1976 Boston Red Sox season

The 1976 Boston Red Sox season was the 76th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses, 15½ games behind the New York Yankees.

1976 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s)Tom Yawkey, Jean Yawkey
General manager(s)Dick O'Connell
Manager(s)Darrell Johnson (W-41; L-45) and Don Zimmer (W-42; L-34)
Local televisionWSBK-TV, Ch. 38
(Dick Stockton, Ken Harrelson)
Local radioWMEX-AM 1510
(Ned Martin, Jim Woods)
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The Red Sox did not come close to repeating the previous year's success. An off-season contract dispute with Fred Lynn was a distraction. In early May, a brawl with the New York Yankees led to a shoulder injury for Bill Lee, one of their best pitchers and a 17-game winner in 1975; Lee would be out until mid-1977, and his loss was keenly felt. The Red Sox' beloved owner, Tom Yawkey, died of leukemia in July. Manager Darrell Johnson was fired shortly thereafter, and replaced by coach Don Zimmer. Overall, it was a disappointing season for a talented but underachieving team.

Offseason
  • November 17, 1975: Juan Beniquez and Steve Barr were traded by the Red Sox to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.
  • February 15, 1976: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[1]
  • March 3, 1976: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer.[2]

Regular season

On June 15, 1976, Oakland A's owner Charlie O. Finley attempted to sell left fielder Joe Rudi and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each. Three days later, Bowie Kuhn voided the transactions in the "best interests of baseball."

Season standings
AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9762 0.610 — 45–35 52–27
Baltimore Orioles 8874 0.543 10½ 42–39 46–35
Boston Red Sox 8379 0.512 15½ 46–35 37–44
Cleveland Indians 8178 0.509 16 44–35 37–43
Detroit Tigers 7487 0.460 24 36–44 38–43
Milwaukee Brewers 6695 0.410 32 36–45 30–50

Record vs. opponents
1976 American League Records

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK TEX
Baltimore —7–118–48–47–1112–66–611–74–813–54–88–4
Boston 11–7—7–56–69–914–43–912–67–57–114–83–9
California 4–85–7—11–77–56–68–104–88–105–76–1212–6
Chicago 4–86–67–11—3–96–68–107–57–111–118–97–11
Cleveland 11–79–95–79–3—6–126–611–69–34–124–87–5
Detroit 6–124–146–66–612–6—4–812–64–89–86–65–7
Kansas City 6–69–310–810–86–68–4—8–410–87–59–97–11
Milwaukee 7–116–128–45–76–116–124–8—4–85–135–710–2
Minnesota 8–45–710–811–73–98–48–108–4—2–1011–711–7
New York 5–1311–77–511–112–48–95–713–510–2—6–69–3
Oakland 8–48–412–69–88–46–69–97–57–116–6—7–11
Texas 4–89–36–1211–75–77–511–72–107–113–911–7—

Notable transactions

Opening Day lineup
17Cecil CooperDH
  5Denny Doyle2B
19Fred LynnCF
14Jim RiceLF
  8Carl Yastrzemski    1B
27Carlton FiskC
24Dwight EvansRF
  6Rico Petrocelli3B
  7Rick BurlesonSS
31Ferguson JenkinsP

Roster
1976 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders
  • 24 Dwight Evans
 Managers

Coaches

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

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
Bobby Darwin4310619.179313
Bernie Carbo175513.23626

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

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
Reggie Cleveland411701093.0776

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

Awards and honors
All-Star Game

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Pawtucket Red Sox International League Joe Morgan
AA Bristol Red Sox Eastern League John Kennedy
A Winston-Salem Red Sox Carolina League Tony Torchia
A Winter Haven Red Sox Florida State League Rac Slider
A-Short Season Elmira Red Sox New York–Penn League Dick Berardino

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Elmira

Notes
  1. Gene Michael page at Baseball Reference
  2. Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
  3. Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference
  4. Bobby Darwin page at Baseball Reference
  5. Wade Boggs page 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.
  • 1976 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
  • 1976 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
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