# 1976 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1976 Cincinnati Reds season was the 107th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 7th and 6th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The Reds dominated the league all season and won their second consecutive National League West title with a record of 102–60, finishing ten games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the best record in baseball, they went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS in three straight games to reach the World Series. They proceeded to win the title in four straight games over the New York Yankees. They were the third and most recent National League team to achieve this distinction, and the first since the 1921–22 New York Giants. The Reds drew 2,629,708 fans to their home games at Riverfront Stadium, an all-time franchise attendance record. 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 2024, the Reds are the only team in baseball history to sweep through an entire postseason in the divisional era.

## Offseason

* October 24, 1975: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Reds to the Houston Astros for players to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Luis Sánchez and Carlos Alfonso (minors) to the Reds on December 12.
* December 12, 1975: Clay Carroll was traded by the Reds to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Hinton and Jeff Sovern (minors).

## Regular season
### Season summary

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 manager Sparky Anderson), the future MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose, and a notable supporting line up including Dave Concepción at shortstop, and Ken Griffey, César Gerónimo, and George 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 the Montreal Expos.
The Reds retained their NL pennant by winning the NLCS in three games over the Phillies, and their second consecutive World Series title by defeating the Yankees in four games, becoming only the second team to sweep a World Series from the Yankees (following the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers). By sweeping both the Phillies and Yankees, the Reds became the first and only team to have a perfect postseason since the League Championship Series was started in 1969. Joe Morgan was the NL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season and Johnny Bench was the World Series MVP.
To celebrate the National League's 100th anniversary, the Reds and several other teams adopted pillbox-style caps.

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1976 National League recordvte 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

* April 5, 1976: Merv Rettenmund was traded by the Reds to the San Diego Padres for Rudy Meoli.

### Game log

Game Log :
April (10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
1April 8Houston AstrosW 11–51–0Gary NolanJ. R. RichardPedro Borbón52,949
2April 10Houston AstrosW 13–72–0Jack BillinghamLarry DierkerRawly Eastwick16,728
3April 11Houston AstrosW 9–33–0Pat DarcyJoe Niekro53,390
4April 13@ Atlanta BravesW 6–14–0Fred NormanPablo Torrealba37,973
5April 15@ Atlanta BravesL 5–104–1Phil NiekroJack Billingham15,716
6April 16San Francisco GiantsL 7–144–2Jim BarrPat Darcy37,147
7April 17San Francisco GiantsW 11–05–2Fred NormanEd Halicki21,219
8April 18San Francisco GiantsL 1–55–3John MontefuscoGary NolanGary Lavelle23,701
9April 20San Diego PadresL 5–75–4Butch MetzgerWill McEnaney18,126
10April 21San Diego PadresW 5–46–4Fred NormanDave WehrmeisterRawly Eastwick16,603
11April 23@ Montreal ExposL 4–56–5Don StanhouseJack Billingham5,306
12April 24@ Montreal ExposW 6–4 (11)7–5Rawly EastwickDon Carrithers11,190
13April 25@ Montreal ExposW 7–08–5Don GullettSteve RenkoPat Darcy8,095
14April 26@ Philadelphia PhilliesL 9–108–6Tug McGrawRawly Eastwick16,565
15April 27@ Philadelphia PhilliesW 7–39–6Jack BillinghamTom Underwood17,818
16April 28@ Philadelphia PhilliesL 6–79–7Jim LonborgPat DarcyTug McGraw20,215
17April 30Montreal ExposW 7–210–7Gary NolanDan Warthen20,166 :
May (18–10)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
26May 1Montreal ExposW 6–111–7Don GullettDon Carrithers28,138
27May 2Montreal ExposL 4–8 (16)11–8Don StanhousePat Darcy49,285
28May 4@ New York MetsL 3–511–9Tom SeaverFred NormanSkip Lockwood11,205
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45 :
June (18–12)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63June 18@ Philadelphia PhilliesL 5–639–24Jim LonborgJack BillinghamGene Garber50,635
64June 19@ Philadelphia PhilliesW 4–340–24Gary NolanRon ReedRawly Eastwick36,808
65June 20@ Philadelphia PhilliesL 1–640–25Jim KaatDon Gullett38,669
66
67
68June 23Philadelphia PhilliesL 2–442–26Ron ReedPedro BorbónGene Garber35,266
69June 24Philadelphia PhilliesL 4–542–27Jim KaatGary NolanTug McGraw34,053
70
71
72
73
74
75 :
July (20–9)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104 :
August (18–11)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128August 26Philadelphia PhilliesL 5–4 (13)80–48Tug McGrawRawly Eastwick38,094
129August 27Philadelphia PhilliesW 4–181–48Fred NormanTom UnderwoodPedro Borbón49,821
130August 28Philadelphia PhilliesW 8–782–48Rawly EastwickTug McGraw51,091
131August 29Philadelphia PhilliesW 6–5 (15)83–48Santo AlcaláJim Kaat51,376
132
133 :
September (16–10)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159 :
October (2–1)
#DateOpponentScoreRecordWinLossSaveAttendance
160
161
162 :

## Player stats

* =Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

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 |

#### Other batters

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 |

### 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 |
| 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 |

#### 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 |
| Pat Darcy | 11 | 39.0 | 2 | 3 | 6.23 | 15 |

#### 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 |
| 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 |

## Postseason
### NLCS
#### Game 1

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 starter Don 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.

#### Game 2

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) |||||||||||||

#### Game 3

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 |||||||||||||

### 1976 World Series
#### Summary

NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (0) :
| 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 |

## Awards and honors

* Johnny Bench, Babe Ruth Award
* Johnny Bench, World Series Most Valuable Player Award
* Pete Rose, Roberto Clemente Award
1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Johnny Bench, catcher, starter
* Joe Morgan, second base, starter
* Pete Rose, third base, starter
* Dave Concepción, shortstop, starter
* George Foster, outfield, starter
* Tony Pérez, first base, reserve
* Ken Griffey, Sr., outfielder, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Indianapolis Indians | American Association | Jim Snyder |
| AA | Trois-Rivières Aigles | Eastern League | Roy Majtyka |
| A | Tampa Tarpons | Florida State League | Ron Brand |
| A-Short Season | Eugene Emeralds | Northwest League | Greg Riddoch |
| Rookie | Billings Mustangs | Pioneer League | Jim Hoff |