The 1976 Baltimore Orioles season concluded with the ballclub finishing second in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. The Orioles stayed in contention for the division title until a 1–0 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Memorial Stadium on September 25.^[1]

The Orioles sustained a net operating loss of $102,531.^[2] Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich and Wayne Garland left the team following the campaign in what was the advent of Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency.^[3]

• January 7, 1976: Wayne Krenchicki was selected by the Orioles in the first round (7th pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft Secondary Phase.^[4]
• April 2, 1976: Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell were traded to the Oakland Athletics for Reggie Jackson, Ken Holtzman, and Bill VanBommell (minors).^[5][6]

This was the first season since 1957 that an Oriole other than Brooks Robinson got the most starts at third base, with Doug DeCinces taking over the position for the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer.

Following the early April trade,^[5] Reggie Jackson did not immediately report; his first plate appearance was on May 2.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}