Everything about 1976 World Series totally explained
The
World Series matched the defending champion
Cincinnati Reds of the
National League against the
New York Yankees of the
American League, with the Reds
sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became (and remain) the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason.
The
Cincinnati Reds won the
National League West division by 10 games over the
Los Angeles Dodgers then defeated the
Philadelphia Phillies, three games to none, in the
National League Championship Series. The
New York Yankees won the
American League East division by 10 ½ games over the
Baltimore Orioles then defeated the
Kansas City Royals, three games to two, in the
American League Championship Series.
This
World Series was the first in which the
designated hitter rule was in effect which wound up benefiting the Reds who were able to get utility infielder
Dan Driessen's bat in the lineup. Driessen hit .357 with one home run.
Elliott Maddox,
Carlos May, and
Lou Piniella shared the role for the
New York Yankees. Game 1 at
Riverfront Stadium marked the first time the DH was used in a
National League ballpark.
Background
After spending the last two years sharing home field with the
New York Mets at
Shea Stadium, the
New York Yankees returned home to a re-built
Yankee stadium.
George Steinbrenner will now have owned the team for 3 years, since 1973, with
Billy Martin serving the first of his five stints as manager since 1975. General Manager
Gabe Paul made numerous trades getting
Mickey Rivers and
Ed Figueroa from the
Angels for
Bobby Bonds;
Willie Randolph and
Dock Ellis from the
Pirates for
Doc Medich; and
Doyle Alexander,
Ken Holtzman, and
Grant Jackson from the
Orioles for
Rudy May,
Tippy Martinez,
Scott McGregor, and
Rick Dempsey.
The heart of the team was Yankee captain,
Thurman Munson, whose grit and determination were factors in his winning the MVP award in the
American League. Third baseman,
Graig Nettles, and first baseman,
Chris Chambliss were the key run producers, while speedy outfielders
Roy White and Rivers
set the table for the
power hitters. Super free agent
Catfish Hunter headed the staff while reliever
Sparky Lyle led the A.L. in saves with 23. The
Yankees finished 10 ½ ahead in the A.L. East advancing to the
World Series by beating the
Kansas City Royals in the 5th game of the playoffs on a ninth-inning walk-off home run by
Chambliss.
The defending champion,
Cincinnati Reds were piloted by
Sparky Anderson who had a solid lineup from top to bottom led by two-time MVP, second baseman
Joe Morgan while catcher
Johnny Bench, first baseman
Tony Perez, and outfielder
George Foster provided enough power to drive in sparkplugs,
Pete Rose, and
Ken Griffey. This was the first
World Series to utilize the
designated hitter.
Dan Driessen was the primary DH for the
Reds while the
Yankees interchanged
Lou Piniella,
Carlos May, and
Elliott Maddox.
The
Reds relied on left-handers
Don Gullett and
Fred Norman to pacify the Yankee hitters in games one and two, respectively. Gullett had come back from a mid-season injury to start game one but had to leave the game in the 8th inning due to a twisted ankle while Norman out-pitched ace
Hunter in game two. Game three in
New York pitted effective
Pat Zachary
for the Reds against newly acquired Yankee,
Dock Ellis. Ellis would last only 3 1/3 innings, taken out in the 4th after a homer by Driessen. Game four was delayed a day due to rain but the Reds were ready for the sweep. Four Cincinnati runs in the ninth blew open the game, triggering
Billy Martin to lose his cool causing his
ejection from the game.
The
Cincinnati Reds outscored the
New York Yankees 22 to 8 and became the first N.L. team to repeat as World Champions since the 1921-1922
New York Giants. Bench would claim the MVP of the series hitting .533 with 3 home runs and 6 runs batted in. Honorable mention goes to
Thurman Munson who had 9 hits and a .529 batting average.
Summary
NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (0)
| 1 |
Yankees |
Reds |
5 - 1 |
Sat. Oct. 16 (D) |
Riverfront Stadium |
54,826 |
2:10 |
Riverfront Stadium
| 54,816 |
2:33 |
Yankee Stadium
| 56,667 |
2:40 |
Yankee Stadium
| 56,700 |
2:36 |
October 16, 1976 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
New York Yankees 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
Cincinnati Reds 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 X 5 10 1
PITCHERS: NYY - Alexander, Lyle (7)
CIN - Gullett, Borbon (8)
WP - Gullett
LP - Alexander
SAVE - none
HOME RUNS: NYY - none
CIN - Morgan
ATTENDANCE: 54,826
Joe Morgan got the Reds off to a booming start with a solo home run off Doyle Alexander. (Alexander had to start because Catfish Hunter had a sore arm and needed another day of rest). Tony Perez had RBIs in the third and sixth innings and Johnny Bench had an RBI triple and then scored on a Sparky Lyle wild pitch in the seventh. The only bad news for the Reds was an injury to starting pitcher Don Gullett, who pulled a calf muscle in the eighth and would be unavailable for the remainder of the Series.
Game 2
October 17, 1976 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
New York Yankees 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 9 1
Cincinnati Reds 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 10 0
PITCHERS: NYY - Hunter
CIN - Norman, Billingham (7)
WP - Billingham
LP - Hunter
SAVE - none
HOME RUNS: NYY - none
CIN - none
ATTENDANCE: 54,816
The Reds rallied for three runs in the second off a rested Catfish Hunter on RBI singles by George Foster and Dave Concepción and a sacrifice fly by Pete Rose. The Yankees got on the board on an RBI single by Graig Nettles in the fourth. In the seventh, the Yankees tied things up on an RBI double by Fred Stanley and an RBI groundout by Thurman Munson. Meanwhile, Hunter settled into a groove, shutting out the Reds until the ninth. With two outs, Ken Griffey reached second when Stanley threw wildly past first after fielding his slow bouncer. Joe Morgan was walked intentionally and Tony Perez ended the game by driving in Griffey with a single.
The Sunday night contest was the first weekend World Series game to start after dark. MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn responded to criticism of the scheduling, which was done to accommodate network television, by attending the game without an overcoat despite bitterly cold nighttime weather.
Game 3
October 19, 1976 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati Reds 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 13 2
New York Yankees 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 8 0
PITCHERS: CIN - Zachry, McEnaney (7)
NYY - Ellis, Jackson (4), Tidrow (8)
WP - Zachry
LP - Ellis
SAVE - McEnaney
HOME RUNS: CIN - Driessen
NYY - Mason
ATTENDANCE: 56,667
As the Series moved to Yankee Stadium, the Reds struck first with three runs off starter Dock Ellis. An RBI double by George Foster, RBI force-out by César Gerónimo, and an RBI single by Dave Concepción provided the tallies. Dan Driessen smacked a solo homer in the fourth, and Joe Morgan had an RBI double and Foster an RBI single in the eighth. Yankee backup shortstop Jim Mason entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh and hit a solo homer, thus becoming the first player to hit a home run in his first and only World Series at-bat (the second being Geoff Blum). Also, in the seventh, Yankee left-handed reliever Grant Jackson provided a defensive gem by catching a hard-hit ground ball off the bat of Johnny Bench behind his back and retiring Bench, thereby robbing him of a base hit.
Yankee's backup shortstop Jim Mason entered as a defensive replacement in the 5th inning and homered in his turn at bat in the 7th. It was the only homer of the series for the Yankees and the only WS at bat of Mason's career thus making him the first, and still only man to hit a home run in his lone career Series at-bat.
Game 4
October 21, 1976 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 7 9 2
New York Yankees 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 8 0
PITCHERS: CIN - Nolan, McEnaney (7)
NYY - Figueroa, Tidrow (9), Lyle (9)
WP - Nolan
LP - Figueroa
SAVE - McEnaney
HOME RUNS: CIN - Bench (2)
ATTENDANCE: 56,700
The Yankees got on the board in the first (which would be their only lead in this Series) on a Thurman Munson single and a Chris Chambliss double. Munson would collect four hits in the game. In the fourth, Joe Morgan singled, stole second, and came home on a George Foster single. Johnny Bench followed with his first home run to give the Reds a 3-1 lead that they never relinquished. Bench would later add to his heroics with a three-run shot in the ninth, followed by consecutive doubles by César Gerónimo and Dave Concepción. Bench's performance earned him the Series MVP, while fellow catcher Munson had a fine Series himself with nine hits and a .529 average.
Composite Box
1976 World Series (4-0): Cincinnati Reds (N.L.) over New York Yankees (A.L.)
| Cincinnati Reds |
1 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
22 |
42 |
5 |
New York Yankees
| 1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
30 |
2 |
| Winning Player’s Share: – $26,366, Losing Player’s Share – $19,935 * Includes Playoffs and World Series |
Series quotes
Broadcasting
This was the last of 30 consecutive World Series telecasts by NBC, which had aired the game since 1947; under Major League Baseball's new television contract, Series coverage would now alternate between NBC and ABC each year. It was also the last time that local announcers for the participating teams (Rizzuto and Brennaman, in this case) would be regularly featured on the network telecast.
This was the first of 22 consecutive World Series to be broadcast by CBS Radio.
Further Information
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