1976 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1976 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Results
Record	92–70 (.568)
Divisional place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown, Harding "Pete" Peterson
Manager(s)	Danny Murtaugh
Local television	KDKA-TV Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare
Local radio	KDKA Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare
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The 1976 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 90th in the National League, and the 95th in franchise history. The Pirates compiled a 92-70 record during the season, as they finished in second place in the NL East, nine games behind their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. As a result, their run of five division titles in a six-year span came to an end. It was also the final season for Danny Murtaugh as the Pirates' manager.

Offseason

• December 4, 1975: Rafael Vásquez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[2]
• December 11, 1975: Dock Ellis, Ken Brett and Willie Randolph were traded by the Pirates to the New York Yankees for Doc Medich.^[3]
• January 27, 1976: Pascual Pérez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[4]

Regular season

• August 9, 1976: John Candelaria pitched a no hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[5]

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Philadelphia Phillies	101	61	0.623	—	53–28	48–33
Pittsburgh Pirates	92	70	0.568	9	47–34	45–36
New York Mets	86	76	0.531	15	45–37	41–39
Chicago Cubs	75	87	0.463	26	42–39	33–48
St. Louis Cardinals	72	90	0.444	29	37–44	35–46
Montreal Expos	55	107	0.340	46	27–53	28–54

Record vs. opponents

1976 National League Records 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

• June 8, 1976: Bob Long was drafted by the Pirates in the 24th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.^[6]
• July 2, 1976: Albert Williams was released by the Pirates.^[7]
• September 8, 1976: Ramón Hernández was purchased from the Pirates by the Chicago Cubs.^[8]

Roster

1976 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 17 Doug Bair 45 John Candelaria 44 Larry Demery 31 Dave Giusti 36 Ramón Hernández 25 Bruce Kison 30 Rick Langford 32 Doc Medich 38 Bob Moose 41 Jerry Reuss 19 Jim Rooker 27 Kent Tekulve		Catchers  5 Duffy Dyer 14 Ed Ott 35 Manny Sanguillén Infielders  3 Richie Hebner 15 Tommy Helms 23 Ed Kirkpatrick 11 Mario Mendoza 12 Craig Reynolds  7 Bob Robertson  8 Willie Stargell  6 Rennie Stennett 10 Frank Taveras		Outfielders 46 Tony Armas 37 Miguel Diloné 18 Omar Moreno 16 Al Oliver 39 Dave Parker 28 Bill Robinson 22 Richie Zisk		Manager 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 43 Don Leppert 42 Don Osborn  2 José Pagán  4 Bob Skinner

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; R = Runs scored; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	R	HR	RBI	Avg.	RBI
C	Sanguillén, MannyManny Sanguillén	114	389	52	113	.290	2	36	2
1B	Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell	117	428	54	110	.257	20	65	2
2B	Stennett, RennieRennie Stennett	157	654	59	168	.257	2	60	18
3B	Hebner, RichieRichie Hebner	132	434	60	108	.249	8	51	1
SS	Taveras, FrankFrank Taveras	144	519	76	134	.258	0	24	58
LF	Zisk, RichieRichie Zisk	155	581	91	168	.323	21	89	1
CF	Oliver, AlAl Oliver	121	443	62	143	.323	12	61	6
RF	Parker, DaveDave Parker	138	537	82	168	.313	13	90	19

^[9]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; R = Runs scored; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	H	R	HR	RBI	Avg.	RBI
Robinson, BillBill Robinson	122	393	55	119	.303	21	64	2
Dyer, DuffyDuffy Dyer	69	184	12	41	.223	3	9	0
Moreno, OmarOmar Moreno	48	122	33	.270	2	12
Ott, EdEd Ott	27	39	2	12	.308	0	5	0
Diloné, MiguelMiguel Diloné	16	17	7	4	.235	0	0	5
Armas, TonyTony Armas	4	6	0	2	.333	0	1	0
Reynolds, CraigCraig Reynolds	7	4	1	1	.250	1	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
Candelaria, JohnJohn Candelaria	32	220	16	7	3.15	138
Reuss, JerryJerry Reuss	31	209.1	14	9	3.53	108
Kison, BruceBruce Kison	31	193	14	9	3.08	98
Medich, DocDoc Medich	29	179	8	11	3.52	86

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
Demery, LarryLarry Demery	36	145	10	7	3.17	72

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
Tekulve, KentKent Tekulve	64	5	3	9	2.45	68
Moose, BobBob Moose	53	3	9	10	3.68	38
Giusti, DaveDave Giusti	40	5	4	6	4.32	24
Hernández, RamónRamón Hernández	37	2	2	3	3.56	17
Langford, RickRick Langford	12	0	1	0	6.26	17
Bair, DougDoug Bair	4	0	0	0	5.68	4

Awards and honors

1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Charleston Charlies	International League	Tim Murtaugh
AA	Shreveport Captains	Texas League	Johnny Lipon
A	Salem Pirates	Carolina League	Steve Demeter
A	Charleston Patriots	Western Carolinas League	Mike Ryan
A-Short Season	Niagara Falls Pirates	New York–Penn League	Glenn Ezell
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Rafael Vásquez Statistics at Baseball Reference
3. Dock Ellis at Baseball Reference
4. Pascual Pérez Statistics at Baseball Reference
5. August 9, 1976 Dodgers-Pirates box score at Baseball Reference
6. Bob Long at Baseball Reference
7. Albert Williams at Baseball Reference
8. Ramón Hernández at Baseball Reference
9. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1976.shtml

References

• 1976 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1976 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.