1976_San_Francisco_Giants_season
1976 San Francisco Giants season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1976 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 94th season in Major League Baseball, their 19th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 17th at Candlestick Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 74–88 record, 28 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.
| 1976 San Francisco Giants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Candlestick Park | |||
| City | San Francisco, California | |||
| Owners | Horace Stoneham and Bob Lurie | |||
| General managers | Spec Richardson | |||
| Managers | Bill Rigney | |||
| Television | KTVU (Al Michaels, Gary Park) | |||
| Radio | KSFO (Al Michaels, Lon Simmons) | |||
| ||||
Team movement discussion
During the first half of the 1970s, attendance at cold and windy Candlestick Park plummeted, and Giants owner Horace Stoneham had faced financial hardship. Finally, in 1976, he put the team up for sale. In January 1976, Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $13.25 million to a Toronto group consisting of Labatt's Breweries of Canada, Ltd., Vulcan Assets Ltd., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The team would begin play with the 1976 season at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium and be called the Giants.[1] In addition, it was briefly rumored they considered a return to the New York metropolitan area, perhaps to a new baseball stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Instead, Bob Lurie led a group to buy the Giants from Horace Stoneham for $8 million.[2]
Notable transactions
- January 7, 1976: Dennis Littlejohn was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).[3]
Opening Day starters
Season standings
| NL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 49–32 | 53–28 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 10 | 49–32 | 43–38 |
| Houston Astros | 80 | 82 | 0.494 | 22 | 46–36 | 34–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 28 | 40–41 | 34–47 |
| San Diego Padres | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 29 | 42–38 | 31–51 |
| Atlanta Braves | 70 | 92 | 0.432 | 32 | 34–47 | 36–45 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 6–6 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 4–8 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 12–6 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 9–3 | — | 12–6 | 13–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6 | |||||
| Houston | 11–7 | 7–5 | 6–12 | — | 5–13 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 2–10 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–3 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 9–3 | 5–13 | 13–5 | — | 10–2 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 10–2 | |||||
| Montreal | 4–8 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 2–10 | — | 8–10 | 3–15 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–11 | |||||
| New York | 8–4 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 5–13 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7-5 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 15–3 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 12–6 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 9–3 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 10–2 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 12–6 | |||||
| San Diego | 8–10 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 | |||||
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 | |||||
| St. Louis | 8–4 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- June 2, 1976: Von Joshua was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers.[4]
- June 13, 1976: Willie Montañez, Craig Robinson, Mike Eden, and Jake Brown were traded by the Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Darrell Evans and Marty Perez.[5]
- June 14, 1976: Joe Strain was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.[6]
- June 21, 1976: Casey Parsons was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.[7]
- September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants.[8]
Draft picks
- June 8, 1976: Jeff Stember was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.[9]
Roster
| 1976 San Francisco Giants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
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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 | Dave Rader | 88 | 255 | 67 | .263 | 1 | 22 |
| 1B | Darrell Evans | 92 | 257 | 57 | .222 | 10 | 36 |
| 2B | Marty Perez | 93 | 332 | 86 | .259 | 2 | 26 |
| 3B | Ken Reitz | 155 | 577 | 154 | .267 | 5 | 66 |
| SS | Chris Speier | 145 | 495 | 112 | .226 | 3 | 40 |
| LF | Gary Matthews | 156 | 587 | 164 | .279 | 20 | 84 |
| CF | Larry Herndon | 115 | 337 | 97 | .288 | 2 | 23 |
| RF | Bobby Murcer | 147 | 533 | 138 | .259 | 23 | 90 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Thomasson | 103 | 328 | 85 | .259 | 8 | 38 |
| Derrel Thomas | 81 | 272 | 63 | .232 | 2 | 19 |
| Willie Montañez | 60 | 230 | 71 | .309 | 2 | 20 |
| Von Joshua | 42 | 156 | 41 | .263 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Hill | 54 | 131 | 24 | .183 | 3 | 15 |
| Jack Clark | 26 | 102 | 23 | .225 | 2 | 10 |
| Johnnie LeMaster | 33 | 100 | 21 | .210 | 0 | 9 |
| Mike Sadek | 55 | 93 | 19 | .204 | 0 | 7 |
| Glenn Adams | 69 | 74 | 18 | .243 | 0 | 3 |
| Steve Ontiveros | 59 | 74 | 13 | .176 | 0 | 5 |
| Gary Alexander | 23 | 73 | 13 | .178 | 2 | 7 |
| Chris Arnold | 60 | 69 | 15 | .217 | 0 | 5 |
| Bruce Miller | 12 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 0 | 2 |
| Craig Robinson | 15 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Montefusco | 37 | 253.1 | 16 | 14 | 2.84 | 172 |
| Jim Barr | 37 | 252.1 | 15 | 12 | 2.89 | 75 |
| Ed Halicki | 32 | 186.1 | 12 | 14 | 3.62 | 130 |
| Rob Dressler | 25 | 107.2 | 3 | 10 | 4.43 | 33 |
| John D'Acquisto | 28 | 106.0 | 3 | 8 | 5.35 | 53 |
| Bob Knepper | 4 | 25.0 | 1 | 2 | 3.24 | 11 |
| Frank Riccelli | 4 | 16.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.63 | 11 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Caldwell | 50 | 107.1 | 1 | 7 | 4.86 | 55 |
| Greg Minton | 10 | 25.2 | 0 | 3 | 4.91 | 7 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Moffitt | 58 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 2.27 | 50 |
| Gary Lavelle | 65 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 2.69 | 71 |
| Dave Heaverlo | 61 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4.44 | 40 |
| Charlie Williams | 48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.96 | 34 |
| Tommy Toms | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.23 | 4 |
- John Montefusco, reserve
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Phoenix Giants | Pacific Coast League | Rocky Bridges |
| AA | Lafayette Drillers | Texas League | John VanOrnum |
| A | Fresno Giants | California League | Andy Gilbert |
| A | Cedar Rapids Giants | Midwest League | Salty Parker |
| Rookie | Great Falls Giants | Pioneer League | Ernie Rodriguez |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great Falls[10]
- "Giants Moving: Toronto". St. Petersburg Times. January 9, 1976.
- Gordon Sakamoto (February 11, 1976). "Giants will stay in San Francisco". Bryan Times. p. 14.
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007