1978 San Diego Padres season

Did You Know?

• On November 29, 1977, Oscar Gamble was signed as a free agent by the Padres.
• On January 25, 1978, Dave Tomlin was traded along with $125,000 to the Texas Rangers for Gaylord Perry.
• On February 2, 1978, Mickey Lolich was signed as a free agent by the Padres.

Regular season

In 1978, the Padres finished six games over .500. On June 9, the one-third point of the season, the team stood at . The last two-thirds of the season, they went , which included a ten-game winning streak from July 25 to August 4. The Padres were also extremely impressive at home that season, going .

Gaylord Perry became the second Padre in three seasons to win the National League Cy Young Award, leading the league in wins (21) and winning percentage (.778). Rollie Fingers won the league's Rolaids Relief Award, leading the league in saves (37). All four players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Along with the 1979 season, this is the only time in franchise history that the Padres had four future Hall-of-Famers on their roster.

On May 26, 1978, George Hendrick was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Eric Rasmussen. On June 5, 1978, Steve Hamrick (minors) was traded to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later; the Royals completed the deal by sending Gary Lance to the Padres on September 29. In the June 6, 1978 draft, the Padres selected Andy Hawkins in the first round (fifth overall), Doug Gwosdz in the second round, and Steve Fireovid in the seventh round. On June 14, 1978, Dan Spillner was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Dennis Kinney.