| 1976 Cincinnati Reds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Series champions National League champions National League West champions | ||||
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Riverfront Stadium | |||
| City | Cincinnati | |||
| Record | 102–60 (.630) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | Louis Nippert | |||
| General managers | Bob Howsam | |||
| Managers | Sparky Anderson | |||
| Television | WLWT (Ken Coleman,Bill Brown) | |||
| Radio | WLW (Marty Brennaman,Joe Nuxhall) | |||
| ||||
The1976Cincinnati Reds season was the 107th season for the franchise inMajor League Baseball, and their 7th and 6th full season atRiverfront Stadium. The Reds entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The Reds dominated the league all season and won their second consecutiveNational League West title with a record of 102–60, finishing ten games ahead of theLos Angeles Dodgers. With the best record in baseball, they went on to defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies in theNLCS in three straight games to reach theWorld Series. They proceeded to win the title in four straight games over theNew York Yankees. They were the thirdNational League team to achieve this distinction, and the first since the1921–22New York Giants. The Reds drew 2,629,708 fans to their home games atRiverfront Stadium, an all-time franchise attendance record.[1] 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 2025, the Reds are the only team in baseball history to sweep through an entire postseason in the divisional era.
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 managerSparky Anderson), the future MLB all-time hits leaderPete Rose, and a notable supporting line up includingDave Concepción atshortstop, andKen Griffey,César Gerónimo, andGeorge 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 theMontreal Expos.
The Reds retained their NLpennant by winning the NLCS in three games over the Phillies, and their second consecutiveWorld Series title by defeating the Yankees in four games, becoming only the second team to sweep a World Series from the Yankees (following the1963 Los Angeles Dodgers). By sweeping both the Phillies and Yankees, the Reds became the first and only team to have a perfect postseason since theLeague Championship Series was started in 1969.Joe Morgan was the NL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season andJohnny Bench was the World Series MVP.
To celebrate theNational League's 100th anniversary, the Reds and several other teams adopted pillbox-style caps.[4]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 49–32 | 53–28 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 70 | .568 | 10 | 49–32 | 43–38 |
| Houston Astros | 80 | 82 | .494 | 22 | 46–36 | 34–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 74 | 88 | .457 | 28 | 40–41 | 34–47 |
| San Diego Padres | 73 | 89 | .451 | 29 | 42–38 | 31–51 |
| Atlanta Braves | 70 | 92 | .432 | 32 | 34–47 | 36–45 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |||||
| 1976 Cincinnati Reds | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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May (18–10)
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June (18–12)
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July (20–9)
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August (18–11)
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September (16–10)
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October (2–1)
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| =Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | 144 | 562 | 86 | 172 | .306 | 29 | 121 | 17 |
| CF | César Gerónimo | 149 | 486 | 59 | 149 | .307 | 2 | 49 | 22 |
| RF | Ken Griffey | 148 | 562 | 111 | 189 | .336 | 6 | 74 | 34 |
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 | 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 |
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 | 34 | 239.1 | 15 | 9 | 3.46 | 113 |
| Pat Zachry | 38 | 204.0 | 14 | 7 | 2.74 | 143 |
| Fred Norman | 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 |
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 |
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 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 |
October 9,Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| W:Don Gullett (1–0) L:Steve Carlton (0–1) SV: None | |||||||||||||
| HRs:CIN –George Foster (1) PHI – None | |||||||||||||
Reds starterDon 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.
October 10,Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | |
| W:Pat Zachry (1–0) L:Jim Lonborg (0–1) SV:Pedro Borbón (1) | |||||||||||||
| HRs:CIN – None PHI –Greg Luzinski (1) | |||||||||||||
October 12,Riverfront Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 0 | |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
| W:Rawly Eastwick (1–0) L:Gene Garber (0–1) SV: None | |||||||||||||
| HRs:CIN –George Foster (2) Johnny Bench (1) PHI – None | |||||||||||||
| Game | Road | Home | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yankees | Reds | 5–1 | Sat. Oct 16 (D) | Riverfront Stadium | 54,826 | 2:10 |
| 2 | Yankees | Reds | 4–3 | Sun. Oct 17 (N) | Riverfront Stadium | 54,816 | 2:33 |
| 3 | Reds | Yankees | 6–2 | Tue. Oct 19 (N) | Yankee Stadium | 56,667 | 2:40 |
| 4 | Reds | Yankees | 7–2 | Thu. Oct 21 (N) | Yankee Stadium | 56,700 | 2:36 |
1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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...