# 1976 Kansas City Royals season

The 1976 Kansas City Royals season was their eighth in Major League Baseball. The Royals won their first division title, taking the American League West with a record of 90–72 in the first full season as manager for Whitey Herzog. Kansas City was defeated 3-2 by the New York Yankees in the ALCS. George Brett (.333) became the first Royals player to win a league batting title.

## Offseason

* September 29, 1975: Harmon Killebrew was released by the Royals.
* November 12, 1975: Nelson Briles was traded by the Royals to the Texas Rangers for Dave Nelson.
* March 3, 1976: Roger Nelson was signed by the Royals as a free agent.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Kansas City Royals | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 49‍–‍32 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Oakland Athletics | 87 | 74 | .540 | 2½ | 51‍–‍30 | 36‍–‍44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 85 | 77 | .525 | 5 | 44‍–‍37 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Texas Rangers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 39‍–‍42 | 37‍–‍44 |
| California Angels | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 38‍–‍43 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 64 | 97 | .398 | 25½ | 35‍–‍45 | 29‍–‍52 |

### Record vs. opponents

1976 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | TEX |
| Baltimore | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 |
| Boston | 11–7 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 3–9 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 3–9 |
| California | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 11–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 12–6 |
| Chicago | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 1–11 | 8–9 | 7–11 |
| Cleveland | 11–7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 9–3 | — | 6–12 | 6–6 | 11–6 | 9–3 | 4–12 | 4–8 | 7–5 |
| Detroit | 6–12 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 12–6 | — | 4–8 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 9–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 9–3 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–4 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–11 |
| Milwaukee | 7–11 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–11 | 6–12 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 10–2 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 8–4 | — | 2–10 | 11–7 | 11–7 |
| New York | 5–13 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 12–4 | 8–9 | 5–7 | 13–5 | 10–2 | — | 6–6 | 9–3 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 9–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 6–6 | — | 7–11 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 9–3 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 2–10 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 11–7 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Dave Nelson, DH
* Amos Otis, CF
* George Brett, 3B
* John Mayberry, 1B
* Hal McRae, LF
* Al Cowens, RF
* Fran Healy, C
* Freddie Patek, SS
* Frank White, 2B

### Notable transactions

* May 16, 1976: Fran Healy is traded by the Royals to the New York Yankees for Larry Gura.
* June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
** Bill Paschall was drafted by the Royals in the 3rd round.
** Ken Phelps was drafted by the Royals in the 15th round.

### Roster
## Game log
### Regular season

1976 regular season game log: 90–72 (Home: 49-32; Away: 41–40) :
April: 5–7 (Home: 3–4; Away: 2–3)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
1April 91:15 p.m. CST@ White SoxL 0–4Wood (1–0)Splittorff (0–1)–2:2540,3180–1L1
—April 11@ White SoxPostponed (Cold) (Makeup date: August 6)
—April 11@ White SoxPostponed (Cold) (Makeup date: September 13)
2April 137:30 p.m. CSTAngelsW 7–4Fitzmorris (1–0)Hassler (0–1)Pattin (1)3:0525,5161–1W1
3April 147:30 p.m. CSTAngelsL 6–7Monge (1–0)Pattin (0–1)Brewer (1)3:169,0431–2L1
4April 157:30 p.m. CSTAngelsL 1–5Ryan (1–1)Splittorff (0–2)–2:137,6571–3L2
5April 167:30 p.m. CSTIndiansW 5–3Mingori (1–0)Peterson (0–1)Pattin (2)2:2112,2192–3W1
6April 177:30 p.m. CSTIndiansW 5–3 (5)Fitzmorris (2–0)Eckersley (0–2)–1:329,7993–3W2
7April 181:30 p.m. CSTIndiansL 0–6Dobson (1–1)Busby (0–1)–2:4110,4663–4L1
8April 206:30 p.m. CST@ BrewersL 4–5Broberg (1–0)Leonard (0–1)Rodríguez (3)2:464,9023–5L2
—April 21@ BrewersPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 21)
9April 226:30 p.m. CST@ BrewersW 2–1Bird (1–0)Colborn (1–1)–2:365,1964–5W1
10April 237:00 p.m. CST@ YankeesW 3–2Splittorff (1–2)Hunter (1–3)Mingori (1)2:3235,1165–5W2
11April 241:15 p.m. CST@ YankeesL 8–9 (11)Lyle (2–0)Pattin (0–2)—3:5316,0345–6L1
—April 25@ YankeesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 6)
—April 27Red SoxPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 15)
—April 28Red SoxPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 16)
12April 307:30 p.m. CDTYankeesL 3–5Hunter (2–3)Splittorff (1–3)—2:1111,3685–7L2 :
May: 20–10 (Home: 11–2; Away: 9–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
13May 17:30 p.m. CDTYankeesW 4–1Busby (1–1)Figueroa (1–1)—2:2518,7036–7W1
14May 21:30 p.m. CDTYankeesW 2–1 (11)Bird (2–0)Lyle (1–1)—3:2313,4047–7W2
15May 46:30 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxW 7–5Fitzmorris (3–0)Lee (0–3)Bird (1)2:4716,2748–7W3
16May 56:30 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxW 8–4Splittorff (2–3)Jenkins (1–4)Littell (1)2:5217,5969–7W4
17May 76:30 p.m. CDT@ OriolesL 3–4Garland (2–0)Pattin (0–3)—2:357,3109–8L1
18May 86:30 p.m. CDT@ OriolesW 6–3Leonard (1–1)Holtzman (2–2)Bird (2)2:3351,19510–8W1
19May 91:00 p.m. CDT@ OriolesW 7–4Littell (1–0)Palmer (4–4)—2:477,59011–8W2
20May 107:30 p.m. CDTTwinsL 4–5 (10)Burgmeier (2–0)Pattin (0–4)Luebber (2)3:2612,52611–9L1
21May 117:30 p.m. CDTTwinsW 6–3Bird (3–0)Luebber (0–1)Littell (2)2:339,65212–9W1
22May 127:30 p.m. CDTTwinsW 17–5Pattin (1–4)Decker (2–3)—3:049,60113–9W2
23May 137:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 13–2Leonard (2–1)B. Johnson (1–4)–2:3913,65714–9W3
24May 147:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 7–1Fitzmorris (4–0)Vuckovich (0–1)–2:0912,99015–9W4
25May 157:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 2–1 (12)Littell (2–0)Gossage (1–3)–3:0014,69316–9W5
26May 161:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 3–4Carroll (1–1)Bird (3–1)Hamilton (1)2:4928,41316–10L1
27May 177:30 p.m. CDTRangersW 8–7 (12)Hall (1–0)Foucault (3–1)–3:5718,93617–10W1
28May 187:30 p.m. CDTRangersW 3–1Fitzmorris (5–0)Umbarger (3–3)–2:0714,11618–10W2
29May 197:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsW 5–2Splittorff (3–3)Torrez (4–4)Pattin (3)2:4922,48319–10W3
30May 207:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsW 8–4Bird (4–1)P. Mitchell (1–2)Littell (3)2:4625,68220–10W4
31May 218:00 p.m. CDT@ TwinsW 5–1Leonard (3–1)Hughes (0–4)—2:378,61921–10W5
32May 221:15 p.m. CDT@ TwinsL 3–5Goltz (3–2)Fitzmorris (5–1)—2:006,81221–11L1
33May 231:15 p.m. CDT@ TwinsL 1–3Blyleven (4–3)Splittorff (3–4)Campbell (4)2:1024,71621–12L2
34May 247:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersW 14–11Mingori (1–0)Barr (1–3)–3:1012,75122–12W1
—May 25@ RangersPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: May 26)
35 (1)May 265:00 p.m. CDT@ RangersW 14–2Leonard (4–1)Perry (4–4)–2:54–23–12W2
36 (2)May 268:29 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 4–5 (10)Foucault (4–1)Pattin (1–5)–3:0716,51023–13L1
37May 277:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 4–6Singer (4–1)Splittorff (3–5)Hoerner (3)2:4414,75523–14L2
38May 289:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–0Bird (5–1)Ryan (3–6)–2:0715,77724–14W1
39 (1)May 297:00 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 2–3Monge (2–1)Littell (2–1)–2:26–24–15L1
40 (2)May 2910:01 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 2–7Ross (2–6)Fitzmorris (5–2)–2:4328,41524–16L2
41May 303:00 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–2 (14)Mingori (3–0)Drago (1–4)–4:4314,19325–16W1
42May 3110:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsL 1–10Torrez (6–5)Splittorff (3–6)—2:3231,84225–17L1 :
June: 19–10 (Home: 12–4; Away: 7–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
43June 110:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsW 5–2Bird (6–1)Bahnsen (2–2)Pattin (4)2:293,86026–17W1
44June 210:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsW 4–3 (12)Littell (3–1)Fingers (2–5)Mingori (2)3:572,62827–17W2
45June 47:30 p.m. CDTBrewersW 4–3 (10)Leonard (5–1)Slaton (7–2)–2:3416,89928–17W3
46 (1)June 55:00 p.m. CDTBrewersW 5–4Fitzmorris (6–2)Broberg (1–5)Littell (4)–2:5129–17W4
47 (2)June 58:26 p.m. CDTBrewersW 7–2Splittorff (4–6)Champion (0–1)–2:2635,81730–17W5
48June 61:30 p.m. CDTBrewersL 3–4 (14)Augustine (1–1)Pattin (1–6)–3:5315,50830–18L1
52June 107:30 p.m. CDTOriolesW 7–0Splittorff (5–6)Palmer (6–7)—2:2812,21033–19W2
53June 117:30 p.m. CDTOriolesW 4–0Bird (7–1)Cuellar (2–7)Littell (6)2:0025,88334–19W3
54June 121:15 p.m. CDTOriolesW 7–6Busby (3–1)Alexander (3–4)Pattin (5)2:3919,69335–19W4
55June 131:30 p.m. CDTOriolesW 8–4Leonard (6–2)Flanagan (0–2)—2:3423,75136–19W5
59June 186:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansW 5–3Leonard (7–2)Thomas (0–1)–2:4214,17039–20W1
60June 196:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 0–3Dobson (8–5)Fitzmorris (8–3)Kern (3)2:2017,38939–21L1
61June 201:00 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 8–11Bibby (3–2)Littell (3–2)Thomas (3)2:5513,29539–22L2
62June 217:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 1–2 (11)Hamilton (3–3)Hall (1–1)–3:0028,91839–23L3
63June 227:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 8–14Jefferson (2–2)Busby (3–2)–2:4418,12539–24L4
64June 237:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 5–7Foucault (6–3)Leonard (7–3)–2:5221,33639–25L5
65June 247:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 2–5Hargan (2–2)Fitzmorris (8–4)Hoerner (5)2:5614,45539–26L6
66June 257:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 6–3Splittorff (7–6)Ross (5–9)Littell (7)2:1425,52240–26W1
67June 267:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 3–0Pattin (2–7)Ryan (6–8)Mingori (4)2:2830,12541–26W2
68June 271:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 5–4 (11)Bird (8–1)Drago (1–6)–3:2237,96042–26W3
69June 288:00 p.m. CDT@ TwinsL 3–4Campbell (8–2)Littell (3–3)—2:476,17042–27L1
70June 298:00 p.m. CDT@ TwinsW 1–0 (10)Fitzmorris (9–4)Goltz (7–6)—2:406,20143–27W1
71June 308:00 p.m. CDT@ TwinsW 4–2Splittorff (8–6)Bane (0–1)—2:407,47144–27W2 :
July: 17–12 (Home: 8–7; Away: 9–5)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
72July 17:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsL 2–5Fingers (4–5)Pattin (2–8)—2:4623,17544–28L1
73July 27:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsW 8–5Littell (4–3)Blue (6–7)—3:0525,72345–28W1
74July 37:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsW 7–5Leonard (8–3)Todd (6–7)Mingori (5)3:0333,58646–28W2
75July 41:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsL 0–6Norris (2–2)Fitzmorris (9–5)—2:4224,64746–29L1
76July 51:00 p.m. CDT@ YankeesW 2–1Splittorff (9–6)Alexander (4–5)Mingori (6)2:5028,04147–29W1
77July 6 (1)4:30 p.m. CDT@ YankeesW 3–1Bird (9–1)Figueroa (9–6)Mingori (7)2:17—48–29W2
78July 6 (2)7:22 p.m. CDT@ YankeesL 4–7Lyle (6–5)Busby (3–3)—2:2535,37048–30L1
79July 77:00 p.m. CDT@ YankeesW 2–1Littell (5–3)Hunter (10–8)Mingori (8)2:2223,17249–30W1
47th All-Star Game in Philadelphia, PA
83July 15 (1)5:00 p.m. CDTRed SoxW 12–5Leonard (10–3)Pole (4–5)—2:32—52–31W1
84July 15 (2)8:07 p.m. CDTRed SoxL 1–2Jones (3–0)Bird (9–2)Willoughby (4)2:1224,72052–32L1
85July 16 (1)5:00 p.m. CDTRed SoxW 5–1Splittorff (10–6)Murphy (2–4)—2:04—53–32W1
86July 16 (2)7:39 p.m. CDTRed SoxW 2–1Fitzmorris (11–5)Wise (7–7)—2:2535,60054–32W2
87July 172:15 p.m. CDTRed SoxW 2–1Littell (6–3)Tiant (10–7)—2:3924,41155–32W3
88July 181:30 p.m. CDTRed SoxW 6–3Pattin (3–8)Cleveland (4–5)—2:3429,26756–32W4
89July 197:30 p.m. CDTOriolesL 3–4Palmer (13–8)Leonard (10–4)Martinez (6)2:3039,35556–33L1
90July 207:30 p.m. CDTOriolesL 3–10Garland (12–1)Bird (9–3)—2:2916,14556–34L2
91July 217:30 p.m. CDTBrewersL 0–5Travers (11–7)Fitzmorris (11–6)Frisella (5)2:2415,44556–35L3
92July 227:30 p.m. CDTBrewersW 3–1Splittorff (11–6)Colborn (6–11)Littell (9)2:2016,13357–35W1
93July 2310:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsL 0–2Blue (8–9)Pattin (3–9)—2:259,17357–36L1
94July 243:30 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsW 6–5Leonard (11–4)Todd (6–8)Mingori (9)3:1442,59258–36W1
95July 253:30 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsL 2–9Abbott (2–2)Bird (9–4)—2:2310,23758–37L1
96July 269:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 4–0Fitzmorris (12–6)Ryan (7–13)–2:3218,75359–37W1
97July 279:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 1–2Tanana (12–7)Splittorff (11–7)–2:028,34259–38L1
98July 289:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–2 (15)Gura (1–0)Kirkwood (4–8)–4:049,94760–38W1
99July 307:30 p.m. CDTRangersW 2–1Leonard (11–5)Briles (7–7)Littell (10)2:4828,41161–38W2
100July 317:30 p.m. CDTRangersL 2–4Blyleven (8–12)Fitzmorris (12–7)–2:4135,78661–39L1 :
August: 17–14 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
101August 17:30 p.m. CDTRangersL 4–8Perry (10–8)Hassler (0–7)–3:1524,73261–40L2
102August 37:30 p.m. CDTTwinsW 7–1Pattin (4–9)Bane (4–3)—2:2816,93962–40W1
103August 47:30 p.m. CDTTwinsW 4–2Fitzmorris (13–7)Goltz (9–10)Littell (11)2:3215,93263–40W2
104August 57:30 p.m. CDTTwinsW 6–4Leonard (12–4)Singer (8–8)Mingori (10)2:4414,54464–40W3
105 (1)August 65:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 9–2Hassler (1–7)B. Johnson (9–10)–2:29–65–40W4
106 (2)August 68:34 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 8–3Bird (10–4)Gossage (6–11)–2:0013,82466–40W5
107August 77:00 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 3–5Barrios (3–4)Mingori (3–2)–2:1630,38266–41L1
108 (1)August 812:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 2–5Forster (2–8)Pattin (4–10)Gossage (1)2:55–66–42L2
109 (2)August 84:00 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 7–1Fitzmorris (14–7)Jefferson (2–5)–2:3115,99767–42W1
110August 97:30 p.m. CDTYankeesW 8–2Leonard (13–4)Holtzman (9–8)—2:1040,43568–42W2
111August 107:30 p.m. CDTYankeesL 1–2 (11)Ellis (12–6)Mingori (3–3)Lyle (19)2:4625,17368–43L1
112August 117:30 p.m. CDTYankeesL 3–5Alexander (7–8)Bird (10–5)Lyle (20)2:1923,39468–44L2
116August 167:30 p.m. CDTIndiansW 6–1Pattin (5–10)Brown (7–8)–2:0818,79771–45W3
117August 177:30 p.m. CDTIndiansW 4–3 (10)Littell (7–3)LaRoche (1–4)–3:0914,83672–45W4
118August 187:30 p.m. CDTIndiansL 1–4Eckersley (8–10)Fitzmorris (14–9)Kern (11)2:4415,09572–46L1
119August 197:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersL 4–6Augustine (6–8)Leonard (15–5)Frisella (8)2:3910,55472–47L2
120August 207:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 3–0Hassler (3–7)Travers (14–10)–2:1915,04373–47W1
121August 211:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 6–2Pattin (6–10)Colborn (7–13)Littell (12)2:5017,72574–47W2
122August 221:20 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 7–4Bird (11–5)Frisella (4–2)Littell (13)2:3016,59675–47W3
123August 236:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 3–4Eckersley (9–10)Mingori (3–4)–2:359,58175–48L1
124August 246:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 1–2Rick Waits (6–5)Leonard (15–6)–2:106,61575–49L2
125August 256:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansW 2–1Hassler (4–7)Kern (8–7)Littell (14)2:557,11376–49W1
126August 266:30 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxW 7–6 (15)Bruno (1–0)Willoughby (2–11)—4:4624,19977–49W2
127August 276:30 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxL 4–9Jenkins (12–11)Bird (11–6)—2:3324,94077–50L1
128August 281:00 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxW 8–3Fitzmorris (15–9)Lee (2–5)Littell (15)3:1627,05878–50W1
129August 291:00 p.m. CDT@ Red SoxL 6–15Wise (10–10)Leonard (15–7)—2:5026,74778–51L1
130August 306:30 p.m. CDT@ OriolesL 2–3May (11–9)Hassler (5–7)—2:296,24978–52L2
131August 316:30 p.m. CDT@ OriolesL 3–4Palmer (19–11)Pattin (6–11)Miller (6)2:498,66178–53L3 :
September: 12–16 (Home: 6–7; Away: 6–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
132September 16:30 p.m. CDT@ OriolesL 1–7Flanagan (1–4)Bird (11–7)—2:308,00778–54L4
133September 37:30 p.m. CDTRangersL 1–4Boggs (1–4)Fitzmorris (15–10)–2:5417,74878–55L5
134September 47:30 p.m. CDTRangersW 7–0Leonard (16–7)Umbarger (9–11)–2:1831,54179–55W1
135September 51:30 p.m. CDTRangersL 1–3Blyleven (11–15)Hassler (5–8)–2:3622,02579–56L1
136September 67:30 p.m. CDTRangersL 4–5Hargan (6–6)Bird (11–8)Hoerner (7)2:4127,00879–57L2
137September 77:30 p.m. CDTAngelsL 1–2Kirkwood (6–10)Pattin (6–12)–2:269,22579–58L3
138September 87:30 p.m. CDTAngelsL 0–2Drago (6–7)Fitzmorris (15–11)–3:0711,93979–59L4
139September 97:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 6–5 (10)Mingori (4–4)Overy (0–2)–3:0310,89780–59W1
140September 108:00 p.m. CDT@ TwinsL 3–18Hughes (8–12)Hassler (4–10)—3:378,91280–60L1
141September 111:15 p.m. CDT@ TwinsW 8–6Littell (8–3)Campbell (15–5)—2:298,95581–60W!
142September 121:15 p.m. CDT@ TwinsW 16–6Pattin (7–12)Redfern (5–8)—2:518,10182–60W2
143 (1)September 135:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 3–4Knapp (3–1)Leonard (16–8)Hamilton (10)2:33–82–61L1
144 (2)September 138:38 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 4–5Brett (10–9)Mingori (4–5)–2:315,32782–62L2
145September 147:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 2–1Hassler (5–10)Forster (2–11)–2:082,76283–62W1
146September 159:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 1–2Ryan (14–17)Bird (11–9)–2:226,35083–63L1
147September 169:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 2–0Pattin (8–12)Tanana (16–10)–2:257,44084–63W1
148September 177:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 3–2Leonard (17–8)Gossage (9–15)–2:3815,08785–63W2
149September 187:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 6–5Gura (2–0)Brett (10–10)–2:3524,95586–63W3
150September 191:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 6–5Mingori (5–5)Forster (2–12)–2:4339,79787–63W4
151September 217:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsW 3–1Bird (12–9)Bahnsen (8–7)—2:3028,86988–63W1
152September 227:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsL 1–11Blue (17–12)Pattin (8–13)—2:2136,06488–64L1
153September 237:30 p.m. CDTAthleticsL 1–8Torrez (15–11)Leonard (17–9)—3:0134,07788–65L2
154September 247:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersW 2–1 (14)Gura (3–0)Foucault (8–8)Littell (16)4:356,94989–65W1
155September 257:30 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 0–1Blyleven (13–16)Hassler (5–11)–2:129,00189–66L1
156September 262:00 p.m. CDT@ RangersL 1–3Briles (11–9)Bird (12–10)Hargan (1)2:534,65089–67L2
157September 2710:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsL 3–8Blue (18–12)Leonard (17–10)—3:0837,91489–68L3
158September 2810:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsL 0–1Torrez (16–11)Pattin (8–14)—2:059,46489–69L4
159September 2910:00 p.m. CDT@ AthleticsW 4–0Gura (4–9)Mitchell (9–7)—2:1519,63190–69W1 :
October: 0–3 (Home: 0–3; Away: 0–0)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
160October 17:30 p.m. CDTTwinsL 3–4Campbell (17–5)Littell (8–4)—2:4638,48290–70L1
161October 21:30 p.m. CDTTwinsL 2–3Singer (13–10)Hassler (5–12)Campbell (20)2:0614,08790–71L2
162October 31:30 p.m. CDTTwinsL 3–5Hughes (9–14)Splittorff (11–8)—2:1515,66590–72L3 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Royals team member :

### Postseason Game log

1976 Postseason game log: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 1–2) :
AL Championship Series: vs. New York Yankees 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 1–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceSeriesBox/ Streak
1October 912 Noon CDTYankeesL 1–4Hunter (1–0)Gura (0–1)—2:0941,077NYY 1–0L1
2October 107:15 p.m. CDTYankeesW 7–3Splittorff (1–0)Figueroa (0–1)—2:4541,091Tied 1–1W1
3October 127:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesL 3–5Ellis (1–0)Hassler (0–1)Lyle (1)3:0056,808NYY 2–1L1
4October 132:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesW 7–4Bird (1–0)Hunter (1–1)Mingori (1)2:5056,355Tied 2–2W1
5October 147:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesL 6–7Tidrow (1–0)Littell (0–1)—3:1356,821NYY 3–2L1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Royals team member :

## Player stats
### 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 | Buck Martinez | 95 | 267 | 61 | .228 | 5 | 34 |
| 1B | John Mayberry | 161 | 594 | 138 | .232 | 13 | 95 |
| 2B | Frank White | 152 | 446 | 102 | .229 | 2 | 46 |
| 3B | George Brett | 159 | 645 | 215 | .333 | 7 | 67 |
| SS | Freddie Patek | 144 | 432 | 104 | .241 | 1 | 43 |
| LF | Tom Poquette | 104 | 344 | 104 | .302 | 2 | 34 |
| CF | Amos Otis | 153 | 592 | 165 | .279 | 18 | 86 |
| RF | Al Cowens | 152 | 581 | 154 | .265 | 3 | 59 |
| DH | Hal McRae | 149 | 527 | 175 | .332 | 8 | 73 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Wohlford | 107 | 293 | 73 | .249 | 1 | 24 |
| Bob Stinson | 79 | 209 | 55 | .263 | 2 | 25 |
| Dave Nelson | 78 | 153 | 36 | .235 | 1 | 17 |
| Cookie Rojas | 63 | 132 | 32 | .242 | 0 | 16 |
| Jamie Quirk | 64 | 114 | 28 | .246 | 1 | 15 |
| Tony Solaita | 31 | 68 | 16 | .235 | 0 | 9 |
| Ruppert Jones | 28 | 51 | 11 | .216 | 1 | 7 |
| John Wathan | 27 | 42 | 12 | .286 | 0 | 5 |
| Fran Healy | 8 | 24 | 3 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| Tommy Davis | 8 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Wilson | 12 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 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 |
| Dennis Leonard | 35 | 259.0 | 17 | 10 | 3.51 | 150 |
| Al Fitzmorris | 35 | 220.1 | 15 | 11 | 3.06 | 80 |
| Paul Splittorff | 26 | 158.2 | 11 | 8 | 3.97 | 59 |
| Andy Hassler | 19 | 99.2 | 5 | 6 | 2.89 | 45 |
| Steve Busby | 13 | 71.2 | 3 | 3 | 4.40 | 29 |

#### 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 |
| Doug Bird | 39 | 197.2 | 12 | 10 | 3.37 | 107 |
| Marty Pattin | 44 | 141.0 | 8 | 14 | 2.49 | 65 |

#### 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 |
| Mark Littell | 60 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 2.08 | 92 |
| Steve Mingori | 55 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2.32 | 38 |
| Tom Hall | 31 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.45 | 25 |
| Larry Gura | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2.30 | 22 |
| Tom Bruno | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 11 |
| Bob McClure | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3 |
| Jerry Cram | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 2 |
| Roger Nelson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 4 |
| Ray Sadecki | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Ken Sanders | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |

## ALCS
### Game 1

October 9, 1976, at Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| W: Catfish Hunter (1–0) L: Larry Gura (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: None |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 10, 1976, at Royals Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 5 |
| Kansas City | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Paul Splittorff (1–0) L: Ed Figueroa (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: None |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 12, 1976, at Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Dock Ellis (1–0) L: Andy Hassler (0–1) S: Sparky Lyle (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY: – Chris Chambliss (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 13, 1976, at Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| W: Doug Bird (1–0) L: Catfish Hunter (1–1) S: Steve Mingori (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY: – Graig Nettles 2 (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 14, 1976, at Yankee Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Kansas City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| W: Dick Tidrow (1–0) L: Mark Littell (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: KCR: – John Mayberry (1), George Brett (1) NYY: – Chris Chambliss (2) |||||||||||||

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Omaha Royals | American Association | Billy Gardner |
| AA | Jacksonville Suns | Southern League | Bill Scripture |
| A | Waterloo Royals | Midwest League | John Sullivan |
| Rookie | GCL Royals | Gulf Coast League | José Martínez |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo