1976 Major League Baseball season

Sports season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1976 Major League Baseball season ended with the Cincinnati Reds winning their second consecutive World Series championship.

DurationApril 8 – October 21, 1976
Games162
Quick facts League, Sport ...
1976 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 8 – October 21, 1976
Games162
Teams24
TV partner(s)ABC, NBC
Draft
Top draft pickFloyd Bannister
Picked byHouston Astros
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Thurman Munson (NYY)
NL: Joe Morgan (CIN)
Postseason
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upKansas City Royals
NL championsCincinnati Reds
  NL runners-upPhiladelphia Phillies
World Series
ChampionsCincinnati Reds
  Runners-upNew York Yankees
World Series MVPJohnny Bench (CIN)
MLB seasons
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Locations of teams for the 1971–1976 National League seasons
West   East

This was the last season of the expansion era (dating back to 1961) until 1993 in which the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) had the same number of teams.

A lockout occurred during March 1–17, but it did not impact the regular season.[1]

The All-Star Game, held at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, was a 7–1 victory for the NL over the AL.

The Reds won the 1976 World Series by sweeping the New York Yankees in four games; the Reds remain the only team to go undefeated in the postseason since the advent of the divisional era in 1969. It was the Reds' last title until Lou Piniella led the team to a championship in 1990. This was the second time that the Yankees were swept in a World Series, the first having been by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.

Standings

American League

More information Team, W ...
AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9762 .610 4535 5227
Baltimore Orioles 8874 .543 10½ 4239 4635
Boston Red Sox 8379 .512 15½ 4635 3744
Cleveland Indians 8178 .509 16 4435 3743
Detroit Tigers 7487 .460 24 3644 3843
Milwaukee Brewers 6695 .410 32 3645 3050
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More information Team, W ...
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 9072 .556 4932 4140
Oakland Athletics 8774 .540 5130 3644
Minnesota Twins 8577 .525 5 4437 4140
Texas Rangers 7686 .469 14 3942 3744
California Angels 7686 .469 14 3843 3843
Chicago White Sox 6497 .398 25½ 3545 2952
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National League

More information Team, W ...
NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 10161 .623 5328 4833
Pittsburgh Pirates 9270 .568 9 4734 4536
New York Mets 8676 .531 15 4537 4139
Chicago Cubs 7587 .463 26 4239 3348
St. Louis Cardinals 7290 .444 29 3744 3546
Montreal Expos 55107 .340 46 2753 2854
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More information Team, W ...
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 10260 .630 4932 5328
Los Angeles Dodgers 9270 .568 10 4932 4338
Houston Astros 8082 .494 22 4636 3446
San Francisco Giants 7488 .457 28 4041 3447
San Diego Padres 7389 .451 29 4238 3151
Atlanta Braves 7092 .432 32 3447 3645
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Postseason

Bracket

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
World Series
      
East NY Yankees 3
West Kansas City 2
AL NY Yankees 0
NL Cincinnati 4
East Philadelphia 0
West Cincinnati 3

Statistical leaders

More information Statistic, American League ...
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Awards and honors

Events

July–October

  • July 8 – At Wrigley Field, Randy Jones wins his 16th game of the year for the San Diego Padres, a National League record for wins at the All-Star break. He beats the Chicago Cubs 6–3. In the second half of the season, Jones will lose seven games by one run, two of them by 1–0 scores.
  • July 9 – In Montreal, the Houston Astros' Larry Dierker no-hits the host Montreal Expos, 6–0. He strikes out eight batters, including the first two in the ninth inning. Dierker had previously thrown two one-hitters.
  • July 13 – The National League emerges victorious in the annual All-Star Game by a score of 7–1. George Foster, one of seven Cincinnati Reds position players on the squad, hits a home run with three RBI, and is named the MVP. Rookie pitcher Mark Fidrych gives up two runs and takes the loss. It is the NL's 13th win over the American League in the last 14 games.
  • July 18–23 – Reggie Jackson of the Baltimore Orioles tied an American League record by becoming the sixth player to hit home runs in six consecutive games.[2]
  • July 19 – Willie Davis of the San Diego Padres gets his 2500th hit versus the Chicago Cubs, a single in the 4th off of Bill Bonham at San Diego Stadium. The Padres won 3–2.
  • July 20 – Hank Aaron set a record for most career home runs, when he hit his 755th and final career home run of his career in the seventh inning, connecting off Dick Drago of the California Angels.
  • July 23 – In a game against the Taiyō Whales, Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants hits his 700th home run, the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball to do so.
  • July 24 – In a 17–2 blowout of the Chicago White Sox, Lyman Bostock becomes the fourth Minnesota Twin to hit for the cycle. Batting fourth for the first time ever, he goes four-for-four, with four RBI and four runs scored.
  • July 26 – Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox gets his 2500th hit versus the Cleveland Indians, a double in the 1st off of Stan Thomas at Fenway Park. The Red Sox lost 9–4. Yastrzemski was beaten to the milestone one week earlier by his contemporary, Willie Davis on July 19.
  • July 28 – Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios combine on a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox top the Oakland Athletics 2–1. For Odom, this is his last major league victory.
  • August 8 – The first game of today's RoyalsWhite Sox double header at Comiskey Park sees the White Sox appear on the field in shorts. The Sox return to long pants for the second game, after stealing five bases and defeating the Royals, 5–2.
  • August 9 – John Candelaria became the first Pirates pitcher in 69 years to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh by blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 2–0. Candelaria's no-hitter came at Three Rivers Stadium. No Pirate ever threw a no-hitter at Forbes Field.
  • September 3 – At Shea Stadium, Tom Seaver fans Tommy Hutton of the Phillies in the 7th inning of the Mets 1–0 victory. Hutton is Seaver's 200th strikeout victim of the season – the 9th straight year the Mets' right-hander has reached that mark.
  • September 6 – Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager is seriously injured when the jagged end of a broken bat strikes him in the throat while he is waiting in the on-deck circle.
  • September 10 – California's Nolan Ryan strikes out 18 White Sox hitters in a 9-inning 3–2 victory at Chicago.
  • September 11 – Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso comes out of his twelve-year retirement. Playing at home for the White Sox, he goes 0-for-3 against Frank Tanana. The next day, he will single, becoming the oldest player to hit safely in a Major League game.
  • September 18 – Player-Manager Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians inserts himself into the lineup as a pinch hitter in the eight inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles. He singles in what will be his final at-bat as a player. His influence as a manager and executive will continue for decades to come.
  • September 21 – In Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Reds clinch the National League West title with a 9–1 pasting of the San Diego Padres.
  • September 25 – The Yankees put an end to a 6-game losing streak with a 10–6 win over the Tigers to wrap up the AL East, the Yankees' first visit to the postseason since the 1964 World Series. Doyle Alexander gets the victory.
  • September 26 – In the last big league games at Montreal's Jarry Park, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos 4–1 in the first game of a doubleheader to clinch the National League East title. Philly takes the nightcap, 2–1. Following the 2nd game, Dick Allen jumps the team in protest of the fact that veteran Tony Taylor is not listed on the post-season roster.
  • September 28 – The Dodgers' Walter Alston, after 23 seasons and 2,040 victories, steps down as manager. Third base coach Tommy Lasorda is promoted to the post.
  • September 29 – John Montefusco of the San Francisco Giants no-hits the Atlanta Braves 9–0 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
  • October 3 – Hank Aaron plays the final game of his eventual hall of fame career in a loss to the Detroit Tigers in Milwaukee County Stadium 5–2. He had 3 at bats being struck out the first two times with the final at bat being an RBI.

Home field attendance

More information Team name, Wins ...
Team name Wins Home attendance Per game
Cincinnati Reds[3] 102 −5.6% 2,629,708 13.6% 32,466
Philadelphia Phillies[4] 101 17.4% 2,480,150 29.9% 30,619
Los Angeles Dodgers[5] 92 4.5% 2,386,301 −6.0% 29,461
New York Yankees[6] 97 16.9% 2,012,434 56.2% 25,155
Boston Red Sox[7] 83 −12.6% 1,895,846 8.4% 23,406
Kansas City Royals[8] 90 −1.1% 1,680,265 45.9% 20,744
New York Mets[9] 86 4.9% 1,468,754 −15.1% 17,912
Detroit Tigers[10] 74 29.8% 1,467,020 38.6% 18,338
San Diego Padres[11] 73 2.8% 1,458,478 13.8% 18,231
St. Louis Cardinals[12] 72 −12.2% 1,207,079 −28.8% 14,902
Texas Rangers[13] 76 −3.8% 1,164,982 3.3% 14,382
Baltimore Orioles[14] 88 −2.2% 1,058,609 5.6% 13,069
Chicago Cubs[15] 75 0.0% 1,026,217 −0.8% 12,669
Pittsburgh Pirates[16] 92 0.0% 1,025,945 −19.2% 12,666
Milwaukee Brewers[17] 66 −2.9% 1,012,164 −16.6% 12,496
California Angels[18] 76 5.6% 1,006,774 −4.9% 12,429
Cleveland Indians[19] 81 2.5% 948,776 −2.9% 12,010
Chicago White Sox[20] 64 −14.7% 914,945 21.9% 11,437
Houston Astros[21] 80 25.0% 886,146 3.3% 10,807
Atlanta Braves[22] 70 4.5% 818,179 53.0% 10,101
Oakland Athletics[23] 87 −11.2% 780,593 −27.4% 9,637
Minnesota Twins[24] 85 11.8% 715,394 −3.0% 8,832
Montreal Expos[25] 55 −26.7% 646,704 −28.8% 8,084
San Francisco Giants[26] 74 −7.5% 626,868 19.9% 7,739
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Television coverage

This was the first season of MLB's new national TV rights agreements with ABC and NBC. ABC won the rights to show Monday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game and both League Championship Series in even-numbered years, and World Series in odd-numbered years. NBC continued to air the weekend Game of the Week, as well as All-Star Game and both League Championship Series in odd-numbered years, and World Series in even-numbered years.

This was the final year NBC used radio announcers of the two competing teams in the World Series (in 1976, Cincinnati Reds radio announcer Marty Brenneman and New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto were used) as part of the television broadcast team. Starting in 1978 when NBC had the World Series again, they used their standard broadcast team of Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek with no team announcers as part of the coverage.

References

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