The 1976 Detroit Tigers season was the 76th season for the Detroit Tigers competing in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League. In their third season under manager Ralph Houk, the Tigers compiled a 74–87 record and finished in fifth place in the American League East, 24 games behind the New York Yankees. The team improved by 17 wins over its 1975 performance for the largest improvement by any team in the American League. The team played its home games at Tiger Stadium and attracted 1,467,020 fans, ranking fourth of the 12 teams in the American League.
Rookie pitcher Mark Fidrych, known as "The Bird", became a sensation throughout baseball, both for his pitching prowess and for his unusual practices in talking to the ball and grooming the pitcher's mound. Fidrych finished the 1976 season with a 19-9 win–loss record and led the American League with a 2.34 earned run average (ERA). Fidrych won the American League Rookie of the Year and "Tiger of the Year" awards and finished second in the voting for the Cy Young Award.
The team's batting leaders included center fielder Ron LeFlore with a .316 batting average and 58 stolen bases, Jason Thompson with 17 home runs, and Rusty Staub with 96 RBIs and a .386 on-base percentage. Third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez also won the American League Gold Glove Award, breaking Brooks Robinson's streak of winning the award for 17 consecutive years.
Preseason The 1975 Detroit Tigers compiled the worst record (57–102) in Major League Baseball and up to that time the worst season in franchise history. The team's poor performance prompted two major trades during the December 1975 Winter Meetings.
On December 6, 1975, in their first major move, the Tigers dealt their starting right fielder, Leon Roberts, and three other players (backup catcher Terry Humphrey rookie pitcher Gene Pentz and at-that-time minor league pitcher Mark Lemongello) to the Houston Astros in exchange for catcher Milt May, starting pitcher Dave Roberts, and relief pitcher Jim Crawford. Dave Roberts ended up leading the 1976 Tigers with 36 starts and 252 innings pitched. May began the season as the Tigers' starting catcher but fractured his ankle running into a wall in Oakland on April 20. Six days later, on December 12, 1975, the Tigers traded Mickey Lolich, the winningest left-handed pitcher in Detroit history, and rookie outfielder Billy Baldwin to the New York Mets for outfielder Rusty Staub and minor league pitcher Bill Laxton. Lolich initially vetoed the trade, but consented after receiving financial concessions from the Mets. Detroit general manager Jim Campbell said of the trade, "We got the one thing we were looking for -- a real sound RBI man." Staub led the 1976 Tigers with 96 RBIs and was a key component in the team's 1976 turnaround.
The Tigers also brought in new talent through the draft. On January 7, 1976, the team drafted outfielder Steve Kemp with the No. 1 overall pick in the January phase of the MLB draft. Kemp spent the 1976 season in the minors but became the Tigers' starting left fielder from 1977 to 1981.
The most significant preseason move involved the surprise promotion of little known pitcher Mark Fidrych. On April 5, 1976, the team announced that Fidrych would start the season with the team. He had not even been on the major league roster prior to the announcement.
Regular season
Season chronology April April 10: The Tigers opened the season with a 3–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Starter Joe Coleman got the win and John Hiller the save. Willie Horton hit a towering two-run home run in the third inning. The game was played in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium and drew a crowd of 65,000, the largest opening day crowd in the majors during the 1976 season. April 13: The Tigers lost their home opener by a 1–0 score against the Milwaukee Brewers before a crowd of 48,612 at Tiger Stadium. Detroit starter Ray Bare shut out the Brewers through eight innings, but Milwaukee scored the game-winning run in the ninth inning off reliever John Hiller. Jim Slaton pithed a two-hitter for the Brewers. April 14: Four Tigers were listed on the ballot for the 1976 American League All-Star team. Outfielder Ron LeFlore and second baseman Gary Sutherland were listed on the ballot for the first time. Outfielder Rusty Staub and catcher Milt May had previously been listed on the National League ballot. April 17: The Tigers defeated the California Angels, 2–0, in Anaheim. In his American League debut, Dave Roberts pitched a complete-game shutout, had a no-hitter through six innings, and allowed only two singles. April 20: Mark Fidrych appeared in his first major league game. Milt May‚ acquired by the Tigers in December‚ broke his ankle crashing into the wall behind home plate while chasing a foul ball. He did not play for the remainder of the season. April 28: The Tigers defeated the Oakland A's, 8–1. Dave Roberts pitched a two-hitter and won his third consecutive game for the Tigers.
May
May 15: Mark Fidrych won his first major league start. Fidrych pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits in a 2–1 victory over the Indians. Fidrych took a no-hitter through six innings, but gave up a single to Buddy Bell in the seventh. Aside from his fine pitching, Fidrych drew attention for talking to the ball during the game‚ and patting down the mound each inning. Tom Veryzer had the game-winning RBI for Detroit with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. May 25: Mark Fidrych pitched well in his second start, holding the Red Sox to six hits and two runs, but the Tigers were shut out, 2–0, by Luis Tiant. May 28: After hitting safely in 30 straight games since April 17, Ron LeFlore went hitless in a 9–5 loss to the Yankees. LeFlore's hitting streak tied the third longest in team history. May 31: Manager Ralph Houk let rookie Mark Fidrych go 11 innings for a complete game, 5–4 win over the Brewers. Fidrych gave up a run in the top of the 11th inning, but the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the 11th on singles by Chuck Scrivener, Jerry Manuel, and Tom Veryzer. Ron LeFlore had two triples in the game.
June
June 1: John Hiller won both games of a double header against the Brewers. The Tigers came from behind to win 8–7 and 7–5. June 5: Mark Fidrych pitched his second straight 11-inning complete game, beating Bert Blyleven and the Texas Rangers, 3–2. Ben Oglivie scored the winning run in the top of the 11th, and The Bird pitched a 1–2–3 inning in the bottom of the 11th against the heart of the Rangers lineup (Mike Hargrove, Toby Harrah, and Jeff Burroughs). June 8: The Tigers sold 29-year-old pitcher Joe Coleman to the Chicago Cubs for $100,000 and a player to be named at the end of the season. Coleman won 62 games for the Tigers from 1971 to 1973. In the first two months of the 1976 season, he compiled a 2–5 record and 4.86 ERA. June 8: The Tigers selected pitcher Pat Underwood with the second overall pick in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. The Tigers also selected shortstop Alan Trammell in the second round, pitchers Dan Petry in the fourth round and Jack Morris in the fifth round, and shortstop Ozzie Smith in the seventh round. Three of the Tigers selections (Trammell, Morris, and Smith) ended up in the Baseball Hall of Fame. June 11: "Bird"-mania began to take hold in Detroit. A crowd of 36,377 showed up in Detroit for a Friday night game, as Mark Fidrych faced Nolan Ryan. Fidrych gave up only one earned run, and the Tigers came out on top, 4–3. The Tigers won on a walk-off single by Alex Johnson in the bottom of the ninth inning, with Ron LeFlore scoring the winning run. June 15: The Tigers lost to the Royals, 21–7. Four Detroit pitchers (Dave Lemanczyk, Bill Laxton, Ray Bare, and Steve Grilli) combined to allow 24 hits and 20 earned runs. George Brett went 4-for-5 and Amos Otis drove in five runs. June 16: The Tigers drew 21,659 on a Wednesday night to watch Mark Fidrych win his fifth game. Fidrych held the Royals to five hits and two earned runs. The Tigers trailed 3–2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Tigers rallied for two runs off singles by Dan Meyer and Alex Johnson, and a walk by Aurelio Rodríguez. Mickey Stanley ended it with a walk-off single to right field, driving in Johnson. June 20: The Tigers beat the Twins, 7–3, in Minneapolis, as Mark Fidrych extended his record to 6–1. Jason Thompson hit a three-run home run in the 3rd inning for the Tigers. June 24: Mark Fidrych drew 26,293 fans to Fenway Park for a Thursday night game, as the Tigers won, 6–3. Jason Thompson homered and Fidrych pitched another complete game. June 28: Mark Fidrych was in the spotlight, as the Tigers faced the Yankees on Monday Night Baseball. In front of a crowd of 47,855 at Tiger Stadium and a national television audience, "The Bird" talked to the ball and groomed the mound, as the Tigers won, 5–1 in a game that lasted only 1 hour and 51 minutes.
July July 3: As the country prepared to celebrate the Bicentennial, Mark Fidrych shut out the Orioles 4–0 in front of a sell out crowd of 51,032 at Tiger Stadium. Fidrych gave up only four hits and extended his record to 9–1. July 9: Pitching in front of another sell-out crowd (51,041) at Tiger Stadium, Mark Fidrych held the Royals to one run in nine innings, but Dennis Leonard shut out the Tigers. The final score was Royals – 1; Tigers – 0. July 13: Three Tigers (Mark Fidrych, Ron LeFlore, and Rusty Staub) started for the American League in the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Fidrych gave up two runs and was the losing pitcher, as the National League defeated the American League, 7–1. July 16: Mark Fidrych won his 10th game, a 1–0 victory over the A's. Another big crowd (45,905) showed up to watch "The Bird" do his thing on the mound at Tiger Stadium. July 20: A crowd of over 30,000 shows up on a Tuesday night in Minneapolis to watch "The Bird." Fidrych pitched another complete game and got his 11th win, 8–3. Rusty Staub and Ron LeFlore homered for the Tigers. July 24: "The Bird" drew another big crowd to Tiger Stadium (37,405), but lasted only 4.1 innings. John Hiller got the win in relief, as Ben Oglivie hit a home run in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 5–4 win over the Indians. July 29: Mark Fidrych took a loss despite pitching a six-hit complete game and not allowing an earned run. The Orioles shut out the Tigers, 1–0, as Lee May scored an unearned run in the fourth inning on an error by Detroit second baseman Pedro García. Rusty Staub tripled in the bottom of the fourth, but did not score as Willie Horton and Alex Johnson followed with ground balls to third base.
August
August 7: The Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians, 6–1, before a crowd of 35,393 at Tiger Stadium. Mark Fidrych pitched a complete game and gave up only six hits, all singles. Ben Oglivie went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Dan Meyer and Ron LeFlore scored two runs each. Fidrych improved his record to 12–4 with a 1.91 ERA. August 11: The Tigers beat the Rangers, 4–3, as Mark Fidrych notched his 13th win over Gaylord Perry. The Tigers drew 36,523 for a Wednesday game in Detroit. Rusty Staub and Willie Horton both hit home runs for Detroit. August 17: Despite a losing record, Mark Fidrych and the Tigers drew a season-high 51,822 fans to Tiger Stadium on a Tuesday night. It was the largest crowd at Tiger Stadium since July 17, 1973, and the largest for a night game since 1970. The Tigers won, 3–2, as catcher Bruce Kimm hit his first career home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Fidrych gave up only five hits and pitched his 16th complete game of the season. After the game, the crowd remained, chanting "We Want Bird" until Fidrych returned to the field "thrusting his fist into the air again and again." His record improved to 14–4 with a 1.97 ERA. August 18: The Tigers lost, 5–4, to the California Angels in 11 innings. Nolan Ryan struck out 17 Detroit batters.