1976 San Francisco Giants season

Major League Baseball team season

1976 San Francisco Giants

League| National League
Division| West
Ballpark| Candlestick Park
City| San Francisco, California
Owners| Horace Stoneham and Bob Lurie
General managers| Spec Richardson
Managers| Bill Rigney
Television| KTVU
(Al Michaels, Gary Park)
Radio| KSFO
(Al Michaels, Lon Simmons)
| <- 1975 | Seasons | 1977 ->

|
|

The 1976 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 94th season in Major League Baseball, their 19th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 17th at Candlestick Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 74–88 record, 28 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

## Offseason

[edit]

### Team movement discussion

[edit]

During the first half of the 1970s, attendance at cold and windy Candlestick Park plummeted, and Giants owner Horace Stoneham had faced financial hardship. Finally, in 1976, he put the team up for sale. In January 1976, Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $13.25 million to a Toronto group consisting of Labatt's Breweries of Canada, Ltd., Vulcan Assets Ltd., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The team would begin play with the 1976 season at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium and be called the Giants.[1] In addition, it was briefly rumored they considered a return to the New York metropolitan area, perhaps to a new baseball stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Instead, Bob Lurie led a group to buy the Giants from Horace Stoneham for $8 million.[2]

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* January 7, 1976: Dennis Littlejohn was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).[3]

## Regular season

[edit]

### Opening Day starters

[edit]

* Von Joshua
* Gary Matthews
* Willie Montañez
* John Montefusco
* Bobby Murcer
* Dave Rader
* Ken Reitz
* Chris Speier
* Derrel Thomas

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

NL 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

[edit]

1976 National League record

* v
* t
* e

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 | —

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* June 2, 1976: Von Joshua was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers.[4]
* June 13, 1976: Willie Montañez, Craig Robinson, Mike Eden, and Jake Brown were traded by the Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Darrell Evans and Marty Perez.[5]
* June 14, 1976: Joe Strain was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.[6]
* June 21, 1976: Casey Parsons was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.[7]
* September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants.[8]

#### Draft picks

[edit]

* June 8, 1976: Jeff Stember was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.[9]

### Roster

[edit]

1976 San Francisco Giants

Roster
Pitchers

* 33 Jim Barr
* 37 Mike Caldwell
* 34 John D'Acquisto
* 25 Rob Dressler
* 28 Ed Halicki
* 60 Dave Heaverlo
* 39 Bob Knepper
* 46 Gary Lavelle
* 41 Greg Minton
* 17 Randy Moffitt
* 26 John Montefusco
* 45 Frank Riccelli
* 51 Tommy Toms
* 49 Charlie Williams

|  | Catchers

* 58 Gary Alexander
* 2 Marc Hill
* 14 Dave Rader
* 3 Mike Sadek

Infielders

* 15 Chris Arnold
* 41 Darrell Evans
* 10 Johnnie LeMaster
* 29 Bruce Miller
* 22 Willie Montañez
* 16 Steve Ontiveros
* 1 Marty Perez
* 21 Ken Reitz
* 1 Craig Robinson
* 35 Chris Speier
* 30 Derrel Thomas

|  | Outfielders

* 43 Glenn Adams
* 22 Jack Clark
* 31 Larry Herndon
* 19 Von Joshua
* 36 Gary Matthews
* 20 Bobby Murcer
* 12 Gary Thomasson

|  | Manager

* 18 Bill Rigney

Coaches

* 9 Jim Davenport
* 56 Frank Funk
* 8 Buck Rodgers
* 5 Bobby Winkles

## Player stats

[edit]

### Batting

[edit]

#### Starters by position

[edit]

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 | Dave Rader | 88 | 255 | 67 | .263 | 1 | 22
1B | Darrell Evans | 92 | 257 | 57 | .222 | 10 | 36
2B | Marty Perez | 93 | 332 | 86 | .259 | 2 | 26
3B | Ken Reitz | 155 | 577 | 154 | .267 | 5 | 66
SS | Chris Speier | 145 | 495 | 112 | .226 | 3 | 40
LF | Gary Matthews | 156 | 587 | 164 | .279 | 20 | 84
CF | Larry Herndon | 115 | 337 | 97 | .288 | 2 | 23
RF | Bobby Murcer | 147 | 533 | 138 | .259 | 23 | 90

#### Other batters

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Gary Thomasson | 103 | 328 | 85 | .259 | 8 | 38
Derrel Thomas | 81 | 272 | 63 | .232 | 2 | 19
Willie Montañez | 60 | 230 | 71 | .309 | 2 | 20
Von Joshua | 42 | 156 | 41 | .263 | 0 | 2
Marc Hill | 54 | 131 | 24 | .183 | 3 | 15
Jack Clark | 26 | 102 | 23 | .225 | 2 | 10
Johnnie LeMaster | 33 | 100 | 21 | .210 | 0 | 9
Mike Sadek | 55 | 93 | 19 | .204 | 0 | 7
Glenn Adams | 69 | 74 | 18 | .243 | 0 | 3
Steve Ontiveros | 59 | 74 | 13 | .176 | 0 | 5
Gary Alexander | 23 | 73 | 13 | .178 | 2 | 7
Chris Arnold | 60 | 69 | 15 | .217 | 0 | 5
Bruce Miller | 12 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 0 | 2
Craig Robinson | 15 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 2

### Pitching

[edit]

#### Starting pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

John Montefusco | 37 | 253.1 | 16 | 14 | 2.84 | 172
Jim Barr | 37 | 252.1 | 15 | 12 | 2.89 | 75
Ed Halicki | 32 | 186.1 | 12 | 14 | 3.62 | 130
Rob Dressler | 25 | 107.2 | 3 | 10 | 4.43 | 33
John D'Acquisto | 28 | 106.0 | 3 | 8 | 5.35 | 53
Bob Knepper | 4 | 25.0 | 1 | 2 | 3.24 | 11
Frank Riccelli | 4 | 16.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.63 | 11

#### Other pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Mike Caldwell | 50 | 107.1 | 1 | 7 | 4.86 | 55
Greg Minton | 10 | 25.2 | 0 | 3 | 4.91 | 7

#### Relief pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Randy Moffitt | 58 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 2.27 | 50
Gary Lavelle | 65 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 2.69 | 71
Dave Heaverlo | 61 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4.44 | 40
Charlie Williams | 48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.96 | 34
Tommy Toms | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.23 | 4

## Award winners

[edit]

All-Star Game

* John Montefusco, reserve

## Farm system

[edit]

See also: Minor league baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Phoenix Giants | Pacific Coast League | Rocky Bridges
AA | Lafayette Drillers | Texas League | John VanOrnum
A | Fresno Giants | California League | Andy Gilbert
A | Cedar Rapids Giants | Midwest League | Salty Parker
Rookie | Great Falls Giants | Pioneer League | Ernie Rodriguez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great Falls[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Giants Moving: Toronto". St. Petersburg Times. January 9, 1976.
2. ^ Gordon Sakamoto (February 11, 1976). "Giants will stay in San Francisco". Bryan Times. p. 14.
3. ^ Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Von Joshua page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Darrell Evans page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Joe Strain page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Casey Parsons page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Randy Elliott page at Baseball Reference
9. ^ Jeff Stember page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

## External links

[edit]

* 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Reference
* 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Almanac

* v
* t
* e

1976 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1976 MLB draft
* 1976 All-Star Game
* 1976 World Series

* v
* t
* e

San Francisco Giants

* Established in 1883
* Formerly the New York Gothams and the New York Giants
* Based in San Francisco, California (Bay Area)

Franchise|

* History
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Ballparks|

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* Oracle Park

Spring training:|

* Bolton Street Park
* Payne Park
* Flamingo Field
* LSU Varsity Baseball Field
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Culture|

* 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
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* 2014
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Retired numbers|

* NY
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* 3
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* 2002
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Triple-A

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Richmond Flying Squirrels
High-A

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