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
Team movement discussion 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. 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.
Notable transactions 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).Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Opening Day starters Von Joshua Gary Matthews Willie Montañez John Montefusco Bobby Murcer Dave Rader Ken Reitz Chris Speier Derrel Thomas
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 2, 1976: Von Joshua was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers.Von Joshua page at Baseball Reference 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.Darrell Evans page at Baseball Reference June 14, 1976: Joe Strain was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.Joe Strain page at Baseball Reference June 21, 1976: Casey Parsons was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.Casey Parsons page at Baseball Reference September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants.Randy Elliott page at Baseball Reference
Draft picks June 8, 1976: Jeff Stember was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.Jeff Stember page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1976 San Francisco Giants Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats
= Indicates team leader 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 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 155 577 154 .267 5 66 SS 145 495 112 .226 3 40 LF 156 587 164 .279 20 84 CF Larry Herndon 115 337 97 .288 2 23 RF 147 533 138 .259 23 90
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 Gary Thomasson 103 328 85 .259 8 38 81 272 63 .232 2 19 60 230 71 .309 2 20 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 55 93 19 .204 0 7 Glenn Adams 69 74 18 .243 0 3 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 15 13 4 .308 0 2
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 37 253.1 16 14 2.84 172 37 252.1 15 12 2.89 75 Ed Halicki 32 186.1 12 14 3.62 130 25 107.2 3 10 4.43 33 28 106.0 3 8 5.35 53 Bob Knepper 4 25.0 1 2 3.24 11 4 16.0 1 1 5.63 11
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 50 107.1 1 7 4.86 55 Greg Minton 10 25.2 0 3 4.91 7
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 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 48 2 0 1 2.96 34 Tommy Toms 7 0 1 1 6.23 4
Award winners All-Star Game John Montefusco, reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great FallsJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
External links 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Reference 1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Almanac