1978 Lakeland Tigers Roster
Team Record: 78-60
Finished 3rd in the FSL's North Division
Manager: Jim Leyland (78-60)
Affiliation: Detroit Tigers
Location: Lakeland, Florida
Ballpark: Joker Marchant Stadium
Attendance: 58,067, Avg. 842
Playoffs - Lakeland Tigers 1 game, St. Petersburg Cardinals 0
Finals - Miami Orioles 2 games, Lakeland Tigers 1
The Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League ended the 1978 season with a record of 78 wins and 60 losses, finishing third in the league's North Division.
The Tigers plated 526 runs and yielded 496 runs. Daniel LaNoue paced Lakeland with 12 home runs and drove in 47 runs. Jorge Gonzalez topped batters with significant playing time by hitting .289. Joseph Janton led the squad with 11 wins, while Jeffrey Jackowiak earned a 2.59 ERA, tops among hurlers with significant time on the mound.
Kirk Gibson, Chris Codiroli, Jerry Ujdur, John Martin, Mark Fidrych, Bruce Robbins, Darrell Brown, Marty Castillo and Dave Rucker were all players from the 1978 Lakeland Tigers who played in the Major Leagues during their careers.
Jim Leyland served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Bateman | R | R | November 11, 1956 | 6'1" | 185 | Blythe, CA US |
| Jake Battle | R | R | January 19, 1956 | 5'11" | 185 | Detroit, MI US |
| Bobby Benda | R | R | 5'9" | 160 | ||
| Thomas Berti | L | R | January 8, 1956 | 5'11" | 160 | Royal Oak, MI US |
| Darrell Brown | S | R | October 29, 1955 | 6'0" | 184 | Oklahoma City, OK US |
| David Cassetto | L | R | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Marty Castillo | R | R | January 16, 1957 | 6'1" | 190 | Long Beach, CA US |
| Chris Codiroli | R | R | March 26, 1958 | 6'1" | 160 | Oxnard, CA US |
| John Crawford | R | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Greg Darichuk | L | L | 6'1" | 180 | ||
| Ted Dasen | L | R | June 12, 1955 | 5'11" | 175 | Owosso, MI US |
| Ronald Deneweth | R | L | 6'2" | 190 | ||
| Mark Fidrych | R | R | August 14, 1954 | 6'3" | 175 | Worcester, MA US |
| Timothy Flannery | R | R | March 26, 1955 | 6'2" | 172 | Detroit, MI US |
| John Flynn | R | R | May 13, 1959 | 6'2" | 192 | Kings Park, NY US |
| Kirk Gibson | L | L | May 28, 1957 | 6'3" | 215 | Pontiac, MI US |
| Richard Givens | R | R | October 4, 1955 | 6'3" | 210 | Salinas, CA US |
| Juan Gomez | R | R | January 27, 1959 | 5'11" | 175 | Las Villas, CU |
| Jorge Gonzalez | R | R | May 30, 1958 | 5'10" | 167 | Arecibo, PR |
| Gary Granke | R | R | August 21, 1955 | 6'0" | 165 | Detroit, MI US |
| Raphael Hampton | R | R | October 29, 1957 | 6'1" | 175 | Detroit, MI US |
| Charles Irving | R | R | April 5, 1955 | 5'11" | 175 | Richmond, VA US |
| Jeffrey Jackowiak | R | R | September 27, 1959 | 6'1" | 190 | South Bend, IN US |
| Joseph Janton | R | R | February 10, 1956 | 6'3" | 185 | Newport Beach, CA US |
| Craig Johnson | R | R | 6'4" | 195 | ||
| Daniel LaNoue | L | L | October 21, 1954 | 6'3" | 195 | Detroit, MI US |
| Gary Leslie | R | R | October 5, 1956 | 6'1" | 195 | Euclid, OH US |
| Larry Marsh | R | R | December 0, 1956 | 6'2" | 180 | Covina, CA US |
| John Martin | S | L | April 11, 1956 | 6'0" | 190 | Wyandotte, MI US |
| Ronald Martinez | R | R | August 4, 1955 | 5'10" | 170 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Bob Nandin | S | R | August 29, 1956 | 5'9" | 155 | , CO |
| Michael Polvi | L | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Calvin Portley | S | R | November 14, 1954 | 5'10" | 165 | Longview, TX US |
| Bruce Robbins | L | L | September 10, 1959 | 6'1" | 190 | Portland, IN US |
| Dave Rucker | L | L | September 1, 1957 | 6'1" | 185 | San Bernardino, CA US |
| Kenneth Shea | R | R | August 28, 1957 | 6'1" | 190 | Corona, CA US |
| Dave Steffen | R | R | December 17, 1958 | 6'3" | 220 | Dearborn, MI US |
| Jerry Ujdur | R | R | March 5, 1957 | 6'1" | 195 | Duluth, MN US |
| John Upshaw | R | R | October 9, 1956 | 6'1" | 195 | Yuma, AZ US |
| Paul Vavruska | R | R | September 12, 1955 | 6'6" | 210 | Cleveland, OH US |
| Clifton Wilder | R | R | January 23, 1959 | 5'11" | 180 | Fort Jay, NY US |
| Dennis Zimmerman | L | L | March 8, 1957 | 6'1" | 175 | Ephrata, PA US |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
