1976 Oakland Athletics season

1976 Oakland Athletics
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Oakland, California (since 1968)
Results
Record	87–74 (.540)
Other information
Owner(s)	Charles O. Finley
Manager(s)	Chuck Tanner
Local television	KPIX-TV
Local radio	KNBR (Monte Moore, Bob Waller)
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The 1976 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing second in the American League West with a record of 87 wins and 74 losses, 2½ games behind the Kansas City Royals, meaning that the A's failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1970. This team set and still holds the American League team record for most stolen bases in a season with 341.^[1]

The Athletics would not eclipse this season's win total until 1988 (when they won 104). Indeed, nearly all of the team's stars (Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Gene Tenace, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Don Baylor, Phil Garner, Billy Williams, Claudell Washington, and an injury-plagued Willie McCovey) would depart during the 1976-77 offseason. This staggering mass exodus contributed led to a 24-win plunge in 1977.

Offseason

• October 10, 1975: Dal Maxvill was released by the Athletics.^[2]
• December 9, 1975: Ray Fosse was purchased from the Athletics by the Cleveland Indians.^[3]

Regular season

As the 1976 season got underway, the basic rules of player contracts were changing. It was ruled that baseball's reserve clause only bound players for one season after their contract expired. All players not signed to multi-year contracts would be eligible for free agency at the end of the 1976 season. Finley reacted by trading star players and attempting to sell others. On June 15, 1976, Finley sold left fielder Joe Rudi and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to Boston for $1 million each, and pitcher Vida Blue ^[4] to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million. Three days later, Bowie Kuhn voided the transactions in the "best interests of baseball." Amid the turmoil, the A's still finished second in the A.L. West, 2.5 games behind the Royals.

Fire sale

• Before the June 15, 1976 trading deadline, Finley contacted the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. He had proposed a trade to the Boston Red Sox that would have involved Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Gene Tenace and Sal Bando for Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk and prospects.^[5] In trade talks with the Yankees, Finley proposed Vida Blue for Thurman Munson along with either Roy White or Elliott Maddox. Finley also offered Joe Rudi for Thurman Munson.^[5]
• On June 14, 1976, Finley was unable to make any trades. He had started contacting other teams about the possibility of selling his players' contracts. Joe Rudi, Vida Blue, Don Baylor, and Gene Tenace were worth $1 million each, while Sal Bando could be acquired for $500,000. Boston Red Sox General manager Dick O'Connell was in Oakland as the Red Sox would play the Athletics on June 15. Field manager Darrell Johnson had declared that he was interested in Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers. The Red Sox had agreed to purchase both contracts for one million dollars each.

O’Connell had contacted Detroit Tigers General manager Jim Campbell to purchase Vida Blue for one million dollars so that the New York Yankees could not get him.^[6] Gabe Paul of the New York Yankees advised that he would pay $1.5 million for the opportunity to acquire Vida Blue. Finley offered Blue a three-year extension worth $485,000 per season to make the sale more attractive to the Yankees.^[6] With the extension, the Yankees agreed to purchase Blue.

• Finley had then proceeded to contact Bill Veeck of the Chicago White Sox about purchasing Sal Bando. He then contacted the Texas Rangers, as they were interested in acquiring Don Baylor for the one million dollar asking price.^[7]

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	90	72	0.556	—	49–32	41–40
Oakland Athletics	87	74	0.540	2½	51–30	36–44
Minnesota Twins	85	77	0.525	5	44–37	41–40
Texas Rangers	76	86	0.469	14	39–42	37–44
California Angels	76	86	0.469	14	38–43	38–43
Chicago White Sox	64	97	0.398	25½	35–45	29–52

• By May 18, 1976, the Athletics were 18-24, and seven and a half games out of first place.^[8]

Record vs. opponents

1976 American League Records 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	—

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1976: Reggie Jackson, Ken Holtzman, and Bill Van Bommell (minors) were traded by the Athletics to the Baltimore Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell.^[9] Charlie Finley stated that he made the trade to obtain more pitching for the club.^[10] He later admitted, that he had refused to agree to Jackson's salary demands.^[8]
• April 5, 1976: Ken McMullen was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[11]
• April 19, 1976: Tim Hosley was selected by the Athletics off waivers from the Chicago Cubs.^[12]
• June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Rickey Henderson was drafted by the Athletics in the 4th round. Henderson signed on July 9, 1976.^[13]
  • Ernie Camacho was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (18th pick) of the Secondary Phase.^[14]
• June 9, 1976: Nate Colbert was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[15]
• August 30, 1976: Willie McCovey was purchased by the Athletics from the San Diego Padres.^[16]

Roster

1976 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 37 Glenn Abbott 39,45 Stan Bahnsen 32 Chris Batton 14 Vida Blue 17 Dick Bosman 34 Rollie Fingers 25 Paul Lindblad 29 Craig Mitchell 36 Paul Mitchell 16 Mike Norris 22 Jim Todd 24 Mike Torrez		Catchers 12 Larry Haney 30 Tim Hosley  5 Jeff Newman Infielders  6 Sal Bando 19 Bert Campaneris 11 Ron Fairly 2,3 Phil Garner 10 Wayne Gross 21,45 Larry Lintz 35 Ken McMullen 13 Tommy Sandt 18 Gene Tenace		Outfielders 31 Matt Alexander 20 Don Baylor  8 Ángel Mangual  4 Billy North 26 Joe Rudi 2,3 César Tovar  8 Denny Walling 15 Claudell Washington 28 Billy Williams 33 Gary Woods Other batters 23 Nate Colbert 38 Jim Holt  1 Don Hopkins 44 Willie McCovey		Manager  7 Chuck Tanner Coaches 44 Joe Lonnett 43 Alex Monchak 42 Wes Stock

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	Haney, LarryLarry Haney	88	177	40	.226	0	10
1B	Tenace, GeneGene Tenace	128	417	104	.249	22	66
2B	Garner, PhilPhil Garner	159	555	145	.261	8	74
3B	Bando, SalSal Bando	158	550	132	.240	27	84
SS	Campaneris, BertBert Campaneris	149	536	137	.256	1	52
LF	Rudi, JoeJoe Rudi	130	500	135	.270	13	94
CF	North, BillyBilly North	154	590	163	.276	2	31
RF	Washington, ClaudellClaudell Washington	134	490	126	.257	5	53
DH	Williams, BillyBilly Williams	120	351	74	.211	11	41

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
Baylor, DonDon Baylor	157	595	147	.247	15	68
McMullen, KenKen McMullen	98	186	41	.220	5	23
Newman, JeffJeff Newman	43	77	15	.195	0	4
Sandt, TommyTommy Sandt	41	67	14	.209	0	3
Hosley, TimTim Hosley	37	55	9	.164	1	4
Fairly, RonRon Fairly	15	46	11	.239	3	10
Tovar, CésarCésar Tovar	29	45	8	.178	0	4
Alexander, MattMatt Alexander	61	30	1	.033	0	0
McCovey, WillieWillie McCovey	11	24	5	.208	0	0
Gross, WayneWayne Gross	10	18	4	.222	0	1
Mangual, ÁngelÁngel Mangual	8	12	2	.167	0	1
Walling, DennyDenny Walling	3	11	3	.273	0	0
Holt, JimJim Holt	4	7	2	.286	0	2
Woods, GaryGary Woods	6	8	1	.125	0	0
Colbert, NateNate Colbert	2	5	0	.000	0	0
Lintz, LarryLarry Lintz	68	1	0	.000	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
Blue, VidaVida Blue	37	298.1	18	13	2.35	166
Torrez, MikeMike Torrez	39	266.1	16	12	2.50	115
Mitchell, PaulPaul Mitchell	26	142	9	7	4.25	67
Norris, MikeMike Norris	24	96	4	5	4.78	44

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
Bahnsen, StanStan Bahnsen	35	143	8	7	3.34	82
Bosman, DickDick Bosman	27	112	4	2	4.10	34
Abbott, GlennGlenn Abbott	19	62.1	2	4	5.49	27
Batton, ChrisChris Batton	2	4	0	0	9.00	4

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
Fingers, RollieRollie Fingers	70	13	11	20	2.47	113
Lindblad, PaulPaul Lindblad	65	6	5	5	3.06	37
Todd, JimJim Todd	49	7	8	4	3.81	22
Mitchell, CraigCraig Mitchell	1	0	0	0	2.70	0

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Hank Aguirre and Lee Stange
AA	Chattanooga Lookouts	Southern League	Rene Lachemann
A	Modesto A's	California League	George Farson
A-Short Season	Boise A's	Northwest League	Tom Trebelhorn

References

1. Team Stolen Base Records & Team Caught Stealing Records
2. Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference
3. Ray Fosse page at Baseball Reference
4. SITT - Vida Blue
5. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.247, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
6. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.248, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
7. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.249, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
8. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.245, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
9. Reggie Jackson page at Baseball Reference
10. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.244, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
11. Ken McMullen page at Baseball Reference
12. Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference
13. Rickey Henderson page at Baseball Reference
14. Ernie Camacho page at Baseball Reference
15. Nate Colbert page at Baseball Reference
16. Willie McCovey page at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1976 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1976 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com