1979 Philadelphia Phillies season: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 10:35, 10 August 2014
| 1979 Philadelphia Phillies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Division | Eastern Division | |
| Ballpark | Veterans Stadium | |
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Owners | Robert "Ruly" Carpenter III | |
| Managers | Danny Ozark, Dallas Green | |
| Television | WPHL-TV | |
| Radio | KYW (Harry Kalas, Richie Ashburn, Andy Musser, Chris Wheeler) | |
| ||
The 1979 Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League East, 14 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates.
Offseason
Prior to the 1979 season, Pete Rose signed a four-year, $3.2-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, temporarily making him the highest-paid athlete in team sports. The Phillies were in the middle of the greatest era in the history of the franchise when Rose came on board. They had won the National League East three years running (1976–78) two of which were won with 101 win seasons.
The Phillies entered the 1979 season with one of the strongest lineups in the league with the addition of Rose but with numerous injuries on the pitching staff. AP sports writer Hal Bock picked the Phils to finish second behind the Pirates as the Phillies would enter the season with pitchers Larry Christenson, prospect Jim Wright, and Dick Ruthven all injured.[1]
Notable transactions
- December 4, 1978: Jeff Schneider was drafted from the Phillies by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1978 rule 5 draft.[2]
- December 5, 1978: Carmelo Castillo was drafted by the Cleveland Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1978 minor league draft.[3]
- December 5, 1978: Pete Rose was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.[4]
- December 6, 1978: Joe Charboneau was traded by the Phillies to the Cleveland Indians for Cardell Camper.[5]
- January 9, 1979: Mark Davis was drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round (1st pick) of the secondary phase of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft.[6]
- February 23, 1979: Barry Foote, Ted Sizemore, Jerry Martin, Derek Botelho, and Henry Mack (minors) were traded by the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs for Manny Trillo, Greg Gross and Dave Rader.[7]
- March 27, 1979: Richie Hebner and José Moreno were traded by the Phillies to the New York Mets for Nino Espinosa.[8]
- March 27, 1979: Rudy Meoli was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.[9]
- March 28, 1979: Dan Boitano was traded by the Phillies to the Milwaukee Brewers for Gary Beare.[10]
- March 29, 1979: Del Unser was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.[11]
Regular season
 Richie Ashburn OF, TV Retired 1979[12] |
On May 17, 1979, the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 at Wrigley Field in ten innings with a 30-mph wind blowing out to left field.[13] After the game, the Phils were 14 games over .500 and in first place by 3½ games over the Montreal Expos.[14]
On July 10 Del Unser hit his third consecutive pinch hit home run. Unser tied a Major League Baseball record with homers in three straight pinch at bats. The at bats were on June 30, July 5, and July 10.[15]
By August 29, the team had fallen to fifth place and two games under .500, 12½ games behind the Pirates.[16] Mid-season injuries to Manny Trillo, Larry Bowa, and Greg Luzinski contributed to hurt the club. The team's decline led to the firing of manager Danny Ozark on August 31 who was replaced by Dallas Green.[17] Green was named interim manager, a position made permanent shortly after the end of the season.[18]
Alternate uniforms
The Phillies front office introduced an alternate all-burgundy version of the team uniform for the 1979 season to be worn for Saturday games.[19] They were called "Saturday Night Specials", in a derisive nod to cheap handguns then called by that name and were worn for the first and last time on May 19, 1979,[20] a 10-5 loss to the Expos.[21] The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 48–33 | 50–31 |
| Montreal Expos | 95 | 65 | .594 | 2 | 56–25 | 39–40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 12 | 42–39 | 44–37 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 84 | 78 | .519 | 14 | 43–38 | 41–40 |
| Chicago Cubs | 80 | 82 | .494 | 18 | 45–36 | 35–46 |
| New York Mets | 63 | 99 | .389 | 35 | 28–53 | 35–46 |
Notable transactions
- April 3, 1979: Todd Cruz was traded by the Phillies to the Kansas City Royals for Doug Bird.[22]
- May 11, 1979: Jim Kaat was purchased from the Phillies by the New York Yankees.[23]
- June 5, 1979: Roy Smith was drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed on July 30.[24]
- June 16, 1979: Jim Lonborg was released by the Phillies.[25]
- June 29, 1979: Rudy Meoli was purchased from the Phillies by the Minnesota Twins.[9]
Roster
| 1979 Philadelphia Phillies | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Pete Rose | 163 | 628 | 208 | .331 | 4 | 59 |
| 2B | Manny Trillo | 118 | 431 | 112 | .260 | 6 | 42 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Gross | 118 | 174 | 58 | .333 | 0 | 15 |
| Rudy Meoli | 30 | 73 | 13 | .178 | 0 | 6 |
| Dave Rader | 31 | 54 | 11 | .204 | 1 | 5 |
| John Poff | 12 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Carlton | 35 | 251 | 18 | 11 | 3.62 | 213 |
| Nino Espinosa | 33 | 212 | 14 | 12 | 3.65 | 88 |
| Larry Christenson | 19 | 106 | 5 | 10 | 4.50 | 53 |
| Dan Larson | 3 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 4.26 | 9 |
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Bird | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.16 | 33 |
| Warren Brusstar | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.91 | 3 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Central Oregon[26]
References
- ^ Hal Bock (March 27, 1979). "Pitching holds key to Phillies' title defense". The Free-Lance Star. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ Jeff Schneider page at Baseball Reference
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/castica01.shtml
- ^ Pete Rose page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Joe Charboneau page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mark Davis page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Manny Trillo page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jose Moreno page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Rudy Meoli page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dan Boitano page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Del Unser page at Baseball Reference
- ^ The Official Site of The Philadelphia Phillies: History: Richie Ashburn
- ^ "Box Score of Game played on Thursday, May 17, 1979, at Wrigley Field". Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ Standings and Games on Thursday, May 17, 1979
- ^ The Ballplayers - Del Unser | BaseballLibrary.com
- ^ Standings and Games on Wednesday, August 29, 1979
- ^ "Phillies dismiss Ozark as manager". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 31, 1979. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ "Phillies to select Dallas Green". The Bulletin. October 18, 1979. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ Okkonen, Mark. "Dressed to the Nines: Uniform Database (1979)". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Paul Lukas (August 23, 2007). "Uni Watch: One and done". Uni Watch. ESPN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ "Box Score of Game played on Saturday, May 19, 1979, at Veteran's Stadium". Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ Todd Cruz page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Kaat page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Roy Smith page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Lonborg page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
Further reading
- Larry Keith (April 9, 1979). "The East". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- Bruce Newman (July 9, 1979). "Battle Won, War Lost: The Phils beat the Cubs in a donnybrook in May, whereupon they dropped dead". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
