1976 Boston Red Sox season

The 1976 Boston Red Sox season was the 76th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses, games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship.

Offseason

November 17, 1975: Juan Beniquez and Steve Barr were traded by the Red Sox to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.
December 12, 1975: Roger Moret was traded by the Red Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Tom House.
February 15, 1976: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
March 3, 1976: Dick Drago was traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for John Balaz, Dick Sharon, and Dave Machemer.

Regular season

Highlights

The Red Sox did not come close to repeating the previous year's success. An off-season contract dispute with Fred Lynn was a distraction. In early May, a brawl with the New York Yankees led to a shoulder injury for Bill Lee, one of their best pitchers and a 17-game winner in 1975; Lee would be out until mid-1977, and his loss was keenly felt.
On June 15, Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley attempted to sell left fielder Joe Rudi and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each, and starting pitcher Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million. Three days later, Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn voided the transactions, citing "the best interests of baseball."
The Red Sox' beloved owner, Tom Yawkey, died of leukemia in July. Manager Darrell Johnson was fired shortly thereafter, and replaced by coach Don Zimmer. Overall, it was a disappointing season for a talented but underachieving team.

Notable transactions

April 7, 1976: Diego Seguí was released by the Red Sox.
May 4, 1976: Gene Michael was released by the Red Sox.
June 3, 1976: Bernie Carbo was traded by the Red Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bobby Darwin and Tom Murphy.
June 8, 1976: Wade Boggs was drafted by the Red Sox in the 7th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 10, 1976.

Opening Day lineup

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Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	AVG	SLG
Jim Rice	153	581	75	164	25	8	25	85	8	28	.282	.482
Carl Yastrzemski	155	546	71	146	23	2	21	102	5	80	.267	.432
Rick Burleson	152	540	75	157	27	1	7	42	14	60	.291	.383
Fred Lynn	132	507	76	159	32	8	10	65	14	48	.314	.467
Dwight Evans	146	501	61	121	34	5	17	62	6	57	.242	.431
Carlton Fisk	134	487	76	124	17	5	17	58	12	56	.255	.415
Cecil Cooper	123	451	66	127	22	6	15	78	7	16	.282	.457
Denny Doyle	117	432	51	108	15	5	0	26	8	22	.250	.308
Rick Miller	105	269	40	76	15	3	0	27	11	34	.283	.361
Butch Hobson	76	269	34	63	7	5	8	34	0	15	.234	.387
Rico Petrocelli	85	240	17	51	7	1	3	24	0	34	.213	.288
Steve Dillard	57	167	22	46	14	0	1	15	6	17	.275	.377
Doug Griffin	49	127	14	24	2	0	0	4	2	9	.189	.205
Bobby Darwin	43	106	9	19	5	2	3	13	1	2	.179	.349
Bob Montgomery	31	93	10	23	3	1	3	13	0	5	.247	.398
Bob Heise	32	56	5	15	2	0	0	5	0	1	.268	.304
Bernie Carbo	17	55	5	13	4	0	2	6	1	8	.236	.418
Deron Johnson	15	38	3	5	1	1	0	0	0	5	.132	.211
Jack Baker	12	23	1	3	0	0	1	2	0	1	.130	.261
Ernie Whitt	8	18	4	4	2	0	1	3	0	2	.222	.500
Andy Merchant	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Pitcher Totals	162	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Team Totals	162	5511	716	1448	257	53	134	664	95	500	.263	.402

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Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Luis Tiant	21	12	3.06	38	38	0	279.0	274	107	95	64	131
Rick Wise	14	11	3.53	34	34	0	224.1	218	100	88	48	93
Fergie Jenkins	12	11	3.27	30	29	0	209.0	201	85	76	43	142
Reggie Cleveland	10	9	3.07	41	14	2	170.0	159	73	58	61	76
Dick Pole	6	5	4.33	31	15	0	120.2	131	62	58	48	49
Rick Jones	5	3	3.36	24	14	0	104.1	133	48	39	26	45
Jim Willoughby	3	12	2.82	54	0	10	99.0	94	38	31	31	37
Bill Lee	5	7	5.63	24	14	3	96.0	124	68	60	28	29
Tom Murphy	4	5	3.44	37	0	8	81.0	91	43	31	25	32
Tom House	1	3	4.33	36	0	4	43.2	39	22	21	19	27
Rick Kreuger	2	1	4.06	8	4	0	31.0	31	14	14	16	12
Team Totals	83	79	3.52	162	162	27	1458.0	1495	660	571	409	673

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Statistical leaders

Category	Player	Statistic
Youngest player	Rick Jones	21
Oldest player	Deron Johnson	37
Wins Above Replacement	Luis Tiant	6.2

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Batting

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Pitching

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Awards and honors

Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award
Luis Tiant – AL Player of the Month

;All-Star Game

Carlton Fisk, reserve C
Fred Lynn, starting CF
Luis Tiant, reserve P
Carl Yastrzemski, reserve OF

Farm system

The Pawtucket Red Sox were known as the Rhode Island Red Sox during the 1976 season.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Elmira

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