍–‍31 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Houston Astros | 74 | 88 | .457 | 21 | 50‍–‍31 | 24‍–‍57 |
| Atlanta Braves | 69 | 93 | .426 | 26 | 39‍–‍42 | 30‍–‍51 |

### 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 | — |

### Opening day lineup

Opening Day starters :
| Name | Position |
| Davey Lopes | Second baseman |
| Bill Russell | Shortstop |
| Reggie Smith | Rightfielder |
| Ron Cey | Third baseman |
| Steve Garvey | First baseman |
| Dusty Baker | Leftfielder |
| Rick Monday | Centerfielder |
| Steve Yeager | Catcher |
| Don Sutton | Starting Pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* May 17, 1978: Glenn Burke was traded by the Dodgers to the Oakland Athletics for Billy North.
* May 20, 1978: Mike Garman was traded by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Larry Landreth and Gerry Hannahs.
* July 1, 1978: The Dodgers traded players to be named later to the Houston Astros for Joe Ferguson and cash. The Dodgers completed the deal by sending Rafael Landestoy to the Astros on July 7 and Jeff Leonard to the Astros on September 11.

### Notable events

On August 20, before a night game in New York against the New York Mets, Steve Garvey approached Don Sutton in the Dodgers' clubhouse over an article in The Washington Post in which Sutton was quoted as saying to Tom Boswell:
"All you ever hear about on our team is Steve Garvey, the all-American boy...well, the best player on this team for the past two years--and we all know it--is Reggie Smith. Reggie doesn't go out and publicize himself. He doesn't smile at the right people or say the right things. Reggie's not a façade or a Madison Avenue image. He's a real person."
Garvey and Sutton wrestled for two minutes in the clubhouse over Sutton's words and had to be pulled apart by teammates. Neither was seriously injured. Both had facial scratches and bruises and Garvey had a bloodshot left eye where it appeared a finger or thumb had been inserted by Sutton. Days later, Sutton publicly apologized for the incident, but not to Garvey personally.

## 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 | Steve Yeager | 94 | 228 | 44 | .193 | 4 | 23 |
| 1B | Steve Garvey | 162 | 639 | 202 | .316 | 21 | 113 |
| 2B | Davey Lopes | 151 | 587 | 163 | .278 | 17 | 58 |
| 3B | Ron Cey | 159 | 555 | 150 | .270 | 23 | 84 |
| SS | Bill Russell | 155 | 625 | 179 | .286 | 3 | 46 |
| LF | Dusty Baker | 149 | 522 | 137 | .262 | 11 | 66 |
| CF | Bill North | 110 | 304 | 71 | .234 | 0 | 10 |
| RF | Reggie Smith | 128 | 447 | 132 | .295 | 29 | 93 |

#### 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 |
| Rick Monday | 119 | 342 | 87 | .254 | 19 | 57 |
| Lee Lacy | 103 | 245 | 64 | .261 | 13 | 40 |
| Joe Ferguson | 67 | 198 | 47 | .237 | 7 | 28 |
| Vic Davalillo | 75 | 77 | 24 | .312 | 1 | 11 |
| Johnny Oates | 40 | 75 | 23 | .307 | 0 | 6 |
| Jerry Grote | 41 | 70 | 19 | .271 | 0 | 9 |
| Ted Martinez | 54 | 55 | 14 | .255 | 1 | 5 |
| Manny Mota | 37 | 33 | 10 | .303 | 0 | 6 |
| Glenn Burke | 16 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 2 |
| Rudy Law | 11 | 12 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Pedro Guerrero | 5 | 8 | 5 | .625 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Simpson | 10 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 1 |
| Myron White | 7 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Don Sutton | 34 | 238.1 | 15 | 11 | 3.55 | 154 |
| Burt Hooton | 32 | 236.0 | 19 | 10 | 2.71 | 104 |
| Tommy John | 33 | 213.0 | 17 | 10 | 3.30 | 124 |
| Doug Rau | 30 | 199.0 | 15 | 9 | 3.26 | 95 |

#### 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 |
| Rick Rhoden | 30 | 164.2 | 10 | 8 | 3.66 | 79 |
| Bob Welch | 23 | 111.1 | 7 | 4 | 2.02 | 66 |

#### 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 |
| Terry Forster | 47 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 1.93 | 46 |
| Charlie Hough | 55 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3.28 | 66 |
| Lance Rautzhan | 43 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2.93 | 25 |
| Bobby Castillo | 18 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3.97 | 30 |
| Mike Garman | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.41 | 5 |

## Postseason
### 1978 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3 games to 1 in the NLCS.

#### Game 1

October 4, Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| W: Bob Welch (1-0) L: Larry Christenson (0-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – Jerry Martin (1) LAD – Steve Garvey 2 (2) Davey Lopes (1) Steve Yeager (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 2

October 5, Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Tommy John (1-0) L: Dick Ruthven (0-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – None LAD – Davey Lopes (2) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

October 6, Dodger Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| W: Steve Carlton (1-0) L: Don Sutton (0-1) SV: None |||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – Steve Carlton (1), Greg Luzinski (1); LAD – Steve Garvey (3) |||||||||||||

#### Game 4

October 7, Dodger Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Terry Forster (1-0) L: Tug McGraw (0-1) SV: None ||||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – Greg Luzinski (2), Bake McBride (1); LAD – Ron Cey (1) Steve Garvey (4) ||||||||||||||

### 1978 World Series

The Dodgers again lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series.
AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

#### Game 1

Tuesday, October 10, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 11 | 15 | 2 |
| WP: Tommy John (1–0) LP: Ed Figueroa (0–1) Home runs: NYY: Reggie Jackson (1) LAD: Dusty Baker (1), Davey Lopes 2 (2) |||||||||||||

#### Game 2

Wednesday, October 11, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| WP: Burt Hooton (1–0) LP: Catfish Hunter (0–1) Sv: Bob Welch (1) Home runs: NYY: None LAD: Ron Cey (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

Friday, October 13, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| New York | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| WP: Ron Guidry (1–0) LP: Don Sutton (0–1) Home runs: LAD: None NYY: Roy White (1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 4

Saturday, October 14, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| WP: Goose Gossage (1–0) LP: Bob Welch (0–1) Home runs: LAD: Reggie Smith (1) NYY: None ||||||||||||||

#### Game 5

Sunday, October 15, 1978, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | X | 12 | 18 | 0 |
| WP: Jim Beattie (1–0) LP: Burt Hooton (1–1) |||||||||||||

#### Game 6

Tuesday, October 17, 1978, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Catfish Hunter (1–1) LP: Don Sutton (0–2) Home runs: NYY: Reggie Jackson (2) LAD: Davey Lopes (3) |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

* Gold Glove Awards
** Davey Lopes
* NL Player of the Month
** Rick Monday (April 1978)
* NL Player of the Week
** Rick Monday (Apr. 17–23)
** Steve Garvey (Aug. 14–20)

### All-Stars

* 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Steve Garvey, starter, first base
** Rick Monday, starter, outfield
** Ron Cey, reserve
** Tommy John, reserve
** Davey Lopes, reserve
** Reggie Smith, reserve
* Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award
** Steve Garvey
* TSN National League All-Star
** Davey Lopes
** Steve Garvey

### Postseason

* NLCS Most Valuable Player
** Steve Garvey

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Albuquerque Dukes | Pacific Coast League | Del Crandall |
| AA | San Antonio Dodgers | Texas League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Lodi Dodgers | California League | Stan Wasiak |
| A | Clinton Dodgers | Midwest League | Dick McLaughlin |
| Rookie | Lethbridge Dodgers | Pioneer League | Jim Lefebvre |
Teams in BOLD won League Championships

## Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers drafted 35 players in the June draft and 12 in the January draft. Of those, seven players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.
The Dodgers did not have a first round pick this year in the June draft as their pick was given to the Pittsburgh Pirates as compensation for their signing of free agent pitcher Terry Forster. In the second round, they selected SS Clay Smith from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Smith played in the Dodgers farm system through 1981, hitting .271 in 277 games in the rookie leagues and class-A before he was released.
This draft netted the Dodgers two key players for their championship teams of the 1980s. They drafted Mike Marshall in the 6th round and Steve Sax in the 9th. Marshall would hit 148 homers in 11 seasons and made the All-Star team in 1984 while playing both the outfield and first base. Sax played 14 seasons (8 of them with the Dodgers) and hit .281 with 444 steals. The Dodgers starting second baseman for most of the 1980s, he was the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year and a five time All-Star.
1978 Draft Picks :
January draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Brian Holton
RHP
Louisburg College
Yes
1978–1992
MLB
2
Greg Schultz
SS
Sacramento City College
Yes
1978–1985
AAA
3
Brad Patterson
RHP
Umpqua Community College
No
4
Mathew Reeves
LHP
Sacramento City College
Yes
1978–1982
A
5
Bryan Little
SS
Louisburg College
No Expos-1980
1980–1988
MLB
6
Jimmy Boring
RHP
Georgia Perimeter College
No
7
Larry Pittman
1B
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
No Mets-1979
1979–1981
A
9
Anthony Murdaugh
RHP
University of South Carolina
No
9
Peter Zorich
RHP
Lower Columbia College
No
January Secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Russell McDonald
RHP
DeAnza College
Yes
1978–1984
AAA
2
Daniel Sijer
LHP
Shoreline Community College
No Padres-1979
1979–1980
A
3
Stephen Smith
RHP
Gulf Coast Community College
No
June draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
2
Clay Smith
SS
Northwest Classen High School
Yes
1978–1981
A
3
Augie Ruiz
LHP
University of Miami
Yes
1978–1984
AAA
4
Glenn Gallagher
LHP
Peekskill High School
No Blue Jays-1981
1981–1984
AA
5
John Robbins
OF
Lockhart High School
Yes
1978–1980
A
6
Mike Marshall
1B
Buffalo Grove High School
Yes
1978–1999
MLB
7
Mark Nipp
RHP
University of Oklahoma
Yes
1978–1981
AAA
8
William Swiacki
RHP
Amherst College
Yes
1978–1982
AAA
9
Steve Sax
SS
Marshall High School
Yes
1978–1994
MLB
10
Rodney Kemp
OF
San Jose State University
Yes
1978–1980
A
11
John Malkin
C
Cardinal Spellman High School
Yes
1978–1985
AAA
12
Francis Wilczewski
RHP
Independence High School
Yes
1978–1979
A
13
Melvin Meadows
OF
White Oak High School
Yes
1979
Rookie
14
Jeffrey Kopjo
OF
Lyons Township High School
Yes
1978–1979
Rookie
15
Stephen Maples
C
Skyline High School
Yes
1978–1980
A
16
Brian Hayes
LHP
University of Southern California
Yes
1978–1980
AA
17
Joseph Pocoroba
SS
Crespi Carmelite High School
Yes
1978–1979
Rookie
18
Eric Bullock
OF
South Gate High School
No Astros-1981
1981–1995
MLB
19
Gary Weiss
IF
University of Houston
Yes
1978–1981
MLB
20
Chris Iwasaki
OF
Reedley College
No
21
Dave LaPoint
RHP
Monadnock Regional High School
No
22
Thomas Banducci
RHP
William Floyd High School
Yes
1978
Rookie
23
Chris Gandy
1B
University of California, Riverside
Yes
1978–1980
A
24
Warren Reeh
LHP
Yes
1978
Rookie
25
William Murray
SS
Tamalpais High School
No Dodgers-1981
1981
A
26
David Albrecht
LHP
Appleton East High School
No
27
James Taylor
C
University of South Carolina
No
28
Robert White
LHP
Lake Mills High School
Yes
1978–1980
A
29
Joseph Herbert
OF
Columbia High School
Yes
1978
Rookie
30
Kevin Patten
OF
Miami University of Ohio
No Braves-1979
1979
Rookie
31
Kent Johnson
RHP
Muncie Northside High School
Yes
1978–1979
A
32
Daniel Forer
LHP
Iowa Western Community College
No Dodgers-1981
1981
A
33
Michael Vienne
RHP
St. Mary's High School
No
34
Mark Pirruccello
C
Servite High School
No Royals-1982
1982–1984
AA
June secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Dann Bilardello
C
Cabrillo College
Yes
1978–1994
MLB
2
Keith Schrimsher
RHP
University of South Florida
No Reds-1979
1979–1980
A :