1978 Season

26 teams competing across 6 divisions

The 1978 Major League Baseball season was played by 26 teams. The New York Yankees won the World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jim Rice led with 46 home runs, Jim Rice led with 139 RBI, and Jim Rice led with 213 hits. This page carries the 1978 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1978 Bracket
World Series NYA def. LAN (4-2)
AL Championship NYA def. KCA (3-1)
NL Championship LAN def. PHI (3-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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1968 1973 1977 1978 1979 1983 1988

⚾ Batting Leaders

1978 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 502 plate appearances at 162 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Dave Parker .334 2 Rod Carew .333 3 Al Oliver .324 4 Steve Garvey .316 5 Jose Cruz .315

OPS qualified

1 Dave Parker .979 2 Jim Rice .970 3 Jeff Burroughs .961 4 Reggie Smith .942 5 Greg Luzinski .914

Home Runs all players

1 Jim Rice 46 2 George Foster 40 3 Greg Luzinski 35 4 Don Baylor 34 5 Larry Hisle 34

RBI all players

1 Jim Rice 139 2 Rusty Staub 121 3 George Foster 120 4 Dave Parker 117 5 Larry Hisle 115

Hits all players

1 Jim Rice 213 2 Steve Garvey 202 3 Ron LeFlore 198 4 Pete Rose 198 5 Enos Cabell 195

Runs all players

1 Ron LeFlore 126 2 Jim Rice 121 3 Ivan de Jesus 104 4 Don Baylor 103 5 Pete Rose 103

Stolen Bases all players

1 Omar Moreno 71 2 Ron LeFlore 68 3 Julio Cruz 59 4 Bump Wills 52 5 Miguel Dilone 50
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1978 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 162 innings at 162 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Ron Guidry 1.74 2 Jon Matlack 2.27 3 Mike Caldwell 2.36 4 Craig Swan 2.43 5 Jim Palmer 2.46

WHIP qualified

1 Ron Guidry 0.95 2 Ed Halicki 1.06 3 Mike Caldwell 1.06 4 Craig Swan 1.07 5 Fergie Jenkins 1.08

Wins all pitchers

1 Ron Guidry 25 2 Mike Caldwell 22 3 Dennis Leonard 21 4 Jim Palmer 21 5 Gaylord Perry 21

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 J. R. Richard 303 2 Nolan Ryan 260 3 Ron Guidry 248 4 Phil Niekro 248 5 Tom Seaver 226

Saves all pitchers

1 Rollie Fingers 37 2 Kent Tekulve 31 3 Doug Bair 28 4 Rich Gossage 27 5 Bruce Sutter 27
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AL East

New York Yankees ★ 100-63 Boston Red Sox 99-64 Milwaukee Brewers 93-69 Baltimore Orioles 90-71 Detroit Tigers 86-76 Cleveland Indians 69-90 Toronto Blue Jays 59-102

AL West

Kansas City Royals ★ 92-70 California Angels 87-75 Texas Rangers 87-75 Minnesota Twins 73-89 Chicago White Sox 71-90 Oakland Athletics 69-93 Seattle Mariners 56-104

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies ★ 90-72 Pittsburgh Pirates 88-73 Chicago Cubs 79-83 Montreal Expos 76-86 St. Louis Cardinals 69-93 New York Mets 66-96

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers ★ 95-67 Cincinnati Reds 92-69 San Francisco Giants 89-73 San Diego Padres 84-78 Houston Astros 74-88 Atlanta Braves 69-93

The 1978 season in brief

At 100-63, the New York Yankees had the top winning percentage of the 1978 season. 56-104 left the Seattle Mariners with the lowest winning percentage of 1978. By season's end, the American League East went to the New York Yankees by the narrowest of margins over the Boston Red Sox, 100-63 to 99-64, the Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) held off the Pittsburgh Pirates (88-73) in the National League East, National League West honors went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose 95-67 beat the Cincinnati Reds's 92-69, and nobody in the American League West came near the Kansas City Royals's 92-70. The 1978 title went to the New York Yankees, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, 4 games to 2. Before that, the bracket shows the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series (3-1) and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship Series (3-1). The home run board is topped by Jim Rice at 46, ahead of George Foster with 40. Among qualified hitters, Dave Parker had the top batting average, .334, with Rod Carew next at .333. That 1978 rate board needs 502 plate appearances (162 team games times the per-game rule). Jim Rice topped several batting tiles at once: home runs, RBI, and hits. The 1978 leaders page lists every qualified line, and each club links to its own 1978 page.

1978 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1978?
The New York Yankees won the 1978 World Series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers.
How many teams played in 1978?
26 teams played in the 1978 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1978?
Jim Rice led with 46 home runs in 1978.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1978?
Jim Rice led with 139 RBI in 1978.
Who led MLB in hits in 1978?
Jim Rice led with 213 hits in 1978.
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