Having been picked by most to finish around 4th in 1977, the O's wound up surprising many by coming in second, just 2.5 games behind the eventual chamion Yankees. This burdened them with high expectations for 1978, which was already going to be a year of transition as for the first time since 1955 Brooks Robinson's name wouldn't be appearing in the line-up. Half their starting rotation from 1977 (Ross Grimsley and Rudy May) had departed, and they were plagued with injuries during spring traning which sidelined Doug DeCinces, Rich Dauer, Don Stanhouse, Andres Mora and Ken Singleton at various times. The season started terribly, with 5 straight losses (including a sweep in the opening series in Milwaukee by a combined score of 40-11). They eventually recovered, and began a series of hot streaks and cold spells that kept them from having any true staying power. In the end, 1978 would be the 4th season in a row that the team failed to make the post-season - they finished 90-71, 9 games behind the Yankees. They would win the pennant in 1979, and the core group of players they had in 1978 would contribute significantly to their eventual World Series championship in 1983.
In the minors, Cal Ripken, Jr., drafted on June 6, started his professional career at Bluefield and Mike Boddicker was in Charlotte.
The Earl of Baltimore was as cantankerous as ever (he was tossed on consecutive nights, July 5 and 6, by Marty Springstead). He was assisted by his coaching staff of Jim Frey at 1st, Cal Ripken, Sr., at 3rd, and Ray Miller with the pitchers. Frank Robinson started the year as a hitting instructor and bench coach, but on May 4 was hired to manage the AAA Rochester team when previous manager Ken Boyer was hired to manage the St. Louis Cardinals. Elrod Hendricks coached in the bullpen, when he wasn't on the active roster.
Mike Flanagan, SP:
Mike started the most games of any O's starter - 40. He started out by losing 3 of his first 4 decisions, but then went on to win 8 of 9. All-in-all, he went 19-15 in 1978, and led the team in K's with 167. He was good enough to be named by Billy Martin to the AL All-Star squad.
Denny Martinez, SP:
This was before "Denny" became "Dennis". The 24-year old found himself thrust into the starting rotation because of the departures of May and Grimsley. He won 16 games, and had a streak of 4 consecutive complete games.
Opening Day Roster:
Scott McGregor SP:
With Martinez, Scott was the other youngster dropped into the starting rotation. Following a rought first couple months, he improved as the year went on and wound up putting together a 15-13 record to go with a respectable 3.32 ERA.
Jim Palmer SP:
Jim had some rough patches in 1978 - in June, he lost 3 straight and was fined by the team for leaving the clubhouse early. Late in the year he grumbled publicly about defensive play behind him, and was called on it, publicly, by Mark Belanger. In the end, though, he wound up with 21 wins (one of which being the 200th of his career), led the team with a 2.46 ERA and started his second consecutive All Star game.
Nelson Briles, RP:
The veteran Briles got into only 16 games with the Orioles in this, his final season in the bigs. He spent July 13 (retro-active to the 6th) through August 4 on the DL, and made his final major league appearance pitching in relief on September 13 in Milwaukee.
Joe Kerrigan, RP:
Acquired from Montreal with Don Stanhouse for Rudy May in December of 1977, Kerrigan saw action in 26 games, earning 3 saves. Like most Baltimore relievers, he saw less action than he might have expected in '78 due to the strength of the rotation and Stanhouse's dominance as a closer. In late June, his frustration bubbled over and he got into a shouting match in Weaver's office over lack of playing time (he had gone 26 days without making an appearance).
Tippy Martinez, RP:
Tippy was the only bullpen hold-over from 1977 - McGregor and Martinez had joined the rotation, and Dyar Miller, Dick Drago and Fred Holdsworth had departed for other teams. He threw 69 innings over 42 games (the most appearances by a reliever on the team other than Stanhouse), striking out 57 and earning 5 saves.
Tim Stoddard, RP:
Stoddard, a member of the Orioles' eventual 1983 championship team, appeared in only 8 games, running up an ERA of 8.76, before being sent to Rochester on May 6 in exchange for John Flinn. He was recalled when rosters expanded in September.
Don Stanhouse, CL:
Don was acquired in December from Montreal for Rudy May. He made 56 appearances, striking out just 42 while walking 52, but still posted a 2.89 ERA to go with 24 saves, which was third in the league behind Gossage's 27 and Dave LaRoche's 25. Stanhouse put so many runners on, even in games he won/saved, that Earl Weaver took to calling him "full pack" because he'd have to go through at least a full pack of cigarettes watching him pitch.
Rick Dempsey, C:
The future MVP of the 1983 World Series was the Orioles' primary catcher in 1978, seeing action in 136 games. There was speculation he'd be dealt after the season was over, but in September, GM Hank Peters awarded him with a 5-year contract.
Dave Skaggs, C:
Skaggs, the Orioles' back-up catcher for three seasons (1977-1979), only got into 36 games behind Rick Dempsey in 1978.
Mark Belanger, IF:
Mark was nearing the end of his run in Baltimore when he was the O's starting SS for 1978. Despite his age, he had one of his better years defensively (prompting Weaver to opine that "Bowa couldn't carry Mark's glove!"), but one of his worst offensively. As a result, he shared a lot of the action at short with Kiko Garcia.
Terry Crowley, IF:
Crowley was in his second of two multi-year stints with Baltimore in 1978 when he saw action mostly as a DH, defensive replacement and pinch-hitter, a role in which he excelled.
Rich Dauer, IF:
In 1978, Dauer was at the beginning of his long stint as the O's regular 2nd baseman. Early on in the season, he was 1-for-43, and yielded playing time to Billy Smith, who was considered to have the better glove. His performance improved (he finished with a .264 average), and he set an AL record by going 86 games (425 total chances) without committing an error.
Doug DeCinces, IF:
Doug had the unenviable task of taking over third base from Brooks Robinson in 1978 (he also started a number games at 2nd throughout the year). He was more than up to the task - his 3 HR, 10 RBI, 12 doubles and .722 slugging percentage in July alone won him A.L. Player of the Month honors. Doug would go on to be one of the most consistent American League 3rd baseman over the next decade with both the Orioles and the Angels - most of that time without that moustache.
Kiko Garcia, IF:
The back-up infielder got into 79 games in 1978, many of them as an alternative to Mark Belanger whose bat was almost non-existent for stretches of the season. He played so well that for a time in late August there was speculation the Orioles would try to use either him or Belanger as trade bait.
Lee May, IF:
The arrival of Eddie Murray in 1977 effectively ended May's chances of being the O's everyday first-baseman. But, the pre-season release of Tony Muser assured him of at least a continuing role as the O's DH and Murray's back-up. As the team's regular DH in 1978, Lee hit 25 HR and had 80 RBI.
Eddie Murray, IF:
The reigning A.L. Rookie of the Year proved 1977 was no fluke. The eventual Hall of Famer settled in at the 1st base position for the Orioles in 1978, where he hit 27 HR and had 97 RBI. It was enough to earn him a trip to the All-Star game. In an attempt to shake up the line-up, Weaver started Murray at third for the first three games of the season before coming to his senses.
Billy Smith, IF:
Billy was Rich Dauer's final serious challenger to the Baltimore second base job for years to come. Dauer's struggles early in the year gave Billy a chance to start a number of games at 2nd, yielding to Dauer permanently when the latter got his game together. Smith got into a total of 85 games on either side of a trip to the DL from June 30 through July 19.
Al Bumbry, OF:
Al started the year as a regular outfielder, splitting time between center and left. However, after fracturing his ankle he was placed on the DL on May 12, and wasn't able to return until September 2.
Larry Harlow, OF:
Harlow was the Orioles' primary center fielder for 1978, his first full year in the bigs. He led the team with 14 stolen bases and was called in to pitch during a 24-10 killing by the Blue Jays on June 26. He pitched 0.2 innings, giving up 5 earned runs on 2 hits and 4 walks .
Pat Kelly, OF:
Kelly only got into 100 games, but was still the team's most frequent left-fielder with 83 starts at that position. On August 16 in Seattle, he went 2-for-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Carlos Lopez, OF:
Acquired from the Mariners in December of 1977, Carlos managed to get into 129 games as an outfield reserve in 1978, mostly in right. 1978 was his final taste of big-league action - his final career appearance was as a defensive replacement in right field on October 1 in Detroit.
Gary Roenicke, OF:
Acquired with Stanhouse and Kerrigan for Rudy May in December of 1977, Gary got into 27 games before being sent to Rochester on May 14 so he could play more regularly (he was also hitting just .194 at the time). He stayed at AAA for the remainder of the season.
Ken Singleton, OF:
In 1978, Ken was in the middle of his career as one of the premiere right fielders of his era. He was a fixture there at Memorial Stadium until converting to DH in 1982. Despite some lingering issues from an earlier elbow injury (which caused him to miss playing time during spring training), he hit .294, with 20 HR and 81 RBI in '78.
In-Season Moves:
Weaver and 'Full Pack' Stanhouse celebrate a win.
John Flinn, RP:
John saw his first major league action when he was called up from Rochester to replace Tim Stoddard on May 6. His debut was on May 6, when he pitched 0.2 innings of perfect relief against the Twins. When the O's signed Mike Anderson on June 23, John was sent back to Rochester so he could get more playing time. He was recalled briefly to take Billy Smith's roster spot during Smith's stint on the DL from June 30 to July 19. (TV)
Andres Mora, OF:
Owing to a poor spring showing, Andres started '78 at Rochester. He was recalled to take Al Bumbry's place on the roster when Al went to the DL on May 12. Andres saw action as a reserve OF, mainly in left, the rest of the way.
Elrod Hendricks, C:
ML catching veteran and Orioles' bullpen coach Hendricks was activated on May 19 when Gary Roenicke was sent to Rochester. He saw action in 13 games from that point to the end of the season. He pitched in the same June blow-out as Harlow, but had better results than his non-pitching teammate - he threw 2.1 innings, giving up a hit, a walk and no runs.
Mike Anderson, OF:
Signed out of the Phillies' system on June 23rd, Mike got into 53 games down the stretch as a reserve outfielder, principally in left.
Earl Stephenson, RP:
The 12-year minor league veteran, who had two brief stints with the Cubs and the Brewers earlier in the decade, got into his final 2 major league games when he was summoned from Rochester to take Nelson Briles' roster spot when Nellie was on the DL from July 13 to August 4. In his final major league appearance on July 26 in Detroit, he pitched 5.1 innings of long relief, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks, but only a single run.
Sammy Stewart, SP:
Called up when rosters expanded in September, Sammy made his major league debut on the 1st - he started the second game of a double header against the White Sox, went 5.1, surrendered 6 hits and 2 runs, and struck out 9, including 7 in a row at one point. He earned the win the Orioles' 9-3 victory. He made just one more appearance in 1978, but through 1985 was a fixture in Baltimore.
Dave Ford, SP:
Ford's major league debut was September 2, just after being called up from Rochester when rosters expanded. He threw 8.1 scoreless innings to get the win against the White Sox, 1-0.
Mike Dimmel, OF:
Dimmel got into 8 games as a September call-up. He saw action in 8 games as a pinch hitter and late-inning defensive replacement.
Other 1978 Orioles Stuff:
Owner - Jerold Hoffberger
General Manager - Hank Peters
Minor League Affiliates:
Rookie: Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League)
29-40, 6th of 6
Manager: J.R. Miner
Future Star: Cal Ripken, Jr.
A: Miami Orioles (Florida State League)
76-65, 1st of 5
Manager: Jimmy Williams
Future Star: John Shelby
AA: Charlotte O's (Southern League)
66-78, 5th of 5
Manager: Lance Nichols
Future Star: Mike Boddicker
AAA: Rochester Red Wings (International League)
68-72, 6th of 8
Manager: Ken Boyer/Frank Robinson
Future Star: Wayne Krenchicki
Summary of Roster Moves:
May 6 - Stoddard to Rochester, Flinn from Rochester
May 12 - Bumbry to DL, Mora from Rochester
May 19 - Roenicke to Rochester, Hendricks activated
June 23 - Anderson signed, Flinn to Rochester
June 30 - Smith to DL, Flinn from Rochester
July 13 - Briles to DL, Stephenson from Rochester
July 19 - Smith from DL, Flinn to Rochester
August 4 - Briles from DL, Stephenson to Rochester
September 2 - Bumbry from DL
September Call-Ups: Stoddard, Stewart, Ford, Dimmel
Memorial Stadium
900 East 33rd St., Baltimore, MD
Orioles' Coaches:
Frank Robinson
Cal Ripken, Sr.
Ray Miller
Elrod Hendricks
Jim Frey
