Major League Baseball season

1978 Detroit Tigers

Major League affiliations

* American League (since 1901)
* Eastern Division (since 1969)

Location

* Tiger Stadium (since 1912)
* Detroit, Michigan (since 1901)

Other information
Owner(s)| John Fetzer
General manager(s)| Jim Campbell
Manager(s)| Ralph Houk
Local television| WWJ-TV
(George Kell, Mike Barry, Joe Pellegrino, Al Kaline)
Local radio| WJR
(Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)
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The 1978 Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 86-76, 13½ games behind the Yankees. They outscored their opponents 714 to 653.

It was the franchise's first winning season since 1973 and would start a string of winning seasons that would not come to an end until 1989.

## Contents

* 1 Offseason
* 2 Regular season
* 2.1 Season standings
* 2.2 Record vs. opponents
* 2.3 Notable transactions
* 2.4 Roster
* 3 Player stats
* 3.1 Batting
* 3.1.1 Starters by position
* 3.1.2 Other batters
* 3.2 Pitching
* 3.2.1 Starting pitchers
* 3.2.2 Other pitchers
* 3.2.3 Relief pitchers
* 4 Awards and honors
* 4.1 All-Stars
* 4.2 League top ten finishers
* 4.3 Players ranking among top 100 all time at position
* 5 Farm system
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Offseason[edit]

* January 10, 1978: Chris Codiroli was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft.[1]
* January 30, 1978: Tito Fuentes was purchased from the Tigers by the Montreal Expos.[2]

## Regular season[edit]

The Tigers drew 1,714,893 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1978, ranking 5th of the 14 teams in the American League.

### Season standings[edit]

* v
* t
* e

AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

New York Yankees | 100 | 63  | 0.613  | —  | 55–26  | 45–37
Boston Red Sox | 99 | 64  | 0.607  | 1  | 59–23  | 40–41
Milwaukee Brewers | 93 | 69  | 0.574  | 6½  | 54–27  | 39–42
Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 71  | 0.559  | 9  | 51–30  | 39–41
Detroit Tigers | 86 | 76  | 0.531  | 13½  | 47–34  | 39–42
Cleveland Indians | 69 | 90  | 0.434  | 29  | 42–36  | 27–54
Toronto Blue Jays | 59 | 102  | 0.366  | 40  | 37–44  | 22–58

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1978 American League Records

* v
* t
* e

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 | —

### Notable transactions[edit]

* June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
* Kirk Gibson was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (12th pick).[3]
* Jerry Ujdur was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round.[4]

### Roster[edit]

1978 Detroit Tigers

Roster
Pitchers

* 36 Fernando Arroyo
* 31 Steve Baker
* 41 Jack Billingham
* 42 Sheldon Burnside
* 28 Jim Crawford
* 20 Mark Fidrych
* 29 Steve Foucault
* 48 Ed Glynn
* 18 John Hiller
* 47 Jack Morris
* 19 Dave Rozema
* 21 Jim Slaton
* 27 Bob Sykes
* 32 Bruce Taylor
* 38 Dave Tobik
* 39 Milt Wilcox
* 37 Kip Young

|  | Catchers

* 12 Milt May
* 13 Lance Parrish

Infielders

* 7 Steve Dillard
* 2 Phil Mankowski
* 4 Aurelio Rodríguez
* 30 Jason Thompson
* 3 Alan Trammell
* 5 Mark Wagner
* 1 Lou Whitaker

|  | Outfielders

* 25 Tim Corcoran
* 33 Steve Kemp
* 8 Ron LeFlore
* 34 Charlie Spikes
* 24 Mickey Stanley
* 22 Dave Stegman
* 14 John Wockenfuss

Other batters

* 10 Rusty Staub

|  | Manager

* 35 Ralph Houk

Coaches

* 26 Gates Brown
* 52 Fred Gladding
* 51 Fred Hatfield
* 50 Jim Hegan
* 53 Dick Tracewski

## Player stats[edit]

### Batting[edit]

#### Starters by position[edit]

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 | Milt May | 105 | 352 | 88 | .250 | 10 | 37
1B | Jason Thompson | 153 | 589 | 169 | .287 | 26 | 79
2B | Lou Whitaker | 139 | 484 | 138 | .285 | 3 | 58
3B | Aurelio Rodríguez | 134 | 385 | 102 | .265 | 7 | 43
SS | Alan Trammell | 139 | 448 | 120 | .268 | 2 | 34
LF | Steve Kemp | 159 | 582 | 161 | .277 | 15 | 79
CF | Ron LeFlore | 155 | 666 | 198 | .297 | 12 | 62
RF | Tim Corcoran | 116 | 324 | 86 | .265 | 1 | 27
DH | Rusty Staub | 162 | 642 | 175 | .273 | 24 | 121

#### Other batters[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Lance Parrish | 85 | 288 | 63 | .219 | 14 | 41
Phil Mankowski | 88 | 222 | 61 | .275 | 4 | 20
John Wockenfuss | 71 | 187 | 53 | .283 | 7 | 22
Mickey Stanley | 53 | 151 | 40 | .265 | 3 | 8
Steve Dillard | 56 | 130 | 29 | .223 | 0 | 7
Mark Wagner | 39 | 109 | 26 | .239 | 0 | 6
Charlie Spikes | 10 | 28 | 7 | .250 | 0 | 2
Dave Stegman | 8 | 14 | 4 | .286 | 1 | 3

### Pitching[edit]

#### Starting pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Jim Slaton | 35 | 233.2 | 17 | 11 | 4.12 | 92
Milt Wilcox | 29 | 215.1 | 13 | 12 | 3.76 | 132
Dave Rozema | 28 | 209.1 | 9 | 12 | 3.14 | 57
Jack Billingham | 30 | 201.2 | 15 | 8 | 3.88 | 59
Kip Young | 14 | 105.2 | 6 | 7 | 2.81 | 49
Mark Fidrych | 3 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2.45 | 10

#### Other pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Jack Morris | 28 | 106 | 3 | 5 | 4.33 | 48
Bob Sykes | 22 | 93.2 | 6 | 6 | 3.94 | 58
Steve Baker | 15 | 63.1 | 2 | 4 | 4.55 | 39

#### Relief pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | GF  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

John Hiller | 51 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 46 | 2.34 | 74
Steve Foucault | 24 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 3.13 | 18
Jim Crawford | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4.35 | 24
Ed Glynn | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.07 | 9
Dave Tobik | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3.75 | 11
Fernando Arroyo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.31 | 1
Sheldon Burnside | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 3
Bruce Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0

## Awards and honors[edit]

Lou Whitaker

* AL Rookie of the Year Award

Ron LeFlore

* Tiger of the Year Award, from Detroit baseball writers

### All-Stars[edit]

Jason Thompson, reserve

### League top ten finishers[edit]

Steve Kemp

* #3 in AL in bases on balls (97)
* #4 in AL in times on base (259)
* #5 in AL in games played (159)

Ron LeFlore

* MLB leader in runs scored (126)
* AL leader in stolen bases (68)
* AL leader in singles (153)
* #2 in AL in hits (198)
* #2 in AL in runs created (105)
* #2 in MLB in at bats (666)
* #2 in MLB in plate appearances (741)
* #3 in MLB in times on base (267)
* #3 in AL in outs (501)
* #4 in AL in Power/Speed Number (20.4)
* #5 in AL in times caught stealing (16)

Dave Rozema

* #5 in MLB in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (1.76)

Jim Slaton

* #4 in AL in hit batsmen (8)
* #5 in AL in wild pitches (10)

Rusty Staub

* #2 in MLB in RBIs (121)
* #2 in MLB in games played (162)
* #2 in AL in sacrifice flies (11)
* #2 in AL in at bats per strikeout (18.3)
* #2 in AL in outs (505)
* #3 in AL in at bats (642)
* #3 in MLB in plate appearances (734)
* #3 in MLB in times grounded into double plays (24)
* #4 in AL total bases (279)
* #5 in AL in hits (175)
* #5 in AL in times on base (254)

Jason Thompson

* #4 in AL in runs created (104)
* #5 in AL in total bases (278)

Milt Wilcox

* #4 in AL in hit batsmen (8)

### Players ranking among top 100 all time at position[edit]

The following members of the 1979 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

* Lance Parrish: 19th best catcher of all time (played 12 games as a rookie)
* Lou Whitaker: 13th best second baseman of all time (played 11 games as a rookie)
* Alan Trammell: 9th best shortstop of all time (played 19 games as a rookie)
* Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
* Ron LeFlore: 80th best center fielder of all time

## Farm system[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Evansville Triplets | American Association | Les Moss
AA | Montgomery Rebels | Southern League | Eddie Brinkman
A | Lakeland Tigers | Florida State League | Jim Leyland
Rookie | Bristol Tigers | Appalachian League | Joe Lewis

## References[edit]

1. ^ Chris Codiroli at Baseball-Reference
2. ^ Tito Fuentes at Baseball-Reference
3. ^ Kirk Gibson at Baseball-Reference
4. ^ Jerry Ujdur at Baseball-Reference

## External links[edit]

* 1978 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics

* Baseball portal

* v
* t
* e

1978 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York
* Toronto

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Seattle
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1978 MLB draft
* 1978 All-Star Game
* 1978 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Detroit Tigers

* Established in 1901
* Based in Detroit, Michigan

Franchise|

* History
* Seasons
* Records
* No-hitters
* Award winners and league leaders
* Players
* First-round draft picks
* Managers
* Coaches
* Owners and executives
* Opening Day starting pitchers

Ballparks|

* Bennett Park
* Tiger Stadium
* Comerica Park

* Spring training: Whittington Park
* Plant Field
* Bosse Field
* Henley Field
* Joker Marchant Stadium

Culture|

* Paws
* "Detroit Rock City"
* "The Bird"
* The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych
* One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
* Magnum, P.I. (reboot)
* Tiger Town
* Cobb
* For Love of the Game
* Bless You Boys
* "The Singing Hot Dog Man"

Lore|

* 1910 Chalmers Award
* Disco Demolition Night
* 2009 AL Central tie-breaker game
* 28-out perfect game

Rivalries|

* Chicago White Sox
* Cleveland Guardians
* Kansas City Royals
* Minnesota Twins

Important figures|

| Hall of Fame members|

* Sparky Anderson
* Ty Cobb
* Mickey Cochrane
* Sam Crawford
* Charlie Gehringer
* Hank Greenberg
* Harry Heilmann
* Hughie Jennings
* Al Kaline
* George Kell
* Heinie Manush
* Jack Morris
* Hal Newhouser
* Alan Trammell

|

Ford C. Frick Award recipient|

* Ernie Harwell

BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients|

* Joe Falls
* Tom Gage
* H. G. Salsinger

Minor league affiliates|

* Player overview
* Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens
* Double-A: Erie SeaWolves
* High-A: West Michigan Whitecaps
* Low-A: Lakeland Flying Tigers
* Rookie: FCL Tigers West
* FCL Tigers East
* DSL Tigers 1
* DSL Tigers 2

Key personnel|

* Owner: Christopher Ilitch
* General Manager: Al Avila
* Manager: A. J. Hinch

World Series
championships (4)|

* 1935
* 1945
* 1968
* 1984

American League pennants (11)|

* American League: 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1934
* 1935
* 1940
* 1945
* 1968
* 1984
* 2006
* 2012

Division titles (7)|

* East: 1972
* 1984
* 1987
* Central: 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014

Wild card berths (1)|

* 2006

Broadcasters|

* TV: Bally Sports Detroit
* Matt Shepard
* Kirk Gibson
* Jack Morris
* Radio: Detroit Tigers Radio Network
* WXYT
* WXYT-FM
* Dan Dickerson
* Jim Price
* History: List of Detroit Tigers broadcasters

Seasons (122)

1900s|

· 1900 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909

1910s|

* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919

1920s|

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929

1930s|

* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

1940s|

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

1950s|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

1960s|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022

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