1976 California Angels season

1976  California Angels
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Anaheim Stadium
City	Anaheim, California
Owners	Gene Autry
General managers	Harry Dalton
Managers	Dick Williams, Norm Sherry
Television	KTLA
Radio	KMPC (Dick Enberg, Dave Niehaus, Don Drysdale)
←  1975 Seasons 1977  →

The 1976 California Angels season was the 16th season of the Angels franchise in the American League, the 11th in Anaheim, and their 11th season playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium. The Angels finished the season fourth in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.

After a concert by The Who in March, groundskeepers reported that more than 100 marijuana plants sprouted on the playing field of Anaheim Stadium. ^[1]

Offseason

• January 7, 1976: Ernie Camacho was drafted by the Angels in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the January 1976 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. ^[2]
• March 3, 1976: John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer were traded by the Angels to the Boston Red Sox for Dick Drago. ^[3]

Regular season

• July 20, 1976: Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Brewers hit the 755th and final home run of his career off Angels pitcher Dick Drago. ^[4]
• August 31, 1976: Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out Ron LeFlore of the Detroit Tigers for the 2000th strikeout of his career. ^[5]
• September 10, 1976: Nolan Ryan had 18 strikeouts in one game.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	90	72	.556	—	49‍–‍32	41‍–‍40
Oakland Athletics	87	74	.540	2½	51‍–‍30	36‍–‍44
Minnesota Twins	85	77	.525	5	44‍–‍37	41‍–‍40
Texas Rangers	76	86	.469	14	39‍–‍42	37‍–‍44
California Angels	76	86	.469	14	38‍–‍43	38‍–‍43
Chicago White Sox	64	97	.398	25½	35‍–‍45	29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

1976 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	TEX
Baltimore	—	7–11	8–4	8–4	7–11	12–6	6–6	11–7	4–8	13–5	4–8	8–4
Boston	11–7	—	7–5	6–6	9–9	14–4	3–9	12–6	7–5	7–11	4–8	3–9
California	4–8	5–7	—	11–7	7–5	6–6	8–10	4–8	8–10	5–7	6–12	12–6
Chicago	4–8	6–6	7–11	—	3–9	6–6	8–10	7–5	7–11	1–11	8–9	7–11
Cleveland	11–7	9–9	5–7	9–3	—	6–12	6–6	11–6	9–3	4–12	4–8	7–5
Detroit	6–12	4–14	6–6	6–6	12–6	—	4–8	12–6	4–8	9–8	6–6	5–7
Kansas City	6–6	9–3	10–8	10–8	6–6	8–4	—	8–4	10–8	7–5	9–9	7–11
Milwaukee	7–11	6–12	8–4	5–7	6–11	6–12	4–8	—	4–8	5–13	5–7	10–2
Minnesota	8–4	5–7	10–8	11–7	3–9	8–4	8–10	8–4	—	2–10	11–7	11–7
New York	5–13	11–7	7–5	11–1	12–4	8–9	5–7	13–5	10–2	—	6–6	9–3
Oakland	8–4	8–4	12–6	9–8	8–4	6–6	9–9	7–5	7–11	6–6	—	7–11
Texas	4–8	9–3	6–12	11–7	5–7	7–5	11–7	2–10	7–11	3–9	11–7	—

Notable transactions

• May 17, 1976: Bobby Jones was selected off waivers by the Angels from the Texas Rangers. ^[6]
• June 6, 1976: Ed Herrmann was traded by the Angels to the Houston Astros for Terry Humphrey and Mike Barlow. ^[7]

Draft picks

• June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
  • Ken Landreaux was drafted by the Angels in the 1st round (6th pick). ^[8]
  • Danny Boone was drafted by the Angels in the 2nd round of the secondary phase, but did not sign. ^[9]

Roster

1976 California Angels
Roster
Pitchers 21 Jim Brewer 41 Dick Drago 39 Steve Dunning 45 Paul Hartzell 42 Andy Hassler 33 Don Kirkwood 43 Sid Monge 44 Mike Overy 47 Gary Ross 30 Nolan Ryan 19 Mickey Scott 40 Frank Tanana 48 John Verhoeven 52 Gary Wheelock		Catchers  8 Andy Etchebarren 10 Adrian Garrett 15 Ike Hampton 12 Ed Herrmann  9 Terry Humphrey Infielders  4 Dan Briggs  7 Dave Chalk 12 Tommy Davis 11 Mario Guerrero 16 Ron Jackson 14 Bill Melton  5 Mike Miley 38 Tim Nordbrook  1 Orlando Ramírez  2 Jerry Remy 11 Billy Smith 27 Tony Solaita		Outfielders 17 Orlando Alvarez 22 Bruce Bochte 25 Bobby Bonds 28 Dave Collins 29 Paul Dade 9,14 Bobby Jones  4 Joe Lahoud 15,32 Carlos López 36 Leroy Stanton  3 Rusty Torres Other batters 10 Mike Easler		Manager 37 Norm Sherry 23 Dick Williams Coaches 49 Bob Clear 24 Vern Hoscheit 26 Billy Muffett 50 Jimmie Reese 27 Grover Resinger 37 Norm Sherry

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	Andy Etchebarren	103	247	56	.227	0	21
1B	Tony Solaita	63	215	58	.270	9	33
2B	Jerry Remy	143	502	132	.263	0	28
3B	Ron Jackson	127	410	93	.227	8	40
SS	Dave Chalk	142	438	95	.217	0	33
LF	Bruce Bochte	146	466	120	.248	2	49
CF	Rusty Torres	120	264	54	.205	6	27
RF	Bobby Bonds	99	378	100	.265	10	54
DH	Tommy Davis	72	219	58	.265	3	26

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
Dave Collins	99	365	96	.263	4	28
Bill Melton	118	341	71	.208	6	42
Mario Guerrero	83	268	76	.284	1	18
Dan Briggs	77	248	53	.214	1	14
Leroy Stanton	93	231	44	.190	2	25
Terry Humphrey	71	196	48	.245	1	19
Bobby Jones	78	166	35	.211	6	17
Joe Lahoud	42	96	17	.177	0	4
Orlando Ramírez	30	70	14	.200	0	5
Mike Easler	21	54	13	.241	0	4
Adrian Garrett	29	48	6	.125	0	3
Ed Herrmann	29	46	8	.174	2	8
Orlando Álvarez	15	42	7	.167	2	8
Mike Miley	14	38	7	.184	0	4
Carlos López	9	10	0	.000	0	0
Paul Dade	13	9	1	.111	0	1
Tim Nordbrook	5	8	0	.000	0	0
Billy Smith	13	8	3	.375	0	0
Ike Hampton	3	2	0	.000	0	0

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
Frank Tanana	34	288.1	19	10	2.43	261
Nolan Ryan	39	284.1	17	18	3.36	327
Gary Ross	34	225.0	8	16	3.00	100
Don Kirkwood	28	157.2	6	12	4.62	78

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
Paul Hartzell	37	166.0	7	4	2.77	51
Sid Monge	32	117.2	6	7	3.37	53
Andy Hassler	14	47.1	0	6	5.13	16

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
Dick Drago	43	7	8	6	4.42	43
Mickey Scott	33	3	0	3	3.23	10
John Verhoeven	21	0	2	4	3.38	23
Jim Brewer	13	3	1	2	3.70	16
Mike Overy	5	0	2	0	6.14	8
Steve Dunning	4	0	0	0	7.50	4
Gary Wheelock	2	0	0	0	27.00	2

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Salt Lake City Gulls	Pacific Coast League	Jimy Williams
AA	El Paso Diablos	Texas League	Bobby Knoop
A	Salinas Packers	California League	Del Crandall
A	Quad Cities Angels	Midwest League	Moose Stubing
Rookie	Idaho Falls Angels	Pioneer League	Larry Himes

Notes

1. "Some Goose Eggs Are on Anaheim Stadium Scoreboard". Los Angeles Times . April 19, 1986.
2. Ernie Camacho at Baseball-Reference
3. Dick Drago at Baseball-Reference
4. "Historic Home Runs". Time. August 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
5. "The Nolan Ryan Express | The Strikeout King". smackbomb.com/nolanryan. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
6. Bobby Jones at Baseball-Reference
7. Terry Humphrey at Baseball-Reference
8. Ken Landreaux at Baseball-Reference
9. Danny Boone at Baseball-Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.

External links

• 1976 California Angels at Baseball-Reference
• 1976 California Angels at Baseball Almanac