1978 Houston Astros season

1978 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record74–88 (.457)
Divisional place5th
OwnersGeneral Electric, Ford Motor Company
General managersTal Smith
ManagersBill Virdon
TelevisionKPRC-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats)

The 1978 Houston Astros season was the 17th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 14th as the Astros, 17th in the National League (NL), tenth in the NL West division, and 14th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 81–81 record for third place and 17 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

At Riverfront Stadium on April 6, J. R. Richard made his third of five consecutive Opening Day starts for Houston, who were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds, 11–9. The Astros' first round pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Rod Boxberger at 11th overall; in the second round, they chose outfielder Danny Heep.

Center fielder Terry Puhl was Astros' representative at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his lone career selection. Third baseman Eddie Mathews, who briefly played for Houston in 1967, became the second former Astro to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Astros concluded the season fifth in the NL West with a record of 74–88, 21 games behind Los Angeles, who repeated as both division champions and NL pennant winners. J. R. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher in National League history to reach 300 strikeouts, as well as the first Houston Astros pitcher to lead the league, with 303.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
21 Terry Puhl Left fielder
23 Enos Cabell Third baseman
28 César Cedeño Center fielder
25 José Cruz Right fielder
27 Bob Watson First baseman
13 Joe Ferguson Catcher
18 Art Howe Second baseman
14 Roger Metzger Shortstop
50 J. R. Richard Pitcher
Venue: Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati 11, Houston 9

Sources:[4][5]

The Astros turned their first triple play on an Opening Day on April 6, and third in club history,[6] Though the contest began auspiciously for Houston, they fell to the Cincinnati Reds, 11–9, at Riverfront Stadium. Terry Puhl cranked a home run to lead off the game and season, and César Cedeño and Joe Ferguson joined Puhl with longballs. During the bottom of the seventh, Joe Sambito relieved and struck out Dan Driessen. On a botched double steal, Ferguson gunned down George Foster, while Joe Morgan was caught in a rundown between second and third base to turn the triple play.[7][8]

On April 26, Houston turned another triple play[6] at Dodger Stadium, marking their second instance to have turned two within the same season,[a] while being the first to occur within the same month.[6] Simulating a Hollywood ending, catcher Joe Ferguson cranked a three-run home run in the top of the eighth to give Houston the lead. With Ken Forsch on during the bottom of the ninth, Bill Russell and Reggie Smith each singled, resulting in runners on first and second for Ron Cey. Cey slashed a liner to Bob Watson, which he snagged and stepped on first, and spun, rifled the ball to Roger Metzger, racing ahead of Russell to the bag to effectuate their trifecta, and ice an 8–6 triumph over the Los Angeles.[7][9][10]

May

On May 20, José Cruz got the Astros off to fast start with a two-run first-inning bomb as they lifted off on the Atlanta Braves, 13–0.[11] He never looked back, capturing both career highs of four hits and six runs batted in (RBI),[12] and added a stolen base.[11] Denny Walling connected for his first major league home run,[9] and added three RBI. Enos Cabell collected three hits as Astros hitters struck out just once. In his second straight shutout,[9] J. R. Richard was brilliant, striking out 8 to yield a game score of 80, while, at the plate, he added a hit, run scored and an RBI.[11]

Three wild pitches in one inning on May 30 during an overwise gem of an outing by J. R. Richard set up the lone run of the contest to score as the San Francisco Giants prevailed, 1–0.[13]

June

In spite of setting a new record as a team with 7 errors on June 12, the Astros' Jesús Alou hit a leadoff double to start a rally in the top of the eighth inning. The Astros followed with six runs scored that led to 6–5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.[14]

On June 9, Cruz tripled twice for the only time in career, attained his fifth career four-hit game, and third with five RBI.[12] He also pilfered a base. Cruz' final safety was a bases-loaded triple which extended the lead to 11–5 during the top of the eighth. Art Howe and Denny Walling each added a pair of RBI, while César Cedeño stroked three hits and stole a bag. Meanwhile, J. R. Richard (5–6) qualified for a victory though he surrendered 5 hits, 6 walks, and 5 runs to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5+1⁄3 frames in an 11–7 Houston triumph. Twelve of his 16 outs were whiffs. Ken Forsch entered during the bottom of the eighth and extinguished a Cardinals threat with two runs in, while retiring four of five batters faced to earn a third save.[15]

July

Knuckleballer Joe Niekro started against the Philadelphia Philles on July 17, opposing Larry Christenson. Niekro pitched an 11-inning complete game, struck out eight, surrendered five hits and one run for a game score of 88. During the bottom of the 11th inning, José Cruz led off against Rawly Eastwick, and blasted Eastwick's first offering walk-off home run, his fifth longball and eighth game-winning hit of the campaign. Cruz' blast furnished a 2–1 Astros' triumph while punctuating the victory for Niekro in his marathon bout.[16] The 11 innings represented a career-high for Niekro.[17]

On July 31, Niekro fired a two-hit, one-run complete game victory, his lowest-hit complete-game outing since a one-hit shutout masterpiece on July 2, 1970, as a member of the Detroit Tigers.[17]

August

During an 8–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on August 21,[18] J. R. Richard procured his 236th whiff to pass Don Wilson for the Astros' single-season strikeout record (1969).[19] The strikeout victim was Tim Blackwell during the top of the seventh inning. Later in the inning, Bill Buckner singled home two Cubs, and Greg Gross scored on a wild pitch. Richard (13–11) earned the victory with a quality start (7+2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K). Meanwhile, José Cruz homered, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI.[20]

September

Richard surpassed Tom Seaver's record of 289 strikeouts on September 19, by whiffing the Braves' Bob Horner on a 1–2 offering in the seventh inning. The strikeout set the record for right-handers in the National League.[21]

Niekro whiffed a career-high 11 on September 20, during a nine-inning complete game;[17] however, Niekro (12–14) suffered the defeat as the Atlanta Braves. Glenn Hubbard singled in pinch runner Eddie Miller for the go-ahead tally.[22]

On September 28, J. R. Richard recorded his 300th strikeout of the season in a 4–3 win over the Braves, tallying six whiffs to get to 303. Richard became the first right-handed pitcher in National League history to achieve this milestone in one season, He also homered in the third inning off Larry McWilliams. The Astros rallied to win in the seventh inning with a double by Reggie Baldwin and a single by Rafael Landestoy.[23]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 1978 season 74–88 (.457) performance, in fifth place in the NL West, and trailing the NL pennant-winning Dodgers by 21 games.[24] This represented a decline in performance by 7 wins and a drop from third place in the standings, from the year prior.[25]

With 303 whiffs, J. R. Richard became the premier Astros pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts,[26] and the first to reach 300-plus while establishing a new club record, supplanting the 235 by Don Wilson in 1969. Moreover, Richard become Houston's first three-time 200-strikeout moundsman (214 each in 1976 and 1977).[b][27] For the second consecutive season, Richard led the NL in hits per nine innings (6.278 H/9), the third time by an Astros pitcher.[28] Richard's 56 wins also led NL right-handers over the previous three seasons.

Enos Cabell became the first Astro to play the full 162-game schedule, while establishing other single-season franchise records. including hits (195) and at bats (660). His hits record stood until 1998 when Craig Biggio collected 210.[29] Hence, Cabell was named the Houston Astros' team Most Valuable Player (MVP).[30]

José Cruz was the only National League batter with as many as two walk-off home runs in 1978.[c][31]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 67 .586 — 54‍–‍27 41‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds 92 69 .571 2½ 49‍–‍31 43‍–‍38
San Francisco Giants 89 73 .549 6 50‍–‍31 39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres 84 78 .519 11 50‍–‍31 34‍–‍47
Houston Astros 74 88 .457 21 50‍–‍31 24‍–‍57
Atlanta Braves 69 93 .426 26 39‍–‍42 30‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents

1978 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 5–7 6–12 8–10 5–13 5–7 6–6 8–4 2–10 8–10 11–7 5–7
Chicago 7–5 — 7–5 6–6 4–8 7–11 11–7 4–14 7–11 7–5 4–8 15–3
Cincinnati 12–6 5–7 — 11–7 9–9 8–4 7–5 7–5 4–7 9–9 12–6 8–4
Houston 10–8 6–6 7–11 — 7–11 6–6 7–5 6–6 4–8 8–10 6–12 7–5
Los Angeles 13–5 8–4 9–9 11–7 — 8–4 7–5 7–5 7–5 9–9 11–7 5–7
Montreal 7–5 11–7 4–8 6–6 4–8 — 8–10 9–9 7–11 6–6 5–7 9–9
New York 6–6 7–11 5–7 5–7 5–7 10–8 — 6–12 7–11 5–7 3–9 7–11
Philadelphia 4-8 14–4 5–7 6–6 5–7 9–9 12–6 — 11–7 8–4 6–6 10–8
Pittsburgh 10–2 11–7 7–4 8–4 5–7 11–7 11–7 7–11 — 5–7 4–8 9–9
San Diego 10–8 5–7 9–9 10–8 9–9 6–6 7–5 4–8 7–5 — 8–10 9–3
San Francisco 7–11 8–4 6–12 12–6 7–11 7–5 9–3 6–6 8–4 10–8 — 9–3
St. Louis 7–5 3–15 4–8 5–7 7–5 9–9 11–7 8–10 9–9 3–9 3–9 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1978 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

Legend
  Astros win
  Astros loss
  Postponement
  Eliminated from playoff race
Bold Astros team member
1978 regular season game log: 74–88 (Home: 46–35; Away: 35–46)[37]
April: 10–12 (Home: 7–5; Away: 3–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 April 6 @ Reds
2 April 7 @ Reds
3 April 8 @ Reds
4 April 9 @ Reds
5 April 10 Dodgers
6 April 11 Dodgers
7 April 12 Dodgers
8 April 14 Reds
9 April 15 Reds
10 April 16 Reds
13 April 20 @ Dodgers
14 April 21 @ Dodgers
15 April 22 @ Dodgers
16 April 23 @ Dodgers
May: 10–13 (Home: 7–6; Away: 3–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
June: 13–14 (Home: 9–6; Away: 4–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
— June 7 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 17)
— June 8 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 20)
55 June 12 Pirates
56 June 13 Pirates
57 June 14 Pirates
61 June 20 @ Dodgers
62 June 21 @ Dodgers
63 June 22 @ Dodgers
68 June 26 Reds
69 June 27 Reds
70 June 28 Reds
71 June 29 Reds
July: 15–17 (Home: 11–5; Away: 4–12)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
76 July 3 @ Reds
77 July 4 @ Reds
78 July 5 @ Reds
79 July 7 Dodgers
80 (1) July 8 Dodgers
81 (2) July 8 Dodgers
82 July 9 Dodgers
— July 11 7:40 p.m. CDT 49th All-Star Game in San Diego, CA
August: 14–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 5–10)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
119 (1) August 17 @ Pirates
120 (2) August 17 @ Pirates
121 August 18 @ Pirates
122 August 19 @ Pirates
123 (1) August 20 @ Pirates
124 (2) August 20 @ Pirates
128 August 25 Pirates
129 August 26 Pirates
130 August 27 Pirates
September: 11–18 (Home: 6–5; Away: 5–13)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
137 September 4 Reds
138 September 5 Reds
139 September 7 Dodgers
1406 September 8 Dodgers
143 September 11 @ Reds
144 September 12 @ Reds
145 September 13 @ Dodgers
146 September 14 @ Dodgers
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak

Detailed records

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 Joe Ferguson 51 150 31 .207 7 22
1B Bob Watson 139 461 133 .289 14 79
2B Art Howe 119 420 123 .293 7 55
SS Rafael Landestoy 59 218 58 .266 0 9
3B Enos Cabell 162 660 195 .295 7 71
LF Denny Walling 120 247 62 .251 3 36
CF Terry Puhl 149 585 169 .289 3 35
RF José Cruz 153 565 178 .315 10 83

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
Julio González 78 223 52 .233 1 16
César Cedeño 50 192 54 .281 7 23
Dave Bergman 104 186 43 .231 0 12
Bruce Bochy 54 154 41 .266 3 15
Luis Pujols 56 153 20 .131 1 11
Wilbur Howard 84 148 34 .230 1 13
Jimmy Sexton 88 141 29 .206 2 6
Jesús Alou 77 139 45 .312 2 19
Roger Metzger 45 123 27 .220 0 6
Mike Fischlin 44 86 10 .116 0 0
Reggie Baldwin 38 67 17 .254 1 11
Keith Drumright 17 55 9 .164 0 2
Ed Herrmann 16 36 4 .111 0 0
Jeffrey Leonard 8 26 10 .385 0 4
Joe Cannon 8 18 4 .222 0 1
Jim Obradovich 10 17 3 .176 0 2

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

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
J. R. Richard 36 275.0 18 11 3.11 303
Mark Lemongello 33 210.1 9 14 3.94 77
Joe Niekro 35 202.2 14 14 3.86 97
Vern Ruhle 13 68.0 3 3 2.12 27

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
Tom Dixon 30 140.0 7 11 3.99 66
Joaquín Andújar 35 110.2 5 7 3.42 55
Floyd Bannister 28 110.1 3 9 4.81 94
Dan Warthen 5 10.2 0 1 4.22 2

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
Joe Sambito 62 4 9 11 3.07 96
Ken Forsch 52 10 6 7 2.70 71
Rick Williams 17 1 2 0 4.67 17
Bo McLaughlin 12 0 1 2 5.01 10
Gene Pentz 10 0 0 0 6.00 8
Oscar Zamora 10 0 0 0 7.20 6
Frank Riccelli 2 0 0 0 0.00 2

Awards and achievements

Career honors
Astros elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Individual Pos. Colt .45s / Astros career Induction
No. Yr. Gm. St. Fin.
Eddie Mathews 3B 11 1 101 1967 1967 1978 Plaque
See also: Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame • Ref:[38]
Annual awards
Pitching achievements
300 strikeout club
Player K W–L ERA K/9
J. R. Richard 303 18–11 3.11 9.9
Batting leaders[42]
Pitching leaders[43][44]

See also

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Charleston Charlies International League Jim Beauchamp
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Jimmy Johnson
A Daytona Beach Astros Florida State League Leo Posada and Chuck Sprinkle
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Julio Linares

Notes

  1. ^ July 16 and September 17, 1971.
  2. ^ For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring strikeouts ≥ 200, sorted by ascending season.
  3. ^ Eddie Murray (Baltimore) was the only player who hit as many as three. All: 54 home runs in 1978 – walk-off

References

  1. ^ "Keith Drumright stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  2. ^ "Oscar Zamora stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  3. ^ "Jesús Alou stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  4. ^ "Houston Astros (9) vs Cincinnati Reds (11) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 6, 1978. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  5. ^ "1978 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "MLB triple plays". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  7. ^ a b SARR. "Triple plays database". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  8. ^ "Houston Astros (9) vs Cincinnati Reds (11) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 6, 1978. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  10. ^ "Houston Astros (8) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 21, 1978. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  11. ^ a b c "Atlanta Braves (0) vs Houston Astros (13) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 20, 1978. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Top performances for José Cruz". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  13. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 30, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 30". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  14. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 12, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 12". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  15. ^ "Houston Astros (11) vs St. Louis Cardinals (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 9, 1978. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  16. ^ Gattie, Gordon J. (July 17, 1978). "Jose Cruz's walk-off homer preserves Joe Niekro's extra-inning complete game gem". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  17. ^ a b c "Top performances for Joe Niekro". Retrosheet. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  18. ^ "J. R. Richard 1978 pitching game lobs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  19. ^ "The Strikeout Zone". Astros Daily. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  20. ^ "Chicago Cubs (3) vs Houston Astros (8) box score". August 21, 1978. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  21. ^ Hulsey, Bob (January 6, 2006). "James Rodney 'J. R.' Richard #50". Astros Daily. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  22. ^ "Atlanta Braves (3) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 20, 1978. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  23. ^ "J. R. Richard becomes the first righthander in National league history to reach 300 strikeouts during a 4–3 victory over Atlanta". The Day in Baseball. September 28, 1978. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  24. ^ "1978 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  25. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  26. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for strikeouts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  27. ^ "Player pitching season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  28. ^ "Yearly league leaders and records for hits per 9 IP". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  29. ^ "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  30. ^ a b McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  31. ^ "Batting event finder". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  32. ^ "Bob Coluccio stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  33. ^ "Danny Heep stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  34. ^ Frank Riccelli at Baseball Reference
  35. ^ Dan Larson at Baseball Reference
  36. ^ Gene Pentz at Baseball Reference
  37. ^ "1978 Houston Astros schedule & results". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  38. ^ "Houston Astros Hall of Fame register". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  39. ^ "1978 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 11, 1978. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  40. ^ "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  41. ^ "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  42. ^ "1978 National League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  43. ^ "1978 National League pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  44. ^ "1978 Major League pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
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