1978 California Angels season

The 1978 California Angels season involved the Angels finishing tied for second in the American League West with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses.

Late in the season, the Angels suffered the loss of outfielder Lyman Bostock when Bostock was murdered on September 23 in Gary, Indiana.

This was the Angels' first winning season since 1970.

Offseason

• November 21, 1977: Lyman Bostock was signed as a free agent by the Angels.
• December 5, 1977: Bobby Bonds, Richard Dotson and Thad Bosley were traded by the Angels to the Chicago White Sox for Brian Downing, Chris Knapp, and Dave Frost.
• December 8, 1977: Jerry Remy was traded by the Angels to the Boston Red Sox for Don Aase and cash.
• January 15, 1978: Gary Nolan was released by the Angels.
• March 20, 1978: Fred Kuhaulua was released by the Angels.
• March 25, 1978: Merv Rettenmund was signed as a free agent by the Angels.

Regular season

On May 12, Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out Buddy Bell for the 2500th strikeout of his career.

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
  • Dave Engle was drafted by the Angels in the 3rd round.
  • Dan Whitmer was drafted by the Angels in the 14th round.

Roster

1978 California Angels
Roster
Pitchers 46 Don Aase 33 Mike Barlow 34 Ken Brett 39 John Caneira 36 Al Fitzmorris 37 Dave Frost 38 Tom Griffin 45 Paul Hartzell 42 Chris Knapp 17 Dave LaRoche 41 Dyar Miller 30 Nolan Ryan 40 Frank Tanana		Catchers  5 Brian Downing 15 Ike Hampton  9 Terry Humphrey Infielders 14 Jim Anderson  7 Dave Chalk  6 Ron Fairly  4 Bobby Grich 16 Ron Jackson 12 Carney Lansford 35 Dave Machemer 18 Rance Mulliniks 27 Tony Solaita		Outfielders 25 Don Baylor 10 Lyman Bostock 19 Ken Landreaux  3 Rick Miller  8 Merv Rettenmund 26 Joe Rudi Other batters 20 Danny Goodwin		Manager 11 Jim Fregosi  1 Dave Garcia Coaches 49 Bob Clear 24 Marv Grissom  2 John McNamara 50 Jimmie Reese 48 Bob Skinner

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	Brian Downing	133	412	105	.255	7	46
1B	Ron Jackson	105	387	115	.297	6	57
2B	Bobby Grich	144	487	122	.251	6	42
SS	Dave Chalk	135	470	119	.253	1	34
3B	Carney Lansford	121	453	133	.294	8	52
LF	Joe Rudi	133	497	127	.256	17	79
CF	Rick Miller	132	475	125	.263	1	37
RF		147	568	168	.296	5	71
DH	Don Baylor	158	591	151	.255	34	99

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
Ken Landreaux	93	260	58	.223	5	23
Ron Fairly	91	235	51	.217	10	40
Rance Mulliniks	50	119	22	.185	1	6
Terry Humphrey	53	114	25	.219	1	9
	48	108	21	.194	0	7
Merv Rettenmund	50	108	29	.269	1	14
Tony Solaita	60	94	21	.223	1	14
Danny Goodwin	24	58	16	.276	2	10
Dave Machemer	10	22	6	.273	1	2
Ike Hampton	19	14	3	.214	1	4

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
Frank Tanana	33	239.0	18	12	3.65	137
Nolan Ryan	31	234.2	10	13	3.72	260
Chris Knapp	30	188.1	14	8	4.21	126
	29	178.2	11	8	4.03	93
Dave Frost	11	80.1	5	4	2.58	30
John Caneira	2	7.2	0	0	7.04	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
Paul Hartzell	54	157.0	6	10	3.44	55
Ken Brett	31	100.0	3	5	4.95	43
Tom Griffin	24	56.0	3	4	4.02	35
Al Fitzmorris	9	31.2	1	0	1.71	8

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
Dave LaRoche	59	10	9	25	2.82	70
Dyar Miller	41	6	2	1	2.66	34
Mike Barlow	1	0	0	0	4.50	1

Farm system

Template:MLB Farm System LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: El Paso

External links

• 1978 California Angels team at Baseball-Reference
• 1978 California Angels at Baseball Almanac