1976 Texas Rangers season

1976  Texas Rangers
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Arlington Stadium
City	Arlington, Texas
Record	76–86 (.469)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Bradford G. Corbett
General managers	Dan O'Brien Sr.
Managers	Frank Lucchesi
Television	KXAS-TV (Dick Risenhoover, Tom Vandergriff)
Radio	WBAP (Dick Risenhoover, Bill Merrill)
←  1975 Seasons 1977  →

The 1976 Texas Rangers season was the 16th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 5th in Arlington as the Rangers, and the 5th season at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.

Offseason

• November 12, 1975: Dave Nelson was traded by the Rangers to the Kansas City Royals for Nelson Briles. ^[1]
• December 9, 1975: Stan Thomas and Ron Pruitt were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for John Ellis. ^[2]
• March 12, 1976: Mike Kekich was released by the Rangers. ^[3]

Regular season

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 10, 1976: Danny Darwin was signed as an amateur free agent by the Rangers. ^[4]
• May 17, 1976: Bobby Jones was selected off waivers from the Rangers by the California Angels. ^[5]
• May 28, 1976: Stan Perzanowski and cash were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Fritz Peterson. ^[6]
• June 1, 1976: Bill Singer, Roy Smalley, Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon, and $250,000 were traded by the Rangers to the Minnesota Twins for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson. ^[7]
• June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
  • Billy Sample was drafted by the Rangers in the 10th round. ^[8]
  • Andre Robertson was drafted by the Rangers in the 12th round, but did not sign. ^[9]

Roster

1976 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 25 Mike Bacsik 39 Len Barker 35 Steve Barr 28 Bert Blyleven 38 Tommy Boggs 34 Nelson Briles 29 Steve Foucault 26 Steve Hargan 43 Joe Hoerner 36 Gaylord Perry 18 Stan Perzanowski 19 Fritz Peterson 48 Bill Singer 33 Craig Skok 46 Jeff Terpko 40 Jim Umbarger		Catchers  9 John Ellis 14 Bill Fahey 10 Jim Sundberg Infielders 22 Doug Ault  4 Mike Cubbage 17 Jim Fregosi 21 Mike Hargrove 11 Toby Harrah 13 Roy Howell  5 Ken Pape 15 Greg Pryor  7 Lenny Randle 15 Roy Smalley  4 Danny Thompson		Outfielders 12 Juan Beníquez 20 Jeff Burroughs 16 Gene Clines  6 Tom Grieve  3 Joe Lahoud 30 Dave Moates		Manager 44 Frank Lucchesi Coaches 45 Pat Corrales 47 Dick Gernert 54 Sid Hudson 42 Jackie Moore

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	Jim Sundberg	140	448	102	.228	3	34
1B	Mike Hargrove	151	541	155	.287	7	58
2B	Lenny Randle	142	539	121	.224	1	51
3B	Roy Howell	140	491	124	.253	8	53
SS	Toby Harrah	155	584	152	.260	15	67
LF	Gene Clines	116	446	123	.276	0	38
CF	Juan Beníquez	145	478	122	.255	0	33
RF	Jeff Burroughs	158	604	143	.237	18	86
DH	Tom Grieve	149	546	139	.255	20	81

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
Danny Thompson	64	196	42	.214	1	13
Dave Moates	85	137	33	.241	0	13
Jim Fregosi	58	133	31	.233	2	12
Roy Smalley	41	129	29	.225	1	8
Joe Lahoud	38	89	20	.225	1	5
Bill Fahey	38	80	20	.250	1	9
Mike Cubbage	14	32	7	.219	0	0
John Ellis	11	31	13	.419	1	8
Ken Pape	21	23	5	.217	1	4
Doug Ault	9	20	6	.300	0	0
Greg Pryor	5	8	3	.375	0	1

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
Gaylord Perry	32	250.1	15	14	3.24	143
Nelson Briles	32	210.0	11	9	3.26	98
Bert Blyleven	24	202.1	9	11	2.76	144
Jim Umbarger	30	197.1	10	12	3.15	105
Tommy Boggs	13	90.1	1	7	3.49	36
Bill Singer	10	64.2	4	1	3.48	34
Len Barker	2	15.0	1	0	2.40	7

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
Steve Hargan	35	124.1	8	8	3.62	63
Steve Barr	20	67.2	2	6	5.59	27
Fritz Peterson	4	15.0	1	0	3.60	4

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
Joe Hoerner	41	0	4	8	5.14	15
Steve Foucault	46	8	8	5	3.33	41
Jeff Terpko	32	3	3	0	2.39	24
Mike Bacsik	23	3	2	0	4.25	21
Craig Skok	9	0	1	0	12.60	5
Stan Perzanowski	5	0	0	0	10.03	6

Awards and honors

• Jim Sundberg, C, Gold Glove, 1976

All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Sacramento Solons	Pacific Coast League	Rich Donnelly
AA	San Antonio Brewers	Texas League	Marty Martínez
A	Asheville Tourists	Western Carolinas League	Wayne Terwilliger
Rookie	GCL Rangers	Gulf Coast League	Joe Klein

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Rangers

Notes

1. Royals trade Briles to Texas
2. Stan Thomas page at Baseball Reference
3. Mike Kekich page at Baseball-Reference
4. Danny Darwin page at Baseball Reference
5. Bobby Jones page at Baseball Reference
6. Fritz Peterson page at Baseball Reference
7. Bert Blyleven page at Baseball Reference
8. Billy Sample page at Baseball-Reference
9. Andre Robertson page at Baseball-Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-1-932391-17-6.

External links

• 1976 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1976 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com