Hostess Cubs 1978

Fourth in a series looking at all of the Hostess Cubs

The 1978 Hostess Cubs set has the biggest turnover of the five. Only two players from the 1977 set were included in the '78 version.



Bill Buckner played in only 117 games, but was the Cubs leading hitter, posting a .323 average. He also led the team in doubles and was second in RBIs. He was the Chicago baseball writers Player of the Year.



Rick Reuschel was unable to follow up his 20-win 1977 season with another 20. He fell to 14-15, but was still the winningest pitcher on the team.

And the players new to the Cubs Hostess roster:



You can read more about the Kingman card here

Dave Kingman came to the Cubs as a free agent, and was the Cubs first big name free agent signing. A local boy, Kingman went to high school in Mt. Prospect at Prospect High, the same school that was later attended by Mike Quade. It seemed like Kingman was always hitting homers against the Cubs at Wrigley, so his signing was greeted with a lot of enthusiasm by Cubs fans. A severe hamstring pull kept Kingman out of 43 games, but he still led the team with 28 HRs and 79 RBIs. The highlight of the season was on May 14 when he blasted three homers against the Dodgers in LA. That led to an infamous outburst by Dodger skipper Tom Lasorda after the game.



Bobby Murcer lost his power in 1978. He went from 27 homers in 1977 to only 9 in 1978. He was supposed to form a 1-2 power punch with Kingman, but that didn't happen. This was also his last season as an everyday player .



Bruce Sutter was a breakout star in 1977, so it makes sense that he made the 1978 set. He saved 27 games in 1978, but also had 14 blown saves.



Manny Trillo was in his fourth and final season with the Cubs in 1978. Always a slick fielder, Trillo was an all star in 1977. His 1978 season was a typical Trillo season; ok hitting (.261 average) and good with the glove. He led NL second basemen in assists and was second in putouts.