1976 Cincinnati Reds season

March 2026 November 2013 Cincinnati Reds 1976 World Series championsNational League championsNational League West champions National League West Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati 102 60 y 1st Louis Nippert Bob Howsam Sparky Anderson WLWT(Ken Coleman, Bill Brown) WLW(Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall) The 1976 Cincinnati Reds season was the 107th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 7th and 6th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The Reds dominated the league all season and won their second consecutive National League West title with a record of 102–60, finishing ten games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the best record in baseball, they went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS in three straight games to reach the World Series. They proceeded to win the title in four straight games over the New York Yankees. They were the third National League team to achieve this distinction, and the first since the 1921–22 New York Giants. The Reds drew 2,629,708 fans to their home games at Riverfront Stadium, an all-time franchise attendance record.Cincinnati Reds Attendance Records https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/redsatte.shtml 2024-09-12 Baseball Almanac As mentioned above, the Reds swept through the entire postseason with their sweeps of the Phillies and Yankees, achieving a record of 7-0. As of , the Reds are the only team in baseball history to sweep through an entire postseason in the divisional era. Offseason October 24, 1975: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Reds to the Houston Astros for players to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Luis Sánchez and Carlos Alfonso (minors) to the Reds on December 12.Joaquín Andújar https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/andujjo01.shtml 2024-09-12 Baseball-Reference.com en December 12, 1975: Clay Carroll was traded by the Reds to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Hinton and Jeff Sovern (minors).Rich Hinton https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hintori01.shtml 2024-09-12 Baseball-Reference.com en Regular season Season summary The "Big Red Machine" was at the height of its power in the 1976 season, with four future Hall-of-Famers (Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez, and manager Sparky Anderson), the future MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose, and a notable supporting line up including Dave Concepción at shortstop, and Ken Griffey, César Gerónimo, and George Foster in the outfield. This would also turn out to be the final full year for the Big Red Machine, Perez would be traded in the offseason to the Montreal Expos. The Reds retained their NL pennant by winning the NLCS in three games over the Phillies, and their second consecutive World Series title by defeating the Yankees in four games, becoming only the second team to sweep a World Series from the Yankees (following the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers). By sweeping both the Phillies and Yankees, the Reds became the first and only team to have a perfect postseason since the League Championship Series was started in 1969. Joe Morgan was the NL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season and Johnny Bench was the World Series MVP. To celebrate the National League's 100th anniversary, the Reds and several other teams adopted pillbox-style caps.National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/caps.htm 2024-09-12 exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org The striped “pillbox” cap also made a comeback in 1976 when five National League clubs celebrated the “Senior Circuit’s” 100th anniversary by adopting the nostalgic style. While the Reds, Mets, Phillies and Cardinals... Season standings Record vs. opponents CIN Notable transactions April 5, 1976: Merv Rettenmund was traded by the Reds to the San Diego Padres for Rudy Meoli.Merv Rettenmund https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/retteme01.shtml 2024-09-12 Baseball-Reference.com en Roster 1976 Cincinnati Reds Roster Pitchers 42 Santo Alcalá 43 Jack Billingham 34 Pedro Borbón 44 Pat Darcy 49 Rawly Eastwick 35 Don Gullett 53 Joe Henderson 36 Rich Hinton 37 Will McEnaney 38 Gary Nolan 32 Fred Norman 45 Manny Sarmiento 40 Pat Zachry Catchers  5 Johnny Bench  9 Bill Plummer  7 Don Werner Infielders 13 Dave Concepción 22 Dan Driessen 23 Doug Flynn  8 Joe Morgan 24 Tony Pérez 14 Pete Rose Outfielders 33 Ed Armbrister 11 Bob Bailey 15 George Foster 20 César Gerónimo 30 Ken Griffey 21 Mike Lum 19 Joel Youngblood Manager 10 Sparky Anderson Coaches 18 Ted Kluszewski  2 Russ Nixon  3 George Scherger  4 Larry Shepard Game log background:#6E8B3D Game Log y background:#9EBD69; April (10–7) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 1 || April 8 || Houston Astros || W 11–5 || 1–0 || Gary Nolan || J. R. Richard || Pedro Borbón || 52,949 |- style="text-align:center;" | 2 || April 10 || Houston Astros || W 13–7 || 2–0 || Jack Billingham || Larry Dierker || Rawly Eastwick || 16,728 |- style="text-align:center;" | 3 || April 11 || Houston Astros || W 9–3 || 3–0 || Pat Darcy || Joe Niekro || || 53,390 |- style="text-align:center;" | 4 || April 13 || @ Atlanta Braves || W 6–1 || 4–0 || Fred Norman || Pablo Torrealba || || 37,973 |- style="text-align:center;" | 5 || April 15 || @ Atlanta Braves || L 5–10 || 4–1 || Phil Niekro || Jack Billingham || || 15,716 |- style="text-align:center;" | 6 || April 16 || San Francisco Giants || L 7–14 || 4–2 || Jim Barr || Pat Darcy || || 37,147 |- style="text-align:center;" | 7 || April 17 || San Francisco Giants || W 11–0 || 5–2 || Fred Norman || Ed Halicki || || 21,219 |- style="text-align:center;" | 8 || April 18 || San Francisco Giants || L 1–5 || 5–3 || John Montefusco || Gary Nolan || Gary Lavelle || 23,701 |- style="text-align:center;" | 9 || April 20 || San Diego Padres || L 5–7 || 5–4 || Butch Metzger || Will McEnaney || || 18,126 |- style="text-align:center;" | 10 || April 21 || San Diego Padres || W 5–4 || 6–4 || Fred Norman || Dave Wehrmeister || Rawly Eastwick || 16,603 |- style="text-align:center;" | 11 || April 23 || @ Montreal Expos || L 4–5 || 6–5 || Don Stanhouse || Jack Billingham|| || 5,306 |- style="text-align:center;" | 12 || April 24 || @ Montreal Expos || W 6–4 (11)|| 7–5 || Rawly Eastwick || Don Carrithers || || 11,190 |- style="text-align:center;" | 13 || April 25 || @ Montreal Expos || W 7–0 || 8–5 || Don Gullett || Steve Renko || Pat Darcy || 8,095 |- style="text-align:center;" | 14 || April 26 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || L 9–10 || 8–6 || Tug McGraw || Rawly Eastwick || || 16,565 |- style="text-align:center;" | 15 || April 27 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || W 7–3 || 9–6 || Jack Billingham || Tom Underwood || || 17,818 |- style="text-align:center;" | 16 || April 28 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || L 6–7 || 9–7 || Jim Lonborg || Pat Darcy || Tug McGraw || 20,215 |- style="text-align:center;" | 17 || April 30 || Montreal Expos || W 7–2 || 10–7 || Gary Nolan || Dan Warthen || || 20,166 |- y background:#9EBD69; May (18–10) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 26 ||May 1 || Montreal Expos || W 6–1 || 11–7 || Don Gullett || Don Carrithers || || 28,138 |- style="text-align:center;" | 27 ||May 2 || Montreal Expos || L 4–8 (16) || 11–8 || Don Stanhouse|| Pat Darcy || || 49,285 |- style="text-align:center;" | 28 ||May 4 || @ New York Mets || L 3–5 || 11–9 || Tom Seaver || Fred Norman || Skip Lockwood || 11,205 |- style="text-align:center;" | 29 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 30 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 31 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 32 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 33 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 34 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 35 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 36 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 37 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 38 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 39 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 40 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 41 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 42 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 43 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 44 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 45 || || || || || || || || |- y background:#9EBD69; June (18–12) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 46 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 47 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 48 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 49 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 50 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 51 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 52 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 53 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 54 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 55 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 56 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 57 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 58 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 59 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 60 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 61 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 62 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 63 || June 18 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || L 5–6 || 39–24 || Jim Lonborg || Jack Billingham || Gene Garber || 50,635 |- style="text-align:center;" | 64 || June 19 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || W 4–3 || 40–24 || Gary Nolan || Ron Reed || Rawly Eastwick || 36,808 |- style="text-align:center;" | 65 || June 20 || @ Philadelphia Phillies || L 1–6 || 40–25 || Jim Kaat || Don Gullett || || 38,669 |- style="text-align:center;" | 66 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 67 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 68 || June 23 || Philadelphia Phillies || L 2–4 || 42–26 || Ron Reed || Pedro Borbón || Gene Garber || 35,266 |- style="text-align:center;" | 69 || June 24 || Philadelphia Phillies || L 4–5 || 42–27 || Jim Kaat || Gary Nolan || Tug McGraw || 34,053 |- style="text-align:center;" | 70 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 71 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 72 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 73 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 74 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 75 || || || || || || || || |- y background:#9EBD69; July (20–9) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 76 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 77 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 78 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 79 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 80 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 81 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 82 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 83 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 84 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 85 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 86 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 87 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 88 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 89 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 90 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 91 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 92 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 93 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 94 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 95 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 96 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 97 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 98 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 99 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 100 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 101 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 102 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 103 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 104 || || || || || || || || |- y background:#9EBD69; August (18–11) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 105 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 106 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 107 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 108 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 109 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 110 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 111 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 112 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 113 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 114 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 115 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 116 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 117 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 118 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 119 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 120 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 121 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 122 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 123 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 124 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 125 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 126 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 127 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 128 || August 26 || Philadelphia Phillies || L 5–4 (13)|| 80–48 || Tug McGraw || Rawly Eastwick || || 38,094 |- style="text-align:center;" | 129 || August 27 || Philadelphia Phillies || W 4–1 || 81–48 || Fred Norman || Tom Underwood || Pedro Borbón || 49,821 |- style="text-align:center;" | 130 || August 28 || Philadelphia Phillies || W 8–7 || 82–48 || Rawly Eastwick || Tug McGraw || || 51,091 |- style="text-align:center;" | 131 || August 29 || Philadelphia Phillies || W 6–5 (15)|| 83–48 || Santo Alcalá || Jim Kaat || || 51,376 |- style="text-align:center;" | 132 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 133 || || || || || || || || |- y background:#9EBD69; September (16–10) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 134 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 135 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 136 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 137 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 138 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 139 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 140 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 141 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 142 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 143 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 144 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 145 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 146 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 147 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 148 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 149 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 150 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 151 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 152 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 153 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 154 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 155 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 156 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 157 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 158 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 159 || || || || || || || || |- y background:#9EBD69; October (2–1) # Date Opponent Score Record Win Loss Save Attendance |- style="text-align:center;" | 160 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 161 || || || || || || || || |- style="text-align:center;" | 162 || || || || || || || || |- Player stats =Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader Batting Starters by position Note: Pos=Position; G=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; Avg.=Batting average; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; SB=Stolen Bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB C Johnny Bench 135 465 62 109 .234 16 74 13 1B Tony Pérez 139 527 77 137 .260 19 91 10 2B Joe Morgan 141 472 113 151 .320 27 111 60 3B Pete Rose 162 665 130 215 .323 10 63 9 SS Dave Concepción 152 576 74 162 .281 9 69 21 LF George Foster George Foster (baseball) 144 562 86 172 .306 29 121 17 CF César Gerónimo 149 486 59 149 .307 2 49 22 RF Ken Griffey Ken Griffey, Sr. 148 562 111 189 .336 6 74 34https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/1976.shtml 1976 Cincinnati Reds Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics Baseball-Reference.com June 8, 2012 Other batters Note: G=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; Avg.=Batting average; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; SB=Stolen Bases Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB Dan Driessen 98 219 32 54 .247 7 44 14 Doug Flynn 93 219 20 62 .283 1 20 2 Bill Plummer 56 153 16 38 .248 4 19 0 Mike Lum 84 136 15 31 .228 3 20 0 Bob Bailey Bob Bailey (baseball) 69 124 17 37 .298 6 23 0 Joel Youngblood 55 57 8 11 .193 0 1 1 Don Werner 3 4 0 2 .500 0 1 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 Gary Nolan Gary Nolan (baseball) 34 239.1 15 9 3.46 113 Pat Zachry 38 204.0 14 7 2.74 143 Fred Norman Fred Norman (baseball) 33 180.1 12 7 3.10 126 Jack Billingham 34 177.0 12 10 4.32 76 Santo Alcalá 30 132.0 11 4 4.70 67 Don Gullett 23 126.0 11 3 3.00 64 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 Pat Darcy 11 39.0 2 3 6.23 15 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 Rawly Eastwick 71 11 5 26 2.09 70 Pedro Borbón 69 4 3 8 3.35 53 Will McEnaney 55 2 6 7 4.85 28 Manny Sarmiento 22 5 1 0 2.06 20 Rich Hinton 12 1 2 0 7.64 8 Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (baseball) 4 2 0 0 0.00 7 Postseason NLCS 1976 National League Championship Series Game 1 October 9, Veterans Stadium Team123456789RHECincinnati0010020306100Philadelphia100000002361W: Don Gullett (1–0)  L: Steve Carlton (0–1)   SV: NoneHRs: CIN – George Foster (1)   PHI – None Reds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth. George Foster added a solo homer. Game 2 October 10, Veterans Stadium Team123456789RHECincinnati000004200660Philadelphia0100100002101W: Pat Zachry (1–0)  L: Jim Lonborg (0–1)   SV: Pedro Borbón (1)HRs: CIN – None   PHI – Greg Luzinski (1) Game 3 October 12, Riverfront Stadium Team123456789RHEPhiladelphia0001002216110Cincinnati000000403792W: Rawly Eastwick (1–0)  L: Gene Garber (0–1)   SV: NoneHRs: CIN – George Foster (2)   Johnny Bench (1)   PHI – None 1976 World Series 1976 World Series Summary +NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (0)GameRoadHomeScoreDateLocationAttendanceTime of Game1 Yankees Reds 5–1 Sat. Oct 16 (D) Riverfront Stadium 54,826 2:102 Yankees Reds 4–3 Sun. Oct 17 (N) Riverfront Stadium 54,816 2:333 Reds Yankees 6–2 Tue. Oct 19 (N) Yankee Stadium 56,667 2:404 Reds Yankees 7–2 Thu. Oct 21 (N) Yankee Stadium 56,700 2:36 Awards and honors Johnny Bench, Babe Ruth AwardMLB Babe Ruth Award Winners https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/ruth.shtml 2025-03-21 Baseball-Reference.com en Johnny Bench, World Series Most Valuable Player Award George Foster, All-star Game Most Valuable Player Award Pete Rose, Roberto Clemente Award 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Johnny Bench, catcher, starter Joe Morgan, second base, starter Pete Rose, third base, starter Dave Concepción, shortstop, starter George Foster, outfield, starter Tony Pérez, first base, reserve Ken Griffey, Sr., outfielder, reserve http://www.baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1976as.shtml 1976 All-Star Game Baseball-almanac.com July 13, 1976 June 8, 2012 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Indianapolis Indians American Association Jim Snyder AA Trois-Rivières Aigles Eastern League Roy Majtyka A Tampa Tarpons Florida State League Ron Brand A-Short Season Eugene Emeralds Northwest League Greg Riddoch Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Jim Hoff Notes References 1976 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 Category:Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season Category:National League West champion seasons Category:National League champion seasons Category:World Series champion seasons Cincinnati Reds