The 1976 San Francisco Giants season was the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

' 94th season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, their 19th season in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 17th at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

. The team finished in fourth place in the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

with a 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

plummeted, and Giants owner

Horace Stoneham Horace Charles Stoneham ( ; April 27, 1903 – January 7, 1990) was an American Major League Baseball executive and the owner of the New York / San Francisco Giants from 1936 to 1976. Inheriting the Giants, then one of the most prominent franch ...

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 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

group consisting of Labatt's Breweries of Canada, Ltd., Vulcan Assets Ltd., and

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

. The team would begin play with the 1976 season at Toronto's

Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National E ...

and be called the Giants. In addition, it was briefly rumored they considered a return to the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

, perhaps to a new baseball stadium in the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of ...

. Instead,

Bob Lurie Robert Alfred Lurie (born 1929) is a real estate magnate, philanthropist, and former owner of the San Francisco Giants franchise of Major League Baseball from March 2, 1976, until January 12, 1993. Early life Lurie was born to a Jewish family

led a group to buy the Giants from

for $8 million.

Notable transactions

* January 7, 1976:

Dennis Littlejohn Dennis Gerald Littlejohn (October 4, 1954), is a former Major League Baseball player who played catcher from to . He would play for the San Francisco Giants. Littlejohn attended the University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoeve ...

was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the

1976 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by ma ...

(Secondary Phase).

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Von Joshua Von Everett Joshua (born May 1, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–71, 1973–74 and 1979), San Francisco Giants (1975–76), Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77) and San Diego Padres (1980) of Major L ...

Gary Matthews Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed Sarge, is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phill ...

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), ...

John Montefusco John Joseph Montefusco Jr. (born May 25, 1950), nicknamed "The Count," is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986, most notably as a member of the Sa ...

Bobby Murcer Bobby Ray Murcer (May 20, 1946 – July 12, 2008) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1965 and 1983. He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, whom he later ...

* Dave Rader * Ken Reitz *

Chris Speier Christopher Edward Speier (born June 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, most notably for the San Francisco Giants and the Montreal Expos. He is known by the nickname " ...

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 2, 1976:

was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers. * June 13, 1976:

, Craig Robinson, Mike Eden, and Jake Brown were traded by the Giants to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

for

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternatin ...

and

Marty Perez Martin Roman Perez (born February 28, 1946) is a former shortstop and second baseman for the California Angels (1969–70), Atlanta Braves (1971–76), San Francisco Giants (1976), New York Yankees (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977–78). He w ...

. * June 14, 1976:

Joe Strain Joseph Allan Strain (born April 30, 1954) is a former a professional baseball player who was an infielder in the Major Leagues from to for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. Strain currently resides in the home rule municipality of Cen ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants. * June 21, 1976:

Casey Parsons Casey Robert Parsons is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. In four seasons, he played in just 63 games, and ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants. * September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants.

Draft picks

* June 8, 1976:

Jeff Stember Jeffrey Alan Stember (born March 2, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Biography The right-hander was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is Jewish, and attended Westfield High School (New Jersey), Westfield High School. He was drafted ...

was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Award winners

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great FallsJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Reference

1976 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Almanac
{{San Francisco Giants San Francisco Giants seasons San Francisco Giants season San Fran