1976 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1976 MLB season
League Major League Baseball
Sport Baseball
DurationApril 8 – October 21, 1976
Number of games162
Number of teams24
TV partner(s) ABC, NBC
Draft
Top draft pick Floyd Bannister
Picked by Houston Astros
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Thurman Munson (NYY)
NL: Joe Morgan (CIN)
Postseason
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Kansas City Royals
NL champions Cincinnati Reds
  NL runners-up Philadelphia Phillies
World Series
Champions Cincinnati Reds
  Runners-up New York Yankees
World Series MVP Johnny Bench (CIN)
MLB seasons

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

Contents

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

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9762.61045355227
Baltimore Orioles 8874.54310½42394635
Boston Red Sox 8379.51215½46353744
Cleveland Indians 8178.5091644353743
Detroit Tigers 7487.4602436443843
Milwaukee Brewers 6695.4103236453050
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 9072.55649324140
Oakland Athletics 8774.54051303644
Minnesota Twins 8577.525544374140
Texas Rangers 7686.4691439423744
California Angels 7686.4691438433843
Chicago White Sox 6497.39825½35452952

National League

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 10161.62353284833
Pittsburgh Pirates 9270.568947344536
New York Mets 8676.5311545374139
Chicago Cubs 7587.4632642393348
St. Louis Cardinals 7290.4442937443546
Montreal Expos 55107.3404627532854
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 10260.63049325328
Los Angeles Dodgers 9270.5681049324338
Houston Astros 8082.4942246363446
San Francisco Giants 7488.4572840413447
San Diego Padres 7389.4512942383151
Atlanta Braves 7092.4323234473645

Postseason

Bracket

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
World Series
      
East NY Yankees 3
West Kansas City 2
AL NY Yankees 0
NL Cincinnati4
East Philadelphia 0
West Cincinnati 3

Awards and honors

  American League National League
AwardPlayerPositionTeamPlayerPositionTeam
Most Valuable Player Thurman Munson CNYY Joe Morgan 2BCIN
Cy Young Award Jim Palmer RHPBAL Randy Jones LHPSD
Rookie of the Year Mark Fidrych RHPDET Butch Metzger
Pat Zachry
RHP
RHP
SD
CIN
Relief Man of the Year Bill Campbell RHPMIN Rawly Eastwick RHPCIN

July–October

Statistical leaders

Statistic American League National League
AVG George Brett KC.333 Bill Madlock CHI.339
HR Graig Nettles NYY32 Mike Schmidt PHI38
RBI Lee May BAL109 George Foster CIN121
SB Billy North OAK75 Davey Lopes LA63
Wins Jim Palmer BAL22 Randy Jones SD22
ERA Mark Fidrych DET2.34 John Denny STL2.52
SO Nolan Ryan CAL327 Tom Seaver NYM235
SV Sparky Lyle NYY23 Rawly Eastwick CIN26

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
Cincinnati Reds [2] 102-5.6%2,629,70813.6%32,466
Philadelphia Phillies [3] 10117.4%2,480,15029.9%30,619
Los Angeles Dodgers [4] 924.5%2,386,301-6.0%29,461
New York Yankees [5] 9716.9%2,012,43456.2%25,155
Boston Red Sox [6] 83-12.6%1,895,8468.4%23,406
Kansas City Royals [7] 90-1.1%1,680,26545.9%20,744
New York Mets [8] 864.9%1,468,754-15.1%17,912
Detroit Tigers [9] 7429.8%1,467,02038.6%18,338
San Diego Padres [10] 732.8%1,458,47813.8%18,231
St. Louis Cardinals [11] 72-12.2%1,207,079-28.8%14,902
Texas Rangers [12] 76-3.8%1,164,9823.3%14,382
Baltimore Orioles [13] 88-2.2%1,058,6095.6%13,069
Chicago Cubs [14] 750.0%1,026,217-0.8%12,669
Pittsburgh Pirates [15] 920.0%1,025,945-19.2%12,666
Milwaukee Brewers [16] 66-2.9%1,012,164-16.6%12,496
California Angels [17] 765.6%1,006,774-4.9%12,429
Cleveland Indians [18] 812.5%948,776-2.9%12,010
Chicago White Sox [19] 64-14.7%914,94521.9%11,437
Houston Astros [20] 8025.0%886,1463.3%10,807
Atlanta Braves [21] 704.5%818,17953.0%10,101
Oakland Athletics [22] 87-11.2%780,593-27.4%9,637
Minnesota Twins [23] 8511.8%715,394-3.0%8,832
Montreal Expos [24] 55-26.7%646,704-28.8%8,084
San Francisco Giants [25] 74-7.5%626,86819.9%7,739

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.

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References

  1. "Labor Pains". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2011 via Wayback Machine.
  2. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.