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, games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship.

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.The Montreal Gazette – Google News Archive Search February 15, 1976: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.Gene Michael page at Baseball Reference March 3, 1976: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer.Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference

Regular season +Record by monthMonth Record Cumulative AL East Ref. Won Lost Won Lost Position GB April 6 7 6 7 5th 4 May 13 15 19 22 4th 7 June 15 13 34 35 3rd (tie) 9 July 12 19 46 54 5th August 16 14 62 68 4th 18 September 18 11 80 79 4th 16 October 3 0 83 79 3rd

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."

The Red Sox owner, Tom Yawkey, died of leukemia in July. Manager Darrell Johnson was fired shortly thereafter and replaced by coach Don Zimmer. The team finished the season with an 83–79 record.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 7, 1976: Diego Seguí was released by the Red Sox.Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference May 4, 1976: Gene Michael was released by the Red Sox. June 3, 1976: Bernie Carbo was traded by the Red Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bobby Darwin and Tom Murphy.Bobby Darwin page at Baseball Reference 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.Wade Boggs page at Baseball Reference

Opening Day lineup 17 Cecil Cooper DH  5 Denny Doyle 2B19 Fred Lynn CF14 Jim Rice LF  8 Carl Yastrzemski     1B27 Carlton Fisk C24 Dwight Evans RF  6 Rico Petrocelli 3B   7 Rick Burleson SS31 Ferguson Jenkins P Source:

Roster 1976 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Managers

Coaches (Bullpen) (First base) (Bench/third base) (Pitching) (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 PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLGJim Rice153581751642582585828.282.482Carl Yastrzemski1555467114623221102580.267.432Rick Burleson152540751572717421460.291.383Fred Lynn1325077615932810651448.314.467Dwight Evans146501611213451762657.242.431Carlton Fisk1344877612417517581256.255.415Cecil Cooper123451661272261578716.282.457Denny Doyle11743251108155026822.250.308Rick Miller10526940761530271134.283.361Butch Hobson76269346375834015.234.387Rico Petrocelli85240175171324034.213.288Steve Dillard571672246140115617.275.377Doug Griffin491271424200429.189.205Bobby Darwin431069195231312.179.349Bob Montgomery319310233131305.247.398Bob Heise3256515200501.268.304Bernie Carbo1755513402618.236.418Deron Johnson153835110005.132.211Jack Baker122313001201.130.261Ernie Whitt81844201302.222.500Andy Merchant2200000000.000.000Pitcher totals162310000000.000.000Team totals162551171614482575313466495500.263.402 Source:

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 PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPHRERBBSOLuis Tiant21123.0638380279.02741079564131Rick Wise14113.5334340224.1218100884893Fergie Jenkins12113.2730290209.0201857643142Reggie Cleveland1093.0741142170.015973586176Dick Pole654.3331150120.213162584849Rick Jones533.3624140104.113348392645Jim Willoughby3122.825401099.09438313137Bill Lee575.632414396.012468602829Tom Murphy453.44370881.09143312532Tom House134.33360443.23922211927Rick Kreuger214.0684031.03114141612Team totals83793.52162162271458.01495660571409673 Source:

Statistical leaders

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

Batting Abbr. Category Player Statistic G Games played Carl Yastrzemski 155 PA Plate appearances Carl Yastrzemski 636 AB At bats Jim Rice 581R Runs scored Carlton Fisk 76 Fred Lynn H Hits Jim Rice 164 2B Doubles Dwight Evans 343B Triples Fred Lynn 8 Jim Rice HR Home runs Jim Rice 25 RBI Runs batted in Carl Yastrzemski 102SB 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 18HBP Hit by pitch Dwight Evans 6 Carlton Fisk SH Sacrifice hits Cecil Cooper 9 SF Sacrifice flies Fred Lynn 10IBB Intentional base on balls Cecil Cooper 6 Carl Yastrzemski Source:

Pitching Abbr. Category Player Statistic W Wins Luis Tiant 21L 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:

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

The Pawtucket Red Sox were known as the Rhode Island Red Sox during the 1976 season.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Elmira

Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References

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