1978 Oakland Athletics season

March 2026 November 2013 Oakland Athletics 1978 American League West Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, California 69–93 (.426) Charles O. Finley Bobby Winkles, Jack McKeon KPIX-TV(Monte Moore, Bob Waller) KALX/KNEW (AM)(Larry Baer & Bob Kozberg/Bud Foster, Bob Cosgrove, Curt Flood & Jim Peterson) 6th The 1978 Oakland Athletics season was the team's eleventh in Oakland, California. The team sought to rebound from its first losing season in a decade (a 63–98 result in 1977). Despite low expectations, the Athletics remained competitive for nearly three-quarters of the season. Despite posting a respectable 61–56 mark through 117 games, the Athletics collapsed in the season's final weeks; their 8–37 finish ensured a second consecutive season of fewer than 70 wins. Only one player (Billy North) remained from the team's 1974 championship season. He would be traded to the Dodgers in May. Prior to the season, owner Charlie Finley nearly sold the team to buyers who would have moved them to Denver. Offseason February 25, 1978: Doug Bair and cash were traded by the Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds for Dave Revering.Dave Revering page at Baseball Reference March 15, 1978: Vida Blue was traded by the Athletics to the San Francisco Giants for Gary Alexander, Gary Thomasson, Dave Heaverlo, Alan Wirth, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, a player to be named later, and $300,000. The Giants completed the deal by sending Mario Guerrero to the Athletics on April 7.Vida Blue page at Baseball Reference March 25, 1978: Sheldon Mallory was traded by the Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Staggs.Sheldon Mallory page at Baseball Reference March 28, 1978: Dick Allen was released by the Athletics.Dick Allen page at Baseball Reference March 28, 1978: Mark Williams was released by the Athletics.Mark Williams page at Baseball Reference Vida Blue trade The trade of Vida Blue was a very complicated deal for A's owner Charles O. Finley. At the end of the 1977 season, Finley attempted to trade Vida Blue to the Cincinnati Reds for a player of lesser stature and cash, but baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the deal. The commissioner claimed that it was tantamount to the sale of the star pitcher to the Yankees that the commissioner voided during 1976. The commissioner claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race. Instead, Blue was traded across the bay to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player trade that received the commissioner's blessing. Proposed sale After the 1977 season, Charlie Finley had heart bypass surgery and his health was in decline. He had received offers from groups in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., and from billionaire oilman Marvin Davis from Denver.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 272, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, 978-0-8027-1745-0 In December 1977, Finley agreed to sell the Athletics to Marvin Davis for 12.5 million dollars. The franchise would move to Denver for the 1978 season. The American League owners approved the sale and the transfer of the franchise.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p. 273 The board of the Oakland Coliseum had prepared a lawsuit against Finley, as there were still 10 years left on their stadium lease. Bowie Kuhn and San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie worked with Finley to attempt to find a compromise that would allow the Athletics to leave Oakland. Regular season Season standings Oakland Athletics Record vs. opponents OAK Notable transactions April 4, 1978: Manny Sanguillén was traded by the Athletics to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Miguel Diloné, Elías Sosa and a player to be named later. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Mike Edwards to the Athletics on April 7.Manny Sanguillén page at Baseball Reference May 22, 1978: Joe Coleman was purchased from the Athletics by the Toronto Blue Jays.Joe Coleman page at Baseball Reference June 15, 1978: Gary Alexander was traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Joe Wallis.Joe Wallis page at Baseball Reference June 15, 1978: Gary Thomasson was traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Mickey Klutts, Dell Alston and $50,000.Mickey Klutts page at Baseball Reference June 20, 1978: Tito Fuentes was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Tito Fuentes page at Baseball Reference July 13, 1978: Willie Horton was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference July 26, 1978: Tito Fuentes was released by the Athletics. August 15, 1978: Willie Horton and Phil Huffman were traded by the Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays for Rico Carty. Draft picks June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft Keith Atherton was drafted by the Athletics in the 2nd round.Keith Atherton page at Baseball-Reference June 6, 1978: Kelvin Moore was drafted by the Athletics in the 6th round.Kelvin Moore page at Baseball-Reference Roster 1978 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers 40 Pete Broberg 15 Joe Coleman 37 Tim Conroy 60 Dave Heaverlo 38 John Henry Johnson 27 Matt Keough 34 Bob Lacey 22 Rick Langford 54 Steve McCatty 23,49 Craig Minetto 15 Mike Morgan 16,17 Mike Norris 28 Steve Renko 33 Elías Sosa 38 Alan Wirth Catchers 18 Jim Essian 25 Tim Hosley 26 Scott Meyer  5 Jeff Newman 25,48 Bruce Robinson Infielders 9,21 Mike Adams 16 Taylor Duncan  7 Mike Edwards 26,44 Tito Fuentes 10 Wayne Gross  3 Mario Guerrero 17 Marty Perez  8 Rob Picciolo 24 Dave Revering 31 Steve Staggs 14 Jerry Tabb 25,44 Darrell Woodard Outfielders 37 Gary Alexander 13,32 Dell Alston 11 Tony Armas 17 Mark Budaska 4,14 Glenn Burke 19 Miguel Diloné 11 Willie Horton 36 Dwayne Murphy 20 Larry Murray  4 Billy North  6 Mitchell Page 12 Gary Thomasson  9 Joe Wallis Other batters 20,23 Rico Carty Manager  1 Jack McKeon  1 Bobby Winkles Coaches 43 Bobby Hofman 42 Jack McKeon  2 Red Schoendienst 41 Lee Stange 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 Jim Essian 126 278 62 .223 3 26 1B Dave Revering 152 521 141 .271 16 46 2B Mike Edwards Mike Edwards (second baseman) 142 414 113 .273 1 23 SS Mario Guerrero 143 505 139 .275 3 38 3B Wayne Gross 118 285 57 .200 7 23 LF Mitchell Page 147 516 147 .285 17 70 CF Joe Wallis 85 279 66 .237 6 26 RF Gary Thomasson 47 154 31 .201 5 16 DH Gary Alexander Gary Alexander (baseball) 58 174 36 .207 10 22 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 Taylor Duncan 104 319 82 .257 2 37 Jeff Newman Jeff Newman (baseball) 105 268 64 .239 9 32 Miguel Diloné 135 258 59 .229 1 14 Tony Armas 91 239 51 .213 2 13 Glenn Burke 78 200 47 .235 1 14 Dell Alston 58 173 36 .208 1 10 Rico Carty 41 141 39 .277 11 31 Willie Horton Willie Horton (baseball) 32 102 32 .314 3 19 Rob Picciolo 79 93 21 .226 2 7 Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson (baseball) 28 84 21 .250 0 8 Steve Staggs 47 78 19 .244 0 0 Billy North 24 52 11 .212 0 5 Dwayne Murphy 60 52 10 .192 0 5 Tito Fuentes 13 43 6 .140 0 2 Tim Hosley 13 23 7 .304 0 3 Mike Adams Mike Adams (outfielder) 15 15 3 .200 0 1 Larry Murray Larry Murray (baseball) 11 12 1 .083 0 0 Marty Perez 16 12 0 .000 0 0 Jerry Tabb 12 9 1 .111 0 1 Darrell Woodard 33 9 0 .000 0 0 Scott Meyer 8 9 1 .111 0 0 Mark Budaska 4 4 1 .250 0 0 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 Matt Keough 32 197.1 8 15 3.24 108 John Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson (baseball) 33 186.0 11 10 3.39 91 Pete Broberg 35 165.2 10 12 4.62 94 Steve Renko 27 151.0 6 12 4.29 89 Alan Wirth 16 81.2 5 6 3.43 31 Mike Morgan 3 12.1 0 3 7.30 0 Tim Conroy 2 4.2 0 0 7.71 0 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 Langford 37 175.2 7 13 3.43 92 Mike Norris Mike Norris (baseball) 14 49.0 0 5 5.51 36 Craig Minetto 4 12.0 0 0 3.75 3 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO Elías Sosa 68 109.0 8 2 14 2.64 61 Dave Heaverlo 69 130.0 3 6 10 3.25 71 Bob Lacey 74 119.2 8 9 5 3.01 60 Joe Coleman Joe Coleman (1970s pitcher) 10 19.2 3 0 0 1.37 4 Steve McCatty 9 20.0 0 0 0 4.50 10 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Vancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League Jim Marshall AA Jersey City A's Eastern League John Kennedy A Modesto A's California League Gaylen Pitts A-Short Season Bend Timber Hawks Northwest League Ed Nottle References 2 External links 1978 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1978 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Oakland Athletics seasons Oakland Athletics season Oakland