1978 Atlanta Braves season

1978 Atlanta Braves
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1876) Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (since 1966) Atlanta, Georgia (since 1966)
1978 information
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
General manager(s)	Bill Lucas
Manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Local television	WTCG
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
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Offseason

• December 8, 1977: Willie Montañez was traded by the Braves to the New York Mets as part of a four-team trade. Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller were traded by the Texas Rangers to the Braves. The Rangers sent Bert Blyleven to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Mets sent John Milner to the Pirates. The Rangers sent Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets. The Pirates sent Al Oliver and Nelson Norman to the Rangers, and the Mets sent Jon Matlack to the Rangers. The Rangers completed the trade by sending Ken Henderson to the Mets on March 15, 1978.
• March 30, 1978: Buzz Capra was released by the Atlanta Braves.

Regular season

• May 1, 1978: In a game versus the New York Mets, Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected from a game for the first time in his career. Cox would go on to set the record for most ejections by a manager.

Season standings

NL West	W	L	GB	Pct.
Los Angeles Dodgers	95	67	--	.586
Cincinnati Reds	92	69	2.5	.571
San Francisco Giants	89	73	6	.549
San Diego Padres	84	78	11	.519
Houston Astros	74	88	21	.457
Atlanta Braves	69	93	26	.426

Notable transactions

• May 16, 1978: Jim Bouton was signed as a free agent by the Braves.
• September 22, 1978: Cito Gaston was purchased from the Braves by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Roster

1978 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 50 Tommy Boggs 56 Jim Bouton 33 Rick Camp 32 Dave Campbell 39 Mike Davey 28 Adrian Devine 45 Jamie Easterly 26 Gene Garber 49 Preston Hanna 42 Frank LaCorte 31 Max León 24 Mickey Mahler 27 Larry McWilliams 35 Phil Niekro 40 Dick Ruthven 48 Craig Skok 37 Eddie Solomon 34 Duane Theiss		Catchers 20 Bruce Benedict 11 Joe Nolan  4 Biff Pocoroba Infielders 25 Bob Beall 10 Rob Belloir 15 Darrel Chaney 19 Rod Gilbreath  5 Bob Horner 17 Glenn Hubbard 12 Jerry Maddox  3 Dale Murphy 12 Tom Paciorek  9 Pat Rockett  1 Jerry Royster 16 Chico Ruiz 12 Hank Small		Outfielders 30 Brian Asselstine  2 Barry Bonnell  7 Jeff Burroughs 43 Cito Gaston 36 Gary Matthews 29 Eddie Miller 22 Rowland Office 18 Larry Whisenton		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 48 Cloyd Boyer 14 Tom Burgess  8 Chris Cannizzaro 23 Pete Ward

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
1B	Murphy, DaleDale Murphy	151	530	120	.226	23	79

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
Hubbard, GlennGlenn Hubbard	44	163	42	.258	2	13
Gaston, CitoCito Gaston	60	118	27	.229	1	9
Asselstine, BrianBrian Asselstine	39	103	28	.272	2	13
Ruiz, ChicoChico Ruiz	18	46	13	.283	0	2
Miller, EddieEddie Miller	6	21	3	.143	0	2
Small, HankHank Small	1	4	0	.000	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
Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro	44	334.1	19	18	2.88	248
Hanna, PrestonPreston Hanna	29	140.1	7	13	5.13	90
Bouton, JimJim Bouton	5	29	1	3	4.97	10

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
Devine, AdrianAdrian Devine	31	65.1	5	4	5.92	26
Boggs, TommyTommy Boggs	16	59	2	8	6.71	21

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
Campbell, DaveDave Campbell	53	4	4	1	4.80	45
Garber, GeneGene Garber	43	4	4	22	2.53	61
Camp, RickRick Camp	42	2	4	0	3.75	23
Easterly, JamieJamie Easterly	37	3	6	1	5.65	42
León, MaxMax León	5	0	0	0	6.35	1
Davey, MikeMike Davey	3	0	0	0	0.00	0

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Tommie Aaron
AA	Savannah Braves	Southern League	Bobby Dews
A	Greenwood Braves	Western Carolinas League	Al Gallagher
Rookie	Kingsport Braves	Appalachian League	Eddie Haas
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Pedro González

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Richmond, Greenwood

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1978 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference
• Atlanta Braves on Baseball Almanac