1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 97th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 92nd in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the National League East with a record of 88–73.
Offseason
- December 8, 1977: Al Oliver and Nelson Norman were traded by the Pirates to the Texas Rangers as part of a four-team trade. Bert Blyleven was traded by the Rangers to the Pirates, and John Milner was traded by the New York Mets to the Pirates. Willie Montañez was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Mets, and the Rangers traded Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets. The Rangers traded Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller to the Braves. The Mets traded Jon Matlack to the Rangers. The Rangers completed the deal by sending Ken Henderson to the Mets on March 15, 1978.
- March 18, 1978: Carl Morton was released by the Pirates.
Regular season
Notable transactions
- April 4, 1978: Miguel Diloné, Elías Sosa and a player to be named later were traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for Manny Sanguillén. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Mike Edwards to the Athletics on April 7.
- June 1, 1978: Jim Fregosi was released by the Pirates.
- June 6, 1978: Vance Law was drafted by the Pirates in the 39th round of the 1978 amateur draft.
- September 22, 1978: Cito Gaston was purchased by the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves.
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 | 112 | 379 | 102 | .269 | 9 | 38 | |
| 1B | Willie Stargell | 122 | 390 | 115 | .295 | 28 | 97 |
| 2B | Rennie Stennett | 106 | 333 | 81 | .243 | 3 | 35 |
| SS | Frank Taveras | 157 | 654 | 182 | .278 | 0 | 38 |
| 3B | Phil Garner | 154 | 528 | 138 | .261 | 10 | 66 |
| LF | Bill Robinson | 136 | 499 | 123 | .246 | 14 | 80 |
| CF | Omar Moreno | 155 | 515 | 121 | .235 | 2 | 33 |
| RF | Dave Parker | 148 | 581 | 194 | .334 | 30 | 117 |
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 |
| 108 | 295 | 80 | .271 | 6 | 38 | |
| 85 | 220 | 58 | .264 | 3 | 16 | |
| Duffy Dyer | 58 | 175 | 37 | .211 | 0 | 13 |
| Dale Berra | 56 | 135 | 28 | .207 | 6 | 14 |
| Steve Brye | 66 | 115 | 27 | .235 | 1 | 9 |
| Mario Mendoza | 57 | 55 | 12 | .218 | 1 | 3 |
| Ken Macha | 29 | 52 | 11 | .212 | 0 | 5 |
| Fernando González | 9 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Fregosi | 20 | 20 | 4 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Doe Boyland | 6 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Nicosia | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave May | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Alberto Lois | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Cito Gaston | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Alexander | 7 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 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 |
| 34 | 243.2 | 14 | 10 | 3.03 | 182 | |
| Don Robinson | 35 | 228.1 | 14 | 6 | 3.47 | 135 |
| 30 | 189.0 | 12 | 11 | 3.24 | 94 | |
| Jim Rooker | 28 | 163.1 | 9 | 11 | 4.24 | 76 |
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 |
| 34 | 107.0 | 8 | 7 | 3.53 | 72 | |
| Bruce Kison | 28 | 96.0 | 6 | 6 | 3.19 | 62 |
| Jerry Reuss | 23 | 82.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.90 | 42 |
| Odell Jones | 3 | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | 10 |
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 |
| Kent Tekulve | 91 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 2.33 | 77 |
| Grant Jackson | 60 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3.26 | 45 |
| Ed Whitson | 43 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3.28 | 64 |
| Dave Hamilton | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.42 | 15 |
| Will McEnaney | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.38 | 6 |
| Clay Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 0 |
Awards and honors
All-Stars
1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game- Willie Stargell, reserve