1978 California Angels season
The 1978 California Angels season was the 18th season of the Angels franchise in the American League, the 13th in Anaheim, and their 13th season playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium. The Angels finished the season 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.
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 |