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, 15+1⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship.

1976 Boston Red Sox
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	83–79 (.512)
Divisional place	3rd (15+1⁄2 GB)
Owners	Tom Yawkey, Jean Yawkey^[a]
President	Tom Yawkey, Jean Yawkey
General manager	Dick O'Connell
Managers	Darrell Johnson (41–45) Don Zimmer (42–34)
Television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Dick Stockton, Ken Harrelson)
Radio	WMEX-AM 1510 (Ned Martin, Jim Woods)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
← 1975 Seasons 1977 →

Offseason

• November 17, 1975: Juan Beniquez and Steve Barr were traded by the Red Sox to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.
• December 12, 1975: Roger Moret was traded by the Red Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Tom House.^[1]
• February 15, 1976: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[2]
• March 3, 1976: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer.^[3]

Regular season

Record by month^[4]

Month	Record		Cumulative		AL East		Ref.
	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Position	GB
April	6	7	6	7	5th	4	^[5]
May	13	15	19	22	4th	7	^[6]
June	15	13	34	35	3rd (tie)	9	^[7]
July	12	19	46	54	5th	15+1⁄2	^[8]
August	16	14	62	68	4th	18	^[9]
September	18	11	80	79	4th	16	^[10]
October	3	0	83	79	3rd	15+1⁄2	^[11]

Highlights

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.

On June 15, Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley attempted to sell left fielder Joe Rudi and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each, and starting pitcher Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million. Three days later, Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn voided the transactions, citing "the best interests of baseball."^[12]

The Red Sox' beloved owner, Tom Yawkey, died of leukemia in July.^[13] 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.

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	97	62	0.610	—	45–35	52–27
Baltimore Orioles	88	74	0.543	10½	42–39	46–35
Boston Red Sox	83	79	0.512	15½	46–35	37–44
Cleveland Indians	81	78	0.509	16	44–35	37–43
Detroit Tigers	74	87	0.460	24	36–44	38–43
Milwaukee Brewers	66	95	0.410	32	36–45	30–50

Record vs. opponents

1976 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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

• April 7, 1976: Diego Seguí was released by the Red Sox.^[14]
• May 4, 1976: Gene Michael was released by the Red Sox.^[2]
• June 3, 1976: Bernie Carbo was traded by the Red Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bobby Darwin and Tom Murphy.^[15]
• June 8, 1976: Wade Boggs was drafted by the Red Sox in the 7th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed June 10, 1976.^[16]

Opening Day lineup

17	Cecil Cooper	DH
5	Denny Doyle	2B
19	Fred Lynn	CF
14	Jim Rice	LF
8	Carl Yastrzemski	1B
27	Carlton Fisk	C
24	Dwight Evans	RF
6	Rico Petrocelli	3B
7	Rick Burleson	SS
31	Ferguson Jenkins	P

Source:^[17]

Roster

1976 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 26 Reggie Cleveland 29 Tom House 31 Ferguson Jenkins 46 Rick Jones 21 Rick Kreuger 37 Bill Lee 47 Tom Murphy 45 Dick Pole 23 Luis Tiant 38 Jim Willoughby 40 Rick Wise		Catchers 27 Carlton Fisk 50 Andy Merchant 10 Bob Montgomery 22 Ernie Whitt Infielders 41 Jack Baker  7 Rick Burleson 15,17 Cecil Cooper  3 Steve Dillard  5 Denny Doyle  2 Doug Griffin 12 Bob Heise  4 Butch Hobson 30 Deron Johnson  6 Rico Petrocelli  8 Carl Yastrzemski		Outfielders  1 Bernie Carbo 42 Bobby Darwin 24 Dwight Evans 19 Fred Lynn 16 Rick Miller 14 Jim Rice		Managers 22 Darrell Johnson 34 Don Zimmer Coaches 33 Don Bryant (Bullpen) 35 Johnny Pesky (First base) 36 Eddie Popowski (Bench/third base) 32 Stan Williams (Pitching) 34 Don Zimmer (Third base)

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	AVG	SLG
Jim Rice	153	581	75	164	25	8	25	85	8	28	.282	.482
Carl Yastrzemski	155	546	71	146	23	2	21	102	5	80	.267	.432
Rick Burleson	152	540	75	157	27	1	7	42	14	60	.291	.383
Fred Lynn	132	507	76	159	32	8	10	65	14	48	.314	.467
Dwight Evans	146	501	61	121	34	5	17	62	6	57	.242	.431
Carlton Fisk	134	487	76	124	17	5	17	58	12	56	.255	.415
Cecil Cooper	123	451	66	127	22	6	15	78	7	16	.282	.457
Denny Doyle	117	432	51	108	15	5	0	26	8	22	.250	.308
Rick Miller	105	269	40	76	15	3	0	27	11	34	.283	.361
Butch Hobson	76	269	34	63	7	5	8	34	0	15	.234	.387
Rico Petrocelli	85	240	17	51	7	1	3	24	0	34	.213	.288
Steve Dillard	57	167	22	46	14	0	1	15	6	17	.275	.377
Doug Griffin	49	127	14	24	2	0	0	4	2	9	.189	.205
Bobby Darwin	43	106	9	19	5	2	3	13	1	2	.179	.349
Bob Montgomery	31	93	10	23	3	1	3	13	0	5	.247	.398
Bob Heise	32	56	5	15	2	0	0	5	0	1	.268	.304
Bernie Carbo	17	55	5	13	4	0	2	6	1	8	.236	.418
Deron Johnson	15	38	3	5	1	1	0	0	0	5	.132	.211
Jack Baker	12	23	1	3	0	0	1	2	0	1	.130	.261
Ernie Whitt	8	18	4	4	2	0	1	3	0	2	.222	.500
Andy Merchant	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Pitcher Totals	162	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Team Totals	162	5511	716	1448	257	53	134	664	95	500	.263	.402

Source:[13]

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Luis Tiant	21	12	3.06	38	38	0	279.0	274	107	95	64	131
Rick Wise	14	11	3.53	34	34	0	224.1	218	100	88	48	93
Fergie Jenkins	12	11	3.27	30	29	0	209.0	201	85	76	43	142
Reggie Cleveland	10	9	3.07	41	14	2	170.0	159	73	58	61	76
Dick Pole	6	5	4.33	31	15	0	120.2	131	62	58	48	49
Rick Jones	5	3	3.36	24	14	0	104.1	133	48	39	26	45
Jim Willoughby	3	12	2.82	54	0	10	99.0	94	38	31	31	37
Bill Lee	5	7	5.63	24	14	3	96.0	124	68	60	28	29
Tom Murphy	4	5	3.44	37	0	8	81.0	91	43	31	25	32
Tom House	1	3	4.33	36	0	4	43.2	39	22	21	19	27
Rick Kreuger	2	1	4.06	8	4	0	31.0	31	14	14	16	12
Team Totals	83	79	3.52	162	162	27	1458.0	1495	660	571	409	673

Source:[14]

Statistical leaders

 

Luis Tiant

Category	Player	Statistic
Youngest player	Rick Jones	21
Oldest player	Deron Johnson	37
Wins Above Replacement	Luis Tiant	6.2

Source:^[18]

Batting

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
G	Games played	Carl Yastrzemski	155
PA	Plate appearances	Carl Yastrzemski	636
AB	At bats	Jim Rice	581
R	Runs scored	Carlton Fisk	76
		Fred Lynn
H	Hits	Jim Rice	164
2B	Doubles	Dwight Evans	34
3B	Triples	Fred Lynn	8
		Jim Rice
HR	Home runs	Jim Rice	25
RBI	Runs batted in	Carl Yastrzemski	102
SB	Stolen bases	Rick Burleson	14
		Fred Lynn
CS	Caught stealing	Rick Miller	10
BB	Base on balls	Carl Yastrzemski	80
SO	Strikeouts	Jim Rice	123
BA	Batting average	Fred Lynn	.314
OBP	On-base percentage	Fred Lynn	.367
SLG	Slugging percentage	Jim Rice	.482
OPS	On-base plus slugging	Fred Lynn	.835
OPS+	Adjusted OPS	Fred Lynn	132
TB	Total bases	Jim Rice	280
GIDP	Grounded into double play	Jim Rice	18
HBP	Hit by pitch	Dwight Evans	6
		Carlton Fisk
SH	Sacrifice hits	Cecil Cooper	9
SF	Sacrifice flies	Fred Lynn	10
IBB	Intentional base on balls	Cecil Cooper	6
		Carl Yastrzemski

Source:^[18]

Pitching

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
W	Wins	Luis Tiant	21
L	Losses	Luis Tiant	12
		Jim Willoughby
W-L %	Winning percentage	Luis Tiant	.636 (21–12)
ERA	Earned run average	Luis Tiant	3.06
G	Games pitched	Jim Willoughby	54
GS	Games started	Luis Tiant	38
GF	Games finished	Jim Willoughby	40
CG	Complete games	Luis Tiant	19
SHO	Shutouts	Rick Wise	4
SV	Saves	Jim Willoughby	10
IP	Innings pitched	Luis Tiant	279
SO	Strikeouts	Ferguson Jenkins	142
WHIP	Walks plus hits per inning pitched	Ferguson Jenkins	1.167

Source:^[18]

Awards and honors

• Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF)
• Luis Tiant – AL Player of the Month (August)

All-Star Game

• Carlton Fisk, reserve C
• Fred Lynn, starting CF
• Luis Tiant, reserve P
• Carl Yastrzemski, reserve OF

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

† The Pawtucket Red Sox were known as the Rhode Island Red Sox during the 1976 season.^[19]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Elmira
Source:^[20][21]

Notes

1. Tom Yawkey died in July; ownership and oversight of the club passed to his wife, Jean.

References

1. The Montreal Gazette – Google News Archive Search
2. Gene Michael page at Baseball Reference
3. Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
4. "The 1976 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
5. "Events of Friday, April 30, 1976".
6. "Events of Monday, May 31, 1976".
7. "Events of Wednesday, June 30, 1976".
8. "Events of Saturday, July 31, 1976".
9. "Events of Tuesday, August 31, 1976".
10. "Events of Thursday, September 30, 1976".
11. "Events of Sunday, October 3, 1976".
12. "Kuhn void sale of A's stars to Sox, Yankees". The Boston Globe. June 19, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
13. Driscoll, Edgar (July 10, 1976). "Tom Yawkey, Red Sox owner, dies at 73". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
14. Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference
15. Bobby Darwin page at Baseball Reference
16. Wade Boggs page at Baseball Reference
17. "Baltimore Orioles 1, Boston Red Sox 0". Retrosheet. April 9, 1976. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
18. "1976 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
19. "Name change is made at Pawtucket". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. UPI. January 16, 1976. p. 10. Retrieved September 29, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
20. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
21. Boston Red Sox Official Yearbook. 1976. p. 36. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

External links

• 1976 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1976 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com