1978 Pacific Coast League season

The 1978 Pacific Coast League season was the 76th season in the league's history. It ended with the Albuquerque Dukes and Tacoma Yankees being declared co-champions.

Due to inclement weather, the fifth and deciding game in the semifinal series between Tacoma and the Portland Beavers was not played. After waiting three days and consulting the long-range weather forecast in Portland, league president Ray Jackson declared the co-championship. Tacoma earned the honor due to its better record.

The league expanded to 10 teams this year, adding Portland and the Vancouver Canadians. The playoff format expanded as well, as the top two teams in each division qualified.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Albuquerque Dukes	78	62	.557	--	Del Crandall	Los Angeles Dodgers
Salt Lake City Gulls	72	65	.526	4½	Deron Johnson	California Angels
Phoenix Giants	72	68	.514	6	Rocky Bridges	San Francisco Giants
Tucson Toros	69	71	.493	9	Rich Donnelly	Texas Rangers
San Jose Missions	53	87	.379	25	Rene Lachemann	Seattle Mariners

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Tacoma Yankees	80	57	.584	--	Mike Ferraro	New York Yankees
Portland Beavers	76	62	.551	4½	Gene Dusan	Cleveland Indians
Vancouver Canadians	74	65	.532	7	Jim Marshall	Oakland Athletics
Spokane Indians	64	75	.480	17	John Felske	Milwaukee Brewers
Hawaii Islanders	56	82	.407	24½	Dick Phillips	San Diego Padres

First Round

Albuquerque vs. Salt Lake Date Away Home September 2 Salt Lake 3 Albuquerque 4 September 3 Salt Lake 7 Albuquerque 11 September 4 Albuquerque 7 Salt Lake 5 10 innings Albuquerque wins series 3-0

Tacoma vs. Portland Date Away Home September 2 Portland 8 Tacoma 10 September 3 Portland 4 Tacoma 5 September 5 Tacoma 5 Portland 7 12 innings September 6 Tacoma 3 Portland 5 Series tied 2-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Jeffrey Leonard, Albuquerque, .371
• Runs Scored Bill Sample, Tucson, 141
• Hits Leonard, 183
• Doubles Dan Briggs, Portland, 38
• Triples Art Gardner, Phoenix, 16
• Home Runs Willie Aikens, Salt Lake City, 29
• Runs Batted In Pedro Guerrero, Albuquerque, 116
• Stolen Bases Rudy Law, Albuquerque, 79

Pitching

• Wins Eric Wilkins, Portland, 15
• Earned Run Average Larry McCall, Tacoma, 2.93
• Complete Games Steve Mura, Hawaii, 16
• Shutouts McCall, 4
• Strikeouts Mura, 158
• Saves Larry Andersen, Portland, 25

All-Star Team

None announced

References

• W. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, eds.: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Baseball America, 1993.
• 1979 Baseball Guide

Related Sites

• BR Minors page
• 1978 PCL - The Baseball Cube