The 1978 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 97th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 87th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 69-93 during the season and finished fifth in the National League East, 21 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
Offseason
October 25, 1977: The Cardinals traded a player to be named later to the San Francisco Giants for Frank Riccelli. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Jim Dwyer to the Giants on June 15, 1978. December 8, 1977: Dave Rader and Héctor Cruz were traded by the Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry Morales, Steve Swisher, and cash. February 2, 1978: Ken Rudolph was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals. March 15, 1978: Rick Bosetti was traded by the Cardinals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tom Bruno and cash.
Regular season
In late April, the Cardinals fired manager Vern Rapp, who had started at 7-11. He was briefly replaced by coach Jack Krol for two games (1-1) before giving the job on a permanent basis to their former MVP third-baseman Ken Boyer, who went 61-81 the rest of the way.
On June 16, Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds made history by pitching a no-hitter against the Cardinals. It would be the only no-hitter of his career.
First baseman Keith Hernandez won a Gold Glove.
This remains to date the only 162-game season in which the Cardinals failed to win at least 70 games.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day starters
Lou Brock
John Denny
Keith Hernandez
Jerry Morales
Ken Reitz
Tony Scott
Ted Simmons
Garry Templeton
Mike Tyson
Notable transactions
May 26, 1978: Eric Rasmussen was traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for George Hendrick. June 8, 1978: Frank Riccelli was traded by the Cardinals to the Houston Astros for Bob Coluccio. July 18, 1978: John Tamargo was traded by the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later. The Giants completed the deal by sending Rob Dressler to the Cardinals on July 24.
Roster
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
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts