1976 San Francisco Giants season

1976 San Francisco Giants
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1883)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Candlestick Park (since 1960)
San Francisco, California (since 1958)
Other information
Owner(s)	Horace Stoneham and Bob Lurie
General manager(s)	Spec Richardson
Manager(s)	Bill Rigney
Local television	KTVU (Al Michaels, Gary Park)
Local radio	KSFO (Al Michaels, Lon Simmons)
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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 an 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 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, thereby saving the team from potentially being sold to a Canadian brewery and moved to Toronto.^[2]

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).^[3]

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

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	102	60	0.630	—	49–32	53–28
Los Angeles Dodgers	92	70	0.568	10	49–32	43–38
Houston Astros	80	82	0.494	22	46–36	34–46
San Francisco Giants	74	88	0.457	28	40–41	34–47
San Diego Padres	73	89	0.451	29	42–38	31–51
Atlanta Braves	70	92	0.432	32	34–47	36–45

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 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

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

Roster

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

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	Rader, DaveDave Rader	88	255	67	.263	1	22
3B	Reitz, KenKen Reitz	155	577	154	.267	5	66
SS	Speier, ChrisChris Speier	145	495	112	.226	3	40
LF	Matthews, GaryGary Matthews	156	587	164	.279	20	84
RF	Murcer, BobbyBobby Murcer	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
Thomas, DerrelDerrel Thomas	81	272	63	.232	2	19
Montañez, WillieWillie Montañez	60	230	71	.309	2	20
Joshua, VonVon Joshua	42	156	41	.263	0	2
Sadek, MikeMike Sadek	55	93	19	.204	0	7
Ontiveros, SteveSteve Ontiveros	59	74	13	.176	0	5
Robinson, ChrisChris Robinson	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
Montefusco, JohnJohn Montefusco	37	253.1	16	14	2.84	172
Barr, JimJim Barr	37	252.1	15	12	2.89	75
Dressler, RobRob Dressler	25	107.2	3	10	4.43	33
D'Acquisto, JohnJohn D'Acquisto	28	106	3	8	5.35	53
Riccelli, FrankFrank Riccelli	4	16	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
Caldwell, MikeMike Caldwell	50	107.1	1	7	4.86	55

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
Williams, CharlieCharlie Williams	48	2	0	1	2.96	34

Award winners

All-Star Game

• John Montefusco, reserve

Farm system

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

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

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