1978 Houston Astros season

The 1978 Houston Astros season was the 17th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 14th as the Astros, 17th in the National League (NL), tenth in the NL West division, and 14th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 81–81 record for third place and 17 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

1978 Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	74–88 (.457)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	General Electric, Ford Motor Company
General managers	Tal Smith
Managers	Bill Virdon
Television	KPRC-TV
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats)
← 1977 Seasons 1979 →

At Riverfront Stadium on April 6, J. R. Richard made his third of five consecutive Opening Day starts for Houston, who were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds, 11–9. The Astros' first round pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Rod Boxberger at 11th overall; in the second round, they chose outfielder Danny Heep.

Center fielder Terry Puhl was Astros' representative at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his lone career selection. Third baseman Eddie Mathews, who briefly played for Houston in 1967, became the second former Astro to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Astros concluded the season fifth in the NL West with a record of 74–88, 21 games behind Los Angeles, who repeated as both division champions and NL pennant winners. J. R. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher in National League history to reach 300 strikeouts, as well as the first Houston Astros pitcher to lead the league, with 303.

Offseason

• October 13, 1977: Al Javier was traded by the Astros to the Chicago Cubs for Keith Drumright.^[1]
• November 18, 1977: Oscar Zamora was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[2]
• December 19, 1977: Jesús Alou was signed as a free agent by the Houston Astros.^[3]

Regular season

Summary

Three wild pitches in one inning on May 30 during an overwise gem of an outing by J. R. Richard set up the lone run of the contest to score as the San Francisco Giants prevailed, 1–0.^[4]

In spite of setting a new record as a team with 7 errors on June 12, the Astros' Jesús Alou hit a leadoff double to start a rally in the top of the eighth inning. The Astros followed with six runs scored that led to 6–5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[5]

On September 28, J. R. Richard recorded his 300th strikeout of the season in a 4–3 win over the Atlanta Braves, tallying six whiffs to get to 303. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher in National League history to achieve this milestone in one season, He also homered in the third inning off Larry McWilliams. The Astros rallied to win in the seventh inning with a double by Reggie Baldwin and a single by Rafael Landestoy.^[6]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL 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 record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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	—

Notable transactions

• April 6, 1978: Bob Coluccio was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[7]
• June 6, 1978: Danny Heep was drafted by the Astros in the 2nd round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft.^[8]
• June 8, 1978: Bob Coluccio was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Frank Riccelli.^[9]
• September 2, 1978: Dan Larson was traded by the Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dan Warthen.^[10]
• September 5, 1978: Gene Pentz was released by the Astros.^[11]

Roster

1978 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 47 Joaquín Andújar 38 Floyd Bannister 37 Tom Dixon 43 Ken Forsch 42 Mark Lemongello 39 Bo McLaughlin 36 Joe Niekro 30 Gene Pentz 45 Frank Riccelli 50 J. R. Richard 48 Vern Ruhle 35 Joe Sambito 31 Dan Warthen 34 Rick Williams 44 Oscar Zamora		Catchers  6 Reggie Baldwin 13 Bruce Bochy 13 Joe Ferguson  8 Ed Herrmann  8 Luis Pujols Infielders 16 Dave Bergman 23 Enos Cabell 15 Keith Drumright 10 Mike Fischlin  9 Julio González 18 Art Howe 17 Rafael Landestoy 14 Roger Metzger 19 Jim Obradovich 24 Jimmy Sexton 27 Bob Watson		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 20 Joe Cannon 28 César Cedeño 25 José Cruz 26 Wilbur Howard 46 Jeffrey Leonard 21 Terry Puhl 29 Denny Walling		Manager  7 Bill Virdon Coaches  4 Deacon Jones  5 Bob Lillis  3 Tony Pacheco  2 Mel Wright

Game log

Regular season

Legend
	Astros win
	Astros loss
	Postponement
	Eliminated from playoff race
Bold	Astros team member

1978 regular season game log: 74–88 (Home: 46–35; Away: 35–46)[12]
April: 10–12 (Home: 7–5; Away: 3–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 1 April 6 @ Reds 2 April 7 @ Reds 3 April 8 @ Reds 4 April 9 @ Reds 5 April 10 Dodgers 6 April 11 Dodgers 7 April 12 Dodgers 8 April 14 Reds 9 April 15 Reds 10 April 16 Reds 13 April 20 @ Dodgers 14 April 21 @ Dodgers 15 April 22 @ Dodgers 16 April 23 @ Dodgers
May: 10–13 (Home: 7–6; Away: 3–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
June: 13–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 4–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak — June 7 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 17) — June 8 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 20) 55 June 12 Pirates 56 June 13 Pirates 57 June 14 Pirates 61 June 20 @ Dodgers 62 June 21 @ Dodgers 63 June 22 @ Dodgers 68 June 26 Reds 69 June 27 Reds 70 June 28 Reds 71 June 29 Reds
July: 15–17 (Home: 11–5; Away: 4–12) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 76 July 3 @ Reds 77 July 4 @ Reds 78 July 5 @ Reds 79 July 7 Dodgers 80 (1) July 8 Dodgers 81 (2) July 8 Dodgers 82 July 9 Dodgers — July 11 7:40 p.m. CDT 49th All-Star Game in San Diego, CA
August: 14–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 5–10) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 119 (1) August 17 @ Pirates 120 (2) August 17 @ Pirates 121 August 18 @ Pirates 122 August 19 @ Pirates 123 (1) August 20 @ Pirates 124 (2) August 20 @ Pirates 128 August 25 Pirates 129 August 26 Pirates 130 August 27 Pirates
September: 11–18 (Home: 6–5; Away: 5–13) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 137 September 4 Reds 138 September 5 Reds 139 September 7 Dodgers 1406 September 8 Dodgers 143 September 11 @ Reds 144 September 12 @ Reds 145 September 13 @ Dodgers 146 September 14 @ Dodgers
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak

Detailed records

National League Opponent W L WP RS RA NL East Pittsburgh Pirates 4 8 0.333 46 52 Div Total 4 8 0.333 46 52 NL West Cincinnati Reds 7 11 0.389 77 79 Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers 7 11 0.389 63 82 Div Total 14 22 0.389 140 161 Season Total 11 19 0.367 186 213

Month Games Won Lost Win % RS RA April May June July August September October Total Games Won Lost Win % RS RA Home Away Total

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	Joe Ferguson	51	150	31	.207	7	22
1B	Bob Watson	139	461	133	.289	14	79
2B	Art Howe	119	420	123	.293	7	55
SS	Rafael Landestoy	59	218	58	.266	0	9
3B	Enos Cabell	162	660	195	.295	7	71
LF	Denny Walling	120	247	62	.251	3	36
CF	Terry Puhl	149	585	169	.289	3	35
RF	José Cruz	153	565	178	.315	10	83

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
Julio González	78	223	52	.233	1	16
César Cedeño	50	192	54	.281	7	23
Dave Bergman	104	186	43	.231	0	12
Bruce Bochy	54	154	41	.266	3	15
Luis Pujols	56	153	20	.131	1	11
Wilbur Howard	84	148	34	.230	1	13
Jimmy Sexton	88	141	29	.206	2	6
Jesús Alou	77	139	45	.312	2	19
Roger Metzger	45	123	27	.220	0	6
Mike Fischlin	44	86	10	.116	0	0
Reggie Baldwin	38	67	17	.254	1	11
Keith Drumright	17	55	9	.164	0	2
Ed Herrmann	16	36	4	.111	0	0
Jeffrey Leonard	8	26	10	.385	0	4
Joe Cannon	8	18	4	.222	0	1
Jim Obradovich	10	17	3	.176	0	2

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

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
J. R. Richard	36	275.0	18	11	3.11	303
Mark Lemongello	33	210.1	9	14	3.94	77
Joe Niekro	35	202.2	14	14	3.86	97
Vern Ruhle	13	68.0	3	3	2.12	27

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
Tom Dixon	30	140.0	7	11	3.99	66
Joaquín Andújar	35	110.2	5	7	3.42	55
Floyd Bannister	28	110.1	3	9	4.81	94
Dan Warthen	5	10.2	0	1	4.22	2

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
Joe Sambito	62	4	9	11	3.07	96
Ken Forsch	52	10	6	7	2.70	71
Rick Williams	17	1	2	0	4.67	17
Bo McLaughlin	12	0	1	2	5.01	10
Gene Pentz	10	0	0	0	6.00	8
Oscar Zamora	10	0	0	0	7.20	6
Frank Riccelli	2	0	0	0	0.00	2

Awards and achievements

Awards

• MLB All-Star Game—Reserve outfielder: Terry Puhl^[13]
• National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month—July: J. R. Richard^[14]

Batting leaders^[15]

• At bats: Enos Cabell (660)
• Games played: Enos Cabell (162)
• Stolen base percentage: César Cedeño (92.00)

Pitching leaders^[16][17]

• Bases on balls: J. R. Richard (141)
• Fielding Independent Pitching: J. R. Richard (2.51)
• Hits per nine innings: J. R. Richard (6.3)
• Strikeouts: J. R. Richard (303)—major league leader
• Strikeouts per nine innings: J. R. Richard (9.9)
• Wild pitches: J. R. Richard (16)—major league leader

See also

• Texas portal
• Baseball portal

• 300 strikeout club
• List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Charleston Charlies	International League	Jim Beauchamp
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Jimmy Johnson
A	Daytona Beach Astros	Florida State League	Leo Posada and Chuck Sprinkle
Rookie	GCL Astros	Gulf Coast League	Julio Linares