1978 Detroit Tigers season

Updated on Jan 27, 2024

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Owner(s) John Fetzer Manager(s) Ralph Houk		General manager(s) Jim Campbell
Local television WWJ-TV (George Kell, Mike Barry, Joe Pellegrino, Al Kaline) Local radio WJR (Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)

The 1978 Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 88-74, 13½ games behind the Yankees. They outscored their opponents 714 to 653.

Offseason

January 10, 1978: Chris Codiroli was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft.

January 30, 1978: Tito Fuentes was purchased from the Tigers by the Montreal Expos.

Regular season

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

Notable transactions

June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft

Kirk Gibson was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (12th pick).

Jerry Ujdur was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round.

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

Lou Whitaker

AL Rookie of the Year Award

Ron LeFlore

Tiger of the Year Award, from Detroit baseball writers

All-Stars

Jason Thompson, reserve

League top ten finishers

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 batsemen (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 batsemen (8)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

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

References

1978 Detroit Tigers season Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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