The 1978 Atlanta Braves season was the 108th season for the franchise and their 13th in Atlanta.

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.Bert Blyleven page at Baseball Reference March 30, 1978: Buzz Capra was released by the Atlanta Braves.Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference

Managerial turnover: Bobby Cox begins his first term In May 1977, owner Ted Turner had stunned baseball when—in the midst of a 16-game losing streak—he furloughed manager Dave Bristol, sent him on a ten-day scouting trip, and took the reins of the team himself; on May 11, he donned uniform #27 and skippered the Braves to their 17th straight loss. National League president Chub Feeney and Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn then stepped in and forbade the owner from managing his own ballclub, citing MLB rules that apparently took effect after Connie Mack retired as owner-manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950.Williams, Doug, "Remembering the Night Ted Turner Managed the Braves." ESPN.com, 2013.05.23 Veteran coach Vern Benson ran the Braves the following night (and broke the losing skein), and then Bristol was rehired for the balance of the season.

However, that chaotic season was followed by one of the most important events in Braves' history: the hiring of Bobby Cox, briefly a Braves' farm system player, as manager for 1978. Cox was then a 36-year-old, relatively unknown former third baseman who had spent the previous ten seasons in the New York Yankees' organization, including six years (1971–1976) as a highly successful minor league manager and one season as the first-base coach on the Yankees' 1977 world championship team. Cox would spend four seasons, 1978–1981, during this first term in the Braves' dugout. While his first two years produced frustrating, last-place seasons in the National League West, by Cox' third year, , the Braves posted a winning (81–80) mark and rose to fourth place in their division. Attendance began to climb, with the team exceeding the one-million mark at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium for the first time since 1971.Baseball Almanac But the strike-shortened season was a major disappointment; the Braves fell to 50–56, and Cox was fired. He went 266–323 (.452) during his inaugural tenure.

His successor, former New York Mets skipper Joe Torre, would lead the Braves to the National League West Division championship. Cox would land with the Toronto Blue Jays as their 1982 manager. The Jays were then a five-year-old expansion team that had never escaped the basement of the American League East Division, nor won more than 67 games in a season. By Cox' second season, the Blue Jays broke the .500 mark, and by his fourth, in , they would win 99 games and the AL East title. Meanwhile, the Braves' front office was in flux and owner Turner was seeking a strong hand to take over the team's baseball operations as general manager. He lured Cox back to Atlanta with a multi-year contract.Cooperstowners in Canada.com And, although the team struggled desperately on the field in the late 1980s, general manager Cox was assembling a base of talent that, when he returned to the dugout to manage the Braves for his second term, on June 23, 1990, would ignite a series of first-place divisional teams (for 15 out of 16 straight seasons) and five National League pennant winners (as well as the 1995 World Series title) that would earn Cox a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame by his 2010 retirement.

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. June 16, 1978: Bob Horner, freshly signed by the Braves off the Arizona State University campus, hits a home run off the Pittsburgh Pirates' Bert Blyleven in his first professional game. Horner would go on to hit 23 home runs, leading all National League third basemen, and win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 16, 1978: Jim Bouton was signed as a free agent by the Braves.Jim Bouton page at Baseball Reference September 22, 1978: Cito Gaston was purchased from the Braves by the Pittsburgh Pirates.Cito Gaston page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1978 Atlanta Braves Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 92 289 70 .242 6 34 1B 151 530 120 .226 23 79 2B 140 529 137 .259 2 35 SS 89 245 55 .224 3 20 3B 89 323 86 .266 23 63 LF 153 488 147 .301 23 77 CF 146 404 101 .250 9 40 RF 129 474 135 .285 18 62

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 Rod Gilbreath 116 326 80 .245 3 31 Barry Bonnell 117 304 73 .240 1 16 Joe Nolan 95 213 49 .230 4 22 Bob Beall 108 185 45 .243 1 16 44 163 42 .258 2 13 Pat Rockett 55 142 20 .141 0 4 60 118 27 .229 1 9 39 103 28 .272 2 13 Bruce Benedict 22 52 13 .250 0 1 18 46 13 .283 0 2 6 21 3 .143 0 2 Larry Whisenton 6 16 3 .188 0 2 Jerry Maddox 7 14 3 .214 0 1 Tom Paciorek 5 9 3 .333 0 0 1 4 0 .000 0 0 Rob Belloir 2 1 1 1.000 0 0

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 44 334.1 19 18 2.88 248 29 140.1 7 13 5.13 90 15 99.1 9 3 2.81 42 Dick Ruthven 13 81.0 2 6 4.11 45 5 29.0 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 Mickey Mahler 34 134.2 4 11 4.68 92 Eddie Solomon 37 106.0 4 6 4.08 64 31 65.1 5 4 5.92 26 16 59.0 2 8 6.71 21 Frank LaCorte 2 14.2 0 1 3.68 7

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 43 4 4 22 2.53 61 53 4 4 1 4.80 45 Craig Skok 43 3 2 2 4.35 28 42 2 4 0 3.75 23 37 3 6 1 5.65 42 5 0 0 0 6.35 1 Duane Theiss 3 0 0 0 1.42 3 3 0 0 0 0.00 0

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Richmond, Greenwood

Awards and honors

League leaders Phil Niekro, National League leader, LossesGreat Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.348, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

Notes

References

1978 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference Atlanta Braves on Baseball Almanac