1979 Philadelphia Phillies season

1979 Philadelphia Phillies
1979 Philadelphia Phillies
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Veterans Stadium
City	Philadelphia
Owners	R. R. M. "Ruly" Carpenter III
General managers	Paul Owens
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 April 18, in a victory versus the Pirates, Greg Luzinski became the first visiting player to hit a home run into the fifth level of Three Rivers Stadium.^[13]

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.^[14] After the game, the Phils were 14 games over .500 and in first place by 3+1⁄2 games over the Montreal Expos.^[15]

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.^[16]

By August 29, the team had fallen to fifth place and two games under .500, 12+1⁄2 games behind the Pirates.^[17] 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.^[18] Green was named interim manager, a position made permanent shortly after the end of the season.^[19]

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.^[20] 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,^[21] a 10–5 loss to the Expos.^[22] The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like.

Season standings

v
t
e
NL East
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

Record vs. opponents

1979 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	4–8	6–12	7–11	12–6	1–9	4–8	7–5	4–8	6–12	11–7	4–8
Chicago	8–4	—	7–5	6–6	5–7	6–12	8–10	9–9	6–12	9–3	8–4	8–10
Cincinnati	12–6	5–7	—	8–10	11–7	6–6	8–4	8–4	8–4	10–7	6–12	8–4
Houston	11–7	6–6	10–8	—	10–8	7–5	9–3	5–7	4–8	14–4	7–11	6–6
Los Angeles	6–12	7–5	7–11	8–10	—	6–6	9–3	3–9	4–8	9–9	14–4	6–6
Montreal	9–1	12–6	6–6	5–7	6–6	—	15–3	11–7	7–11	7–5	7–5	10–8
New York	8–4	10–8	4–8	3–9	3–9	3–15	—	5–13	8–10	4–8	8–4	7–11
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	4–8	7–5	9–3	7–11	13–5	—	8–10	9–3	6–6	7–11
Pittsburgh	8–4	12–6	4–8	8–4	8–4	11–7	10–8	10–8	—	7–5	9–3	11–7
San Diego	12–6	3–9	7–10	4–14	9–9	5–7	8–4	3–9	5–7	—	8–10	4–8
San Francisco	7–11	4–8	12–6	11–7	4–14	5–7	4–8	6–6	3–9	10–8	—	5–7
St. Louis	8–4	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	8–10	11–7	11–7	7–11	8–4	7–5	—

Notable transactions

April 3, 1979: Todd Cruz was traded by the Phillies to the Kansas City Royals for Doug Bird.^[23]
May 11, 1979: Jim Kaat was purchased from the Phillies by the New York Yankees.^[24]
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.^[25]
June 16, 1979: Jim Lonborg was released by the Phillies.^[26]
June 29, 1979: Rudy Meoli was purchased from the Phillies by the Minnesota Twins.^[9]

1979 Game Log

Legend
	Phillies win
	Phillies loss
	Phillies tie
	Postponement
Bold	Phillies team member

1979 Game Log^[27]
Overall Record: 84–78

April (14–5)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
1	April 6	@ Cardinals	1–8	John Denny (1–0)	Steve Carlton (0–1)	None	40,526	0–1
2	April 7	@ Cardinals	2–3	Pete Vuckovich (1–0)	Ron Reed (0–1)	None	15,294	0–2
3	April 8	@ Cardinals	2–2 (5)	None	None	None	20,055	0–2
–	April 9	Pirates	Postponed (rain);^[28] Makeup: April 10
4	April 10	Pirates	7–3	Dick Ruthven (1–0)	Enrique Romo (0–2)	None	48,235	1–2
5	April 11	Pirates	5–4	Steve Carlton (1–1)	Bert Blyleven (0–1)	None	26,281	2–2
6	April 12	@ Mets	2–3	Pat Zachry (2–0)	Randy Lerch (0–1)	None	8,719	2–3
–	April 14	@ Mets	Postponed (rain);^[29] Makeup: August 2 as a traditional double-header
7	April 15 (1)	@ Mets	3–2	Dick Ruthven (2–0)	Craig Swan (1–1)	Tug McGraw (1)	see 2nd game	3–3
8	April 15 (2)	@ Mets	6–3	Nino Espinosa (1–0)	Neil Allen (0–1)	Ron Reed (1)	18,401	4–3
–	April 16	@ Pirates	Postponed (rain);^[30] Makeup: August 3 as a traditional double-header
9	April 17	@ Pirates	13–2	Steve Carlton (2–1)	Bert Blyleven (0–2)	None	7,739	5–3
10	April 18	@ Pirates	3–2	Randy Lerch (1–1)	Don Robinson (1–1)	None	12,195	6–3
11	April 20	Mets	8–0	Dick Ruthven (3–0)	Craig Swan (1–2)	None	33,253	7–3
12	April 21	Mets	3–0	Nino Espinosa (2–0)	Neil Allen (0–2)	Tug McGraw (2)	31,851	8–3
13	April 22	Mets	2–4	Jesse Orosco (1–0)	Steve Carlton (2–2)	Skip Lockwood (2)	35,020	8–4
14	April 23	Dodgers	4–3 (10)	Tug McGraw (1–0)	Lance Rautzhan (0–2)	None	32,826	9–4
15	April 24	Dodgers	7–6 (10)	Ron Reed (1–1)	Jerry Reuss (1–2)	None	31,140	10–4
16	April 25	Dodgers	5–4	Ron Reed (2–1)	Rick Sutcliffe (1–1)	None	34,303	11–4
17	April 27	Padres	2–0	Nino Espinosa (3–0)	Gaylord Perry (2–1)	None	28,522	12–4
18	April 28	Padres	0–5	John D'Acquisto (2–1)	Steve Carlton (2–3)	None	31,633	12–5
19	April 29	Padres	4–3	Ron Reed (3–1)	Rollie Fingers (1–2)	None	50,722	13–5
20	April 30	Giants	4–1	Dick Ruthven (4–0)	Philip Nastu (0–1)	Tug McGraw (3)	29,169	14–5

May (13–15)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
21	May 1	Giants	0–7	Bob Knepper (2–2)	Nino Espinosa (3–1)	None	29,048	14–6
22	May 3	@ Dodgers	2–5	Rick Sutcliffe (2–2)	Steve Carlton (2–4)	None	41,215	14–7
23	May 4	@ Dodgers	5–2	Randy Lerch (2–1)	Don Sutton (3–3)	None	42,717	15–7
24	May 5	@ Dodgers	11–0	Dick Ruthven (5–0)	Andy Messersmith (1–2)	None	45,169	16–7
25	May 6	@ Dodgers	4–0	Nino Espinosa (4–1)	Doug Rau (0–4)	None	42,184	17–7
26	May 7	@ Padres	11–6	Steve Carlton (3–4)	Bob Owchinko (0–1)	Rawly Eastwick (1)	20,766	18–7
27	May 8	@ Padres	9–8 (12)	Jim Kaat (1–0)	John D'Acquisto (2–3)	None	12,288	19–7
28	May 9	@ Padres	2–0	Dick Ruthven (6–0)	Eric Rasmussen (0–3)	None	15,606	20–7
29	May 10	@ Padres	3–2	Nino Espinosa (5–1)	Gaylord Perry (3–3)	Ron Reed (2)	17,208	21–7
30	May 11	@ Giants	1–2	Bob Knepper (3–2)	Steve Carlton (3–5)	Gary Lavelle (4)	22,860	21–8
31	May 12	@ Giants	1–4	Ed Halicki (3–3)	Randy Lerch (2–2)	None	23,836	21–9
32	May 13	@ Giants	12–3	Ron Reed (4–1)	Vida Blue (6–3)	None	32,585	22–9
33	May 15	@ Cubs	1–7	Lynn McGlothen (5–4)	Nino Espinosa (5–2)	None	13,834	22–10
34	May 16	@ Cubs	13–0	Steve Carlton (4–5)	Rick Reuschel (2–5)	None	18,015	23–10
35	May 17	@ Cubs	23–22 (10)	Rawly Eastwick (1–0)	Bruce Sutter (1–1)	None	14,952	24–10
36	May 18	Expos	3–5	Stan Bahnsen (1–1)	Dick Ruthven (6–1)	Elías Sosa (4)	31,481	24–11
37	May 19	Expos	5–10	Rudy May (2–0)	Rawly Eastwick (1–1)	Dan Schatzeder (1)	33,212	24–12
38	May 20	Expos	6–10	Stan Bahnsen (2–1)	Nino Espinosa (5–3)	Elías Sosa (5)	48,631	24–13
39	May 21	Cardinals	5–3	Steve Carlton (5–5)	John Denny (3–3)	None	28,192	25–13
40	May 22	Cardinals	3–1	Tug McGraw (2–0)	Bob Forsch (1–4)	None	33,379	26–13
41	May 23	Cardinals	1–3	Silvio Martínez (2–1)	Dick Ruthven (6–2)	Mark Littell (3)	32,349	26–14
42	May 25	Cubs	0–3	Lynn McGlothen (6–5)	Nino Espinosa (5–4)	Bruce Sutter (8)	34,456	26–15
43	May 26	Cubs	1–4	Dennis Lamp (4–1)	Larry Christenson (0–1)	Dick Tidrow (3)	32,313	26–16
44	May 27	Cubs	6–4	Steve Carlton (6–5)	Bill Caudill (0–1)	None	47,087	27–16
45	May 28	Cubs	1–4	Dick Tidrow (3–1)	Randy Lerch (2–3)	Bruce Sutter (9)	51,381	27–17
46	May 29	@ Expos	0–9	Steve Rogers (5–2)	Dick Ruthven (6–3)	None	32,078	27–18
47	May 30	@ Expos	0–2	Bill Lee (5–2)	Nino Espinosa (5–5)	None	21,761	27–19
48	May 31	@ Expos	0–1	Scott Sanderson (4–3)	Larry Christenson (0–2)	None	22,388	27–20

June (12–16)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
49	June 1	@ Reds	2–4	Doug Bair (3–0)	Steve Carlton (6–6)	Pedro Borbón (2)	48,968	27–21
50	June 2	@ Reds	2–4	Mike LaCoss (6–0)	Randy Lerch (2–4)	Doug Bair (7)	37,907	27–22
51	June 3 (1)	@ Reds	6–4	Ron Reed (5–1)	Pedro Borbón (2–2)	Tug McGraw (4)	see 2nd game	28–22
52	June 3 (2)	@ Reds	2–12	Tom Hume (4–4)	Jim Lonborg (0–1)	None	50,262	28–23
53	June 4	@ Astros	0–3	Randy Niemann (2–0)	Larry Christenson (0–3)	None	19,062	28–24
54	June 5	@ Astros	8–0	Steve Carlton (7–6)	Rick Williams (2–2)	None	28,244	29–24
55	June 6	@ Astros	3–4	Joe Sambito (3–2)	Ron Reed (5–2)	Bert Roberge (2)	28,955	29–25
56	June 8	Braves	5–11 (10)	Gene Garber (3–7)	Ron Reed (5–3)	None	41,136	29–26
57	June 9	Braves	9–3	Larry Christenson (1–3)	Mickey Mahler (2–6)	None	38,035	30–26
58	June 10	Braves	3–10	Phil Niekro (7–9)	Steve Carlton (7–7)	None	58,707	30–27
59	June 11	Astros	4–2	Randy Lerch (3–4)	J. R. Richard (6–5)	None	31,085	31–27
60	June 12	Astros	4–0	Nino Espinosa (6–5)	Rick Williams (2–3)	None	34,177	32–27
61	June 13	Astros	3–4	Joe Niekro (10–2)	Dick Ruthven (6–4)	None	33,627	32–28
62	June 15	Reds	3–6	Tom Seaver (4–5)	Larry Christenson (1–4)	None	50,222	32–29
63	June 16	Reds	4–3	Tug McGraw (3–0)	Doug Bair (3–1)	None	50,224	33–29
64	June 17	Reds	9–3	Randy Lerch (4–4)	Doug Bair (3–2)	None	46,153	34–29
65	June 18	@ Braves	5–10	Rick Matula (4–5)	Nino Espinosa (6–6)	None	9,394	34–30
66	June 19	@ Braves	4–10	Phil Niekro (8–9)	Larry Christenson (1–5)	None	8,146	34–31
67	June 20	@ Braves	10–4	Steve Carlton (8–7)	Eddie Solomon (3–3)	None	8,681	35–31
68	June 22	@ Expos	5–6	Ross Grimsley (7–4)	Randy Lerch (4–5)	Elías Sosa (7)	40,729	35–32
69	June 23	@ Expos	0–3	Steve Rogers (7–4)	Nino Espinosa (6–7)	None	24,439	35–33
70	June 24	@ Expos	5–2	Larry Christenson (2–5)	Bill Lee (7–4)	Tug McGraw (5)	41,593	36–33
71	June 25	@ Cubs	2–8	Lynn McGlothen (8–6)	Steve Carlton (8–8)	None	27,246	36–34
72	June 26	@ Cubs	5–3	Dick Ruthven (7–4)	Donnie Moore (1–3)	Tug McGraw (6)	35,970	37–34
73	June 27	@ Cubs	4–11	Mike Krukow (5–5)	Randy Lerch (4–6)	None	29,858	37–35
74	June 29 (1)	@ Cardinals	8–7	Kevin Saucier (1–0)	Bob Forsch (3–8)	Tug McGraw (7)	see 2nd game	38–35
75	June 29 (2)	@ Cardinals	1–7	Pete Vuckovich (7–4)	Larry Christenson (2–6)	None	29,300	38–36
76	June 30	@ Cardinals	6–4 (10)	Ron Reed (6–3)	George Frazier (0–1)	Tug McGraw (8)	30,960	39–36

July (15–13)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
77	July 1 (1)	@ Cardinals	7–13	Mark Littell (5–2)	Tug McGraw (3–1)	None	see 2nd game	39–37
78	July 1 (2)	@ Cardinals	1–2	Mark Littell (6–2)	Randy Lerch (4–7)	None	41,903	39–38
79	July 2	Mets	6–2	Nino Espinosa (7–7)	Dock Ellis (1–6)	None	29,142	40–38
80	July 3	Mets	4–2	Warren Brusstar (1–0)	Wayne Twitchell (3–2)	Tug McGraw (9)	56,285	41–38
81	July 4	Mets	1–0	Steve Carlton (9–8)	Andy Hassler (2–4)	None	40,215	42–38
82	July 5	Mets	2–3	Craig Swan (8–6)	Dickie Noles (0–1)	None	28,720	42–39
83	July 6	Giants	6–1	Nino Espinosa (8–7)	John Curtis (4–5)	None	36,097	43–39
84	July 7	Giants	6–8	Pedro Borbón (4–2)	Ron Reed (6–4)	None	42,047	43–40
85	July 8	Giants	5–3	Steve Carlton (10–8)	Bob Knepper (6–3)	None	41,387	44–40
86	July 9	Giants	4–2	Dickie Noles (1–1)	Vida Blue (7–7)	Warren Brusstar (1)	38,353	45–40
87	July 10	Padres	6–5	Doug Bird (1–0)	Rollie Fingers (7–6)	None	30,234	46–40
88	July 11	Padres	3–7	John D'Acquisto (6–5)	Randy Lerch (4–8)	None	35,248	46–41
89	July 12	Padres	4–3	Steve Carlton (11–8)	Rollie Fingers (7–7)	Tug McGraw (10)	33,501	47–41
90	July 13	Dodgers	3–2	Dickie Noles (2–1)	Rick Sutcliffe (8–8)	Tug McGraw (11)	46,542	48–41
91	July 14	Dodgers	10–7	Nino Espinosa (9–7)	Don Sutton (7–11)	Tug McGraw (12)	40,602	49–41
92	July 15	Dodgers	10–3	Randy Lerch (5–8)	Bob Welch (4–6)	Rawly Eastwick (2)	47,315	50–41
–	July 17	1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at the Kingdome in Seattle
93	July 19	@ Giants	0–1	John Curtis (6–5)	Dickie Noles (2–2)	None	20,732	50–42
94	July 20	@ Giants	6–4	Randy Lerch (6–8)	Tom Griffin (4–5)	Ron Reed (3)	21,110	51–42
95	July 21	@ Giants	1–4	Bob Knepper (7–4)	Steve Carlton (11–9)	None	25,386	51–43
96	July 22	@ Padres	5–2	Nino Espinosa (10–7)	John D'Acquisto (6–7)	Tug McGraw (13)	23,308	52–43
97	July 23	@ Padres	5–6	Rollie Fingers (8–7)	Ron Reed (6–5)	None	16,785	52–44
98	July 24	@ Dodgers	3–15	Burt Hooton (9–7)	Randy Lerch (6–9)	None	39,336	52–45
99	July 25	@ Dodgers	8–16	Rick Sutcliffe (9–8)	Dick Ruthven (7–5)	None	34,370	52–46
100	July 27	Cardinals	0–5	Bob Forsch (4–9)	Nino Espinosa (10–8)	None	40,792	52–47
101	July 28	Cardinals	4–5	Mark Littell (7–3)	Ron Reed (6–6)	None	40,063	52–48
102	July 29	Cardinals	5–6	Pete Vuckovich (10–7)	Randy Lerch (6–10)	None	38,069	52–49
103	July 30	Cubs	5–4 (10)	Ron Reed (7–6)	Bruce Sutter (4–3)	None	37,151	53–49
104	July 31	Cubs	4–1	Nino Espinosa (11–8)	Mike Krukow (8–6)	None	37,412	54–49

August (12–18)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
105	August 1	@ Mets	9–6	Dickie Noles (3–2)	Dock Ellis (2–9)	Rawly Eastwick (3)	12,295	55–49
106	August 2 (1)	@ Mets	7–4	Ron Reed (8–6)	Andy Hassler (4–5)	None	see 2nd game	56–49
107	August 2 (2)	@ Mets	1–2	Pete Falcone (3–7)	Kevin Saucier (1–1)	Neil Allen (2)	15,319	56–50
108	August 3 (1)	@ Pirates	3–6	Enrique Romo (7–3)	Tug McGraw (3–2)	None	see 2nd game	56–51
109	August 3 (2)	@ Pirates	1–5	Jim Bibby (8–2)	Larry Christenson (2–7)	None	45,309	56–52
110	August 4	@ Pirates	0–4	John Candelaria (10–7)	Nino Espinosa (11–9)	None	34,754	56–53
111	August 5 (1)	@ Pirates	8–12	Kent Tekulve (5–6)	Rawly Eastwick (1–2)	None	see 2nd game	56–54
112	August 5 (2)	@ Pirates	2–5	Enrique Romo (8–3)	Dickie Noles (3–3)	Kent Tekulve (20)	46,006	56–55
113	August 7	Expos	4–2	Larry Christenson (3–7)	Scott Sanderson (7–7)	None	38,237	57–55
114	August 8	Expos	4–3	Ron Reed (9–6)	Elías Sosa (5–7)	None	36,476	58–55
115	August 9	Expos	6–4	Nino Espinosa (12–9)	Bill Lee (10–9)	Rawly Eastwick (4)	46,233	59–55
116	August 10 (1)	Pirates	4–3 (12)	Rawly Eastwick (2–2)	Grant Jackson (6–4)	None	see 2nd game	60–55
117	August 10 (2)	Pirates	2–3	Bruce Kison (7–6)	Randy Lerch (6–11)	Kent Tekulve (21)	63,346	60–56
118	August 11	Pirates	11–14	Enrique Romo (9–3)	Rawly Eastwick (2–3)	Kent Tekulve (22)	51,118	60–57
–	August 12	Pirates	Postponed (rain);^[31]^[32] Makeup: September 19 as a traditional double-header
119	August 13	Pirates	1–9	Jim Bibby (9–2)	Larry Christenson (3–8)	None	43,111	60–58
120	August 14	@ Reds	1–2 (10)	Tom Hume (7–6)	Steve Carlton (11–10)	None	38,442	60–59
121	August 15	@ Reds	3–2	Nino Espinosa (13–9)	Fred Norman (10–9)	None	36,678	61–59
122	August 17	@ Astros	5–2	Randy Lerch (7–11)	Frank LaCorte (1–1)	None	33,782	62–59
123	August 18	@ Astros	1–0	Larry Christenson (4–8)	J. R. Richard (12–12)	Ron Reed (4)	37,735	63–59
124	August 19	@ Astros	3–2	Steve Carlton (12–10)	Joaquín Andújar (12–9)	None	30,631	64–59
125	August 20	Braves	2–5	Phil Niekro (16–16)	Ron Reed (9–7)	Gene Garber (20)	35,156	64–60
126	August 21	Braves	4–5	Larry Bradford (1–0)	Rawly Eastwick (2–4)	Gene Garber (21)	30,234	64–61
127	August 22	Braves	3–4	Eddie Solomon (5–10)	Larry Christenson (4–9)	Gene Garber (22)	30,349	64–62
128	August 24	Astros	5–3	Steve Carlton (13–10)	Joaquín Andújar (12–10)	None	32,124	65–62
129	August 25	Astros	1–3	Joe Niekro (18–7)	Nino Espinosa (13–10)	Joe Sambito (16)	43,109	65–63
130	August 26	Astros	1–4	Pete Ladd (1–0)	Kevin Saucier (1–2)	Joe Sambito (17)	32,559	65–64
131	August 27	Reds	2–4	Tom Hume (9–6)	Larry Christenson (4–10)	None	28,421	65–65
132	August 28	Reds	2–5	Frank Pastore (3–6)	Steve Carlton (13–11)	Tom Hume (11)	31,113	65–66
133	August 29	Reds	6–7	Mario Soto (2–2)	Kevin Saucier (1–3)	Doug Bair (16)	30,133	65–67
134	August 31	@ Braves	6–2 (6)	Doug Bird (2–0)	Tony Brizzolara (6–9)	None	6,009	66–67

September (18–11)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
135	September 1	@ Braves	6–4	Larry Christenson (5–10)	Phil Niekro (17–18)	Ron Reed (5)	16,990	67–67
136	September 2	@ Braves	2–1 (10)	Ron Reed (10–7)	Joey McLaughlin (4–3)	None	10,040	68–67
137	September 3 (1)	@ Pirates	2–0	Steve Carlton (14–11)	Bert Blyleven (11–5)	Tug McGraw (14)	see 2nd game	69–67
138	September 3 (2)	@ Pirates	3–7	Jim Rooker (3–6)	Randy Lerch (7–12)	Kent Tekulve (25)	43,444	69–68
–	September 5	Mets	Postponed (rain);^[33] Makeup: September 6 as a traditional double-header
139	September 6 (1)	Mets	3–5	Ed Glynn (1–2)	Nino Espinosa (13–11)	Andy Hassler (2)	see 2nd game	69–69
140	September 6 (2)	Mets	2–1	Randy Lerch (8–12)	Pete Falcone (5–12)	Rawly Eastwick (5)	21,091	70–69
141	September 7	@ Cubs	3–4	Dennis Lamp (11–8)	Tug McGraw (3–3)	None	10,359	70–70
142	September 8	@ Cubs	9–8	Rawly Eastwick (3–4)	Bruce Sutter (4–5)	None	20,767	71–70
143	September 9	@ Cubs	2–15	Rick Reuschel (17–9)	Kevin Saucier (1–4)	None	20,922	71–71
144	September 11	@ Mets	5–2	Nino Espinosa (14–11)	Pete Falcone (5–13)	Rawly Eastwick (6)	4,713	72–71
145	September 12	@ Mets	4–0	Randy Lerch (9–12)	Craig Swan (12–12)	None	4,158	73–71
146	September 13	@ Mets	2–1	Steve Carlton (15–11)	Juan Berenguer (0–1)	Tug McGraw (15)	3,890	74–71
147	September 14	Cubs	0–2 (10)	Bruce Sutter (5–6)	Ron Reed (10–8)	None	20,838	74–72
148	September 15	Cubs	8–1	Dan Larson (1–0)	Lynn McGlothen (11–13)	None	33,042	75–72
149	September 16	Cubs	4–3	Ron Reed (11–8)	Dick Tidrow (12–5)	None	30,261	76–72
150	September 17	@ Cardinals	7–5	Steve Carlton (16–11)	Darold Knowles (2–5)	Tug McGraw (16)	6,479	77–72
151	September 18	@ Cardinals	5–3 (10)	Tug McGraw (4–3)	Dan O'Brien (1–1)	None	7,340	78–72
152	September 19 (1)	Pirates	6–9	Kent Tekulve (10–7)	Rawly Eastwick (3–5)	Grant Jackson (14)	see 2nd game	78–73
153	September 19 (2)	Pirates	6–5	Jack Kucek (1–0)	Enrique Romo (10–5)	Kevin Saucier (1)	30,566	79–73
154	September 20	Pirates	2–1^{^[a]}	Randy Lerch (10–12)	Kent Tekulve (10–8)	None	16,299	80–73
–	September 21	Expos	Postponed (rain);^[34] Makeup: September 22 as a traditional double-header
155	September 22 (1)	Expos	9–8 (10)	Ron Reed (12–8)	Dale Murray (5–10)	None	see 2nd game	81–73
156	September 22 (2)	Expos	2–8	David Palmer (10–2)	Dickie Noles (3–4)	None	35,186	81–74
157	September 23	Expos	4–7	Bill Lee (16–10)	Nino Espinosa (14–12)	None	26,507	81–75
158	September 24	Cardinals	2–7	Pete Vuckovich (15–10)	Randy Lerch (10–13)	None	17,694	81–76
159	September 25	Cardinals	1–4	John Fulgham (10–6)	Dan Larson (1–1)	None	16,163	81–77
160	September 26	Cardinals	11–5	Steve Carlton (17–11)	Silvio Martínez (15–8)	None	18,458	82–77
161	September 28	@ Expos	3–2 (11)	Ron Reed (13–8)	Woodie Fryman (3–6)	None	40,303	83–77
162	September 29	@ Expos	2–3	Elías Sosa (8–7)	Rawly Eastwick (3–6)	None	50,332	83–78
163	September 30	@ Expos	2–0	Steve Carlton (18–11)	Steve Rogers (13–12)	None	50,824	84–78

^{^[a]}The September 20, 1979, game was protested by the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth inning.^[35] The protest was later denied.^[36]

Roster

1979 Philadelphia Phillies

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

46 Dallas Green
3 Danny Ozark

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	Bob Boone	119	398	114	.286	9	58
1B	Pete Rose	163	628	208	.331	4	59
2B	Manny Trillo	118	431	112	.260	6	42
SS	Larry Bowa	147	539	130	.241	0	31
3B	Mike Schmidt	160	541	137	.253	45	114
LF	Greg Luzinski	137	452	114	.252	18	81
CF	Garry Maddox	148	548	154	.281	13	61
RF	Bake McBride	151	582	163	.280	12	60

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
Del Unser	95	141	42	.298	6	29
Tim McCarver	79	137	33	.241	1	12
Mike Anderson	79	78	18	.231	1	2
Rudy Meoli	30	73	13	.178	0	6
Bud Harrelson	53	71	20	.282	0	7
Ramón Avilés	27	61	17	.279	0	12
Dave Rader	31	54	11	.204	1	5
José Cardenal	29	48	10	.208	0	9
Keith Moreland	14	48	18	.375	0	8
Lonnie Smith	17	30	5	.167	0	3
John Poff	12	19	2	.105	0	1
John Vukovich	10	15	3	.200	0	1
Pete Mackanin	13	9	1	.111	1	2

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	251.0	18	11	3.62	213
Randy Lerch	37	214.0	10	13	3.74	92
Nino Espinosa	33	212.0	14	12	3.65	88
Dick Ruthven	20	122.1	7	5	4.27	58
Larry Christenson	19	106.0	5	10	4.50	53
Dickie Noles	14	90.0	3	4	3.80	42
Dan Larson	3	19.0	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
Jim Kaat	3	8.1	1	0	4.32	2
Jim Lonborg	4	7.1	0	1	11.05	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
Tug McGraw	65	4	3	16	5.16	57
Ron Reed	61	13	8	5	4.15	58
Rawly Eastwick	51	3	6	6	4.90	47
Doug Bird	32	2	0	0	5.16	33
Kevin Saucier	29	1	4	1	4.19	21
Warren Brusstar	13	1	0	1	6.91	3
Jack Kucek	4	1	0	0	8.31	2
Mike Anderson	1	0	0	0	0.00	2

^[37]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	American Association	Lee Elia
AA	Reading Phillies	Eastern League	Jim Snyder
A	Peninsula Pilots	Carolina League	Ron Clark
A	Spartanburg Phillies	Western Carolinas League	Bill Dancy
A-Short Season	Central Oregon Phillies	Northwest League	Tom Harmon
Rookie	Helena Phillies	Pioneer League	Roly de Armas

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Central Oregon^[38]

References

^ Hal Bock (March 27, 1979). "Pitching holds key to Phillies' title defense". The Free-Lance Star. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
^ Jeff Schneider at Baseball Reference
^ "Carmelo Castillo Stats".
^ Pete Rose at Baseball Reference
^ Joe Charboneau at Baseball Reference
^ Mark Davis at Baseball-Reference
^ Manny Trillo at Baseball Reference
^ Jose Moreno at Baseball Reference
^ ^a ^b Rudy Meoli at Baseball Reference
^ Dan Boitano at Baseball Reference
^ Del Unser at Baseball Reference
^ The Official Site of The Philadelphia Phillies: History: Richie Ashburn
^ Palm Beach Post. 1979 Apr 19.
^ "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". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
^ 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.
^ 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 at Baseball Reference
^ Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference
^ Roy Smith at Baseball Reference
^ Jim Lonborg at Baseball Reference
^ "1979 Philadelphia Phillies Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com.
^ Feeney, Charley (April 10, 1979). "Managing Phils Simple in Rainout: But Ozark Bristles as Bowa Suggests New Lineup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
^ "The Majors". Pittsburgh Press. April 15, 1979. p. D2. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
^ "Majors At A Glance". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 17, 1979. p. 18. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 13, 1979). "Phillie Fans Conceding NL East to Bucs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
^ Feeney, Charley (August 13, 1979). "Ozark Snaps Silence After Buc Rainout". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. 17, 23. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
^ "Majors At A Glance". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 6, 1979. p. 10. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
^ Whitley, Bob (September 22, 1979). "Rain Falls on Expos in Philly". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
^ "Philadelphia Phillies 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 1". retrosheet.org. September 20, 1979. Retrieved December 13, 2014. Keith Moreland's fly to LF was ruled a home run; the Pirates argued the call; the umpires huddled and HP umpire Doug Harvey overruled 3B umpire Eric Gregg, calling it a foul ball; Phillies manager Dallas Green argued with and was ejected by Harvey; Green threw equipment onto the field from the bench after the ejection and was fined; Mike Schmidt threw his helmet and was fined; Green protested the game; Moreland was called out on strikes[.]
^ "Sep 20, 1979, Pirates at Phillies Play by Play and Box Score". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. September 20, 1979. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
^ "1979 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching and Fielding Statistics". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007