The 1978 San Francisco Giants season was the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

' 96th season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, their 21st season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 19th at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

. The team finished in third place in the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

with an 89–73 record, 6 games behind the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Offseason

* October 25, 1977:

Frank Riccelli Frank Joseph Riccelli (born February 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, for the San Francisco Giants, and and for the Houston Astros. Riccelli attended Christian Brothers Aca ...

was traded by the Giants to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for a player to be named later. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Jim Dwyer to the Giants on June 15, 1978. * March 15, 1978: Gary Alexander, Gary Thomasson, Dave Heaverlo, Alan Wirth,

John Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson (November 24, 1929 – June 3, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a running back. He was known for his excellence at the fullback position as both a runner and a blocker. His first professional stint ...

, Phil Huffman, a player to be named later, and $300,000 were traded by the Giants to the Oakland Athletics for

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

. The Giants completed the trade by sending

Mario Guerrero Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (born September 28, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four teams in an eight-year career from to . Career Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in . After fo ...

to the Athletics on April 7. * March 21, 1978:

Alan Hargesheimer Alan Robert Hargesheimer (born November 21, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched in parts of four seasons between and for three different teams. Since his retirement, Hargesheimer has worked as a scout for several teams, i ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants. * March 27, 1978: Randy Elliott was released by the Giants.

Regular season

The Giants won 42 games by a one run margin, an MLB record.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

Rob Andrews Robert Ernest Andrews (born August 4, 1957) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County. Early life, ...

* Jack Clark *

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternatin ...

Larry Herndon Larry Darnell Herndon (born November 3, 1953), sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball in 1974 and from 1976 to 1988. Born in Mississippi and ...

Marc Hill Marc Kevin Hill (born February 18, 1952) aka "The Booter" is a former Major League Baseball catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (-), San Francisco Giants (-), Seattle Mariners (1980), and Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an Amer ...

Johnnie LeMaster Johnnie Lee LeMaster (born June 19, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played for four teams over a 12 year (– and ) MLB career, including 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right-handed. Career On ...

Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...

John Montefusco John Joseph Montefusco Jr. (born May 25, 1950), nicknamed "The Count," is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986, most notably as a member of the Sa ...

Terry Whitfield Terry Bertland Whitfield (born January 12, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball player. As an outfielder, Whitfield was known more for his batting than his defense, finishing with a career .281 batting average in 1,913 at bats in the ...

Notable transactions

* June 6, 1978:

John Rabb John Andrew Rabb (born June 23, 1960) is an American former professional baseball baseball player, player. A catcher, his career extended for 14 seasons (1978–1991), and he spent 108 games played, games in one full season (} and parts of four ...

was drafted by the Giants in the 11th round of the

1978 Major League Baseball draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland High School pitc ...

. * July 18, 1978: The Giants traded a player to be named later to the

for John Tamargo. The Giants completed the deal by sending

Rob Dressler Robert Alan Dressler (born February 2, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and Seattle Mariners. Dressler was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (19th ove ...

to the Cardinals on July 24.

Roster

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; 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; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

* Jack Clark * Vida Blue Sporting News * National league Pitcher of the Year: Vida Blue

* National League Player of the Month: Jack Clark (May 1978)

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1978 San Francisco Giants
at ''Baseball Reference''
1978 San Francisco Giants
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{San Francisco Giants San Francisco Giants seasons San Francisco Giants season

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...