1976 Kansas City Royals season

The 1976 Kansas City Royals season was their eighth in Major League Baseball. The Royals won their first division title, taking the American League West with a record of 90-72 in the first full season as manager for Whitey Herzog. Kansas City was defeated 3-2 by the New York Yankees in the 1976 American League Championship Series. George Brett (.333) became the first Royals player to win a league batting title.

1976 Kansas City Royals
1976 American League West Division Champion
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s)Ewing Kauffman
General manager(s)Joe Burke
Manager(s)Whitey Herzog (first full season)
Local televisionKBMA–TV 41
(Denny Matthews, Fred White)
Local radioWIBW–AM 580
KMBZ–AM 980
(Denny Matthews, Fred White)
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Offseason

Regular season
A game at Royals Stadium on Sunday, September 19, 1976. The pitcher is Chris Knapp and the batter is Tom Poquette. The Royals would beat the White Sox 6 to 5.

Season standings
AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 9072 0.556 — 49–32 41–40
Oakland Athletics 8774 0.540 2½ 51–30 36–44
Minnesota Twins 8577 0.525 5 44–37 41–40
Texas Rangers 7686 0.469 14 39–42 37–44
California Angels 7686 0.469 14 38–43 38–43
Chicago White Sox 6497 0.398 25½ 35–45 29–52

Record vs. opponents
1976 American League Records

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK TEX
Baltimore —7–118–48–47–1112–66–611–74–813–54–88–4
Boston 11–7—7–56–69–914–43–912–67–57–114–83–9
California 4–85–7—11–77–56–68–104–88–105–76–1212–6
Chicago 4–86–67–11—3–96–68–107–57–111–118–97–11
Cleveland 11–79–95–79–3—6–126–611–69–34–124–87–5
Detroit 6–124–146–66–612–6—4–812–64–89–86–65–7
Kansas City 6–69–310–810–86–68–4—8–410–87–59–97–11
Milwaukee 7–116–128–45–76–116–124–8—4–85–135–710–2
Minnesota 8–45–710–811–73–98–48–108–4—2–1011–711–7
New York 5–1311–77–511–112–48–95–713–510–2—6–69–3
Oakland 8–48–412–69–88–46–69–97–57–116–6—7–11
Texas 4–89–36–1211–75–77–511–72–107–113–911–7—

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

Roster
1976 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season
1976 regular season game log: 90–72 (Home: 49-32; Away: 41–40)
April: 5–7 (Home: 3–4; Away: 2–3)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
1April 91:15 p.m. CST@ White SoxL 0–4Wood (1–0)Splittorff (0–1)–2:2540,3180–1L1
—April 11@ White SoxPostponed (Cold) (Makeup date: August 6)
—April 11@ White SoxPostponed (Cold) (Makeup date: September 13)
2April 137:30 p.m. CSTAngelsW 7–4Fitzmorris (1–0)Hassler (0–1)Pattin (1)3:0525,5161–1W1
3April 147:30 p.m. CSTAngelsL 6–7Monge (1–0)Pattin (0–1)Brewer (1)3:169,0431–2L1
4April 157:30 p.m. CSTAngelsL 1–5Ryan (1–1)Splittorff (0–2)–2:137,6571–3L2
5April 167:30 p.m. CSTIndiansW 5–3Mingori (1–0)Peterson (0–1)Pattin (2)2:2112,2192–3W1
6April 177:30 p.m. CSTIndiansW 5–3 (5)Fitzmorris (2–0)Eckersley (0–2)–1:329,7993–3W2
7April 181:30 p.m. CSTIndiansL 0–6Dobson (1–1)Busby (0–1)–2:4110,4663–4L1
8April 206:30 p.m. CST@ BrewersL 4–5Broberg (1–0)Leonard (0–1)Rodríguez (3)2:464,9023–5L2
—April 21@ BrewersPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 21)
9April 226:30 p.m. CST@ BrewersW 2–1Bird (1–0)Colborn (1–1)–2:365,1964–5W1
10April 23@ YankeesW 3–2Splittorff (1–2)Hunter (1–3)Mingori (1)35,1165–5W2
11April 24@ YankeesL 8–9 (11)Lyle (2–0)Pattin (0–2)–16,0345–6L1
—April 25@ YankeesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 6)
12April 30YankeesL 3–5Hunter (2–3)Splittorff (1–3)–11,3685–7L2
May: 20–10 (Home: 11–2; Away: 9–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
13May 1YankeesW 4–1Busby (1–1)Figueroa (1–1)–18,7036–7W1
14May 2YankeesW 2–1 (11)Bird (2–0)Lyle (1–1)–13,4047–7W2
15May 4@ Red Sox7–5Fitzmorris (3-0)Lee (0-3)Bird (1)16,2748-7W3
16May 5@ Red Sox8–4Splittorff (2-3)Jenkins (1-4)Littell (1)17,5969-7W4
17May 7@ Orioles3–4Garland (2-0)Pattin (0-3)7,3109-8L1
18May 8@ Orioles6–3Leonard (1-1)Holtzman (2-2)Bird (2)51,19510-8W1
19May 9@ Orioles7–4Littell (1-0)Palmer (4-4)7,59011-8W2
20May 10Twins4–5 (10)Burgmeier (2-0)Pattin (0-4)Luebber (2)12,52611-9L1
21May 11Twins6–3Bird (3-0)Luebber (0-1)Littell (2)9,65212-9W1
22May 12Twins17–5Pattin (1-4)Decker (2-3)9,60113-9W2
23May 137:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 13–2Leonard (2–1)B. Johnson (1–4)–2:3913,65714–9W3
24May 147:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 7–1Fitzmorris (4–0)Vuckovich (0–1)–2:0912,99015–9W4
25May 157:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 2–1 (12)Littell (2–0)Gossage (1–3)–3:0014,69316–9W5
26May 161:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 3–4Carroll (1–1)Bird (3–1)Hamilton (1)2:4928,41316–10L1
27May 17Rangers8–7 (12)Hall (1-0)Foucault (3-1)18,93617-10W1
28May 18Rangers3–1Fitzmorris (5-0)Umbarger (3-3)14,11618-10W2
29May 19Athletics5–2Splittorff (3-3)Torrez (4-4)Pattin (3)22,48319-10W3
30May 20Athletics8–4Bird (4-1)P. Mitchell (1-2)Littell (3)25,68220-10W4
31May 21@ Twins5–1Leonard (3-1)Hughes (0-4)8,61921-10W5
32May 22@ Twins3–5Goltz (3-2)Fitzmorris (5-1)6,81221-11L1
33May 23@ Twins1–3Blyleven (4-3)Splittorff (3-4)Campbell (4)24,71621-12L2
38May 289:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–0Bird (5–1)Ryan (3–6)–2:0715,77724–14W1
39 (1)May 297:00 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 2–3Monge (2–1)Littell (2–1)–2:26–24–15L1
40 (2)May 2910:01 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 2–7Ross (2–6)Fitzmorris (5–2)–2:4328,41524–16L2
41May 303:00 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–2 (14)Mingori (3–0)Drago (1–4)–4:4314,19325–16W1
June: 19–10 (Home: 12–4; Away: 7–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
45June 47:30 p.m. CDTBrewersW 4–3 (10)Leonard (5–1)Slaton (7–2)–2:3416,89928–17W3
46 (1)June 55:00 p.m. CDTBrewersW 5–4Fitzmorris (6–2)Broberg (1–5)Littell (4)–2:51–29–17W4
47 (2)June 58:26 p.m. CDTBrewersW 7–2Splittorff (4–6)Champion (0–1)–2:2635,81730–17W5
48June 61:30 p.m. CDTBrewersL 3–4 (14)Augustine (1–1)Pattin (1–6)–3:5315,50830–18L1
59June 186:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansW 5–3Leonard (7–2)Thomas (0–1)–2:4214,17039–20W1
60June 196:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 0–3Dobson (8–5)Fitzmorris (8–3)Kern (3)2:2017,38939–21L1
61June 201:00 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 8–11Bibby (3–2)Littell (3–2)Thomas (3)2:5513,29539–22L2
62June 217:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 1–2 (11)Hamilton (3–3)Hall (1–1)–3:0028,91839–23L3
63June 227:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxL 8–14Jefferson (2–2)Busby (3–2)–2:4418,12539–24L4
66June 257:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 6–3Splittorff (7–6)Ross (5–9)Littell (7)2:1425,52240–26W1
67June 267:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 3–0Pattin (2–7)Ryan (6–8)Mingori (4)2:2830,12541–26W2
68June 271:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 5–4 (11)Bird (8–1)Drago (1–6)–3:2237,96042–26W3
July: 17–12 (Home: 8–7; Away: 9–5)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
76July 5@ YankeesW 2–1
77 (1)July 6@ YankeesW 3–1
78 (2)July 6@ YankeesL 4–7
79July 7@ YankeesW 2–1
47th All-Star Game in Philadelphia, PA
91July 217:30 p.m. CDTBrewersL 0–5Travers (11–7)Fitzmorris (11–6)Frisella (5)2:2415,44556–35L3
92July 227:30 p.m. CDTBrewersW 3–1Splittorff (11–6)Colborn (6–11)Littell (9)2:2016,1335,50857–35W1
96July 269:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 4–0Fitzmorris (12–6)Ryan (7–13)–2:3218,75359–37W1
97July 279:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 1–2Tanana (12–7)Splittorff (11–7)–2:028,34259–38L1
98July 289:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 3–2 (15)Gura (1–0)Kirkwood (4–8)–4:049,94760–38W1
August: 17–14 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
105 (1)August 65:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 9–2Hassler (1–7)B. Johnson (9–10)–2:29–65–40W4
106 (2)August 68:34 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 8–3Bird (10–4)Gossage (6–11)–2:0013,82466–40W5
107August 77:00 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 3–5Barrios (3–4)Mingori (3–2)–2:1630,38266–41L1
108 (1)August 812:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 2–5Forster (2–8)Pattin (4–10)Gossage (1)2:55–66–42L2
109 (2)August 84:00 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 7–1Fitzmorris (14–7)Jefferson (2–5)–2:3115,99767–42W1
110August 9YankeesW 8–2
111August 10YankeesL 1–2 (11)
112August 11YankeesL 3–5
116August 167:30 p.m. CDTIndiansW 6–1Pattin (5–10)Brown (7–8)–2:0818,79771–45W3
117August 177:30 p.m. CDTIndiansW 4–3 (10)Littell (7–3)LaRoche (1–4)–3:0914,83672–45W4
118August 187:30 p.m. CDTIndiansL 1–4Eckersley (8–10)Fitzmorris (14–9)Kern (11)2:4415,09572–46L1
119August 197:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersL 4–6Augustine (6–8)Leonard (15–5)Frisella (8)2:3910,55472–47L2
120August 207:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 3–0Hassler (3–7)Travers (14–10)–2:1915,04373–47W1
121August 211:30 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 6–2Pattin (6–10)Colborn (7–13)Littell (12)2:5017,72574–47W2
122August 221:20 p.m. CDT@ BrewersW 7–4Bird (11–5)Frisella (4–2)Littell (13)2:3016,59675–47W3
123August 236:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 3–4Eckersley (9–10)Mingori (3–4)–2:359,58175–48L1
124August 246:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansL 1–2Rick Waits (6–5)Leonard (15–6)–2:106,61575–49L2
125August 256:30 p.m. CDT@ IndiansW 2–1Hassler (4–7)Kern (8–7)Littell (14)2:557,11376–49W1
September: 12–16 (Home: 6–7; Away: 6–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
137September 77:30 p.m. CDTAngelsL 1–2Kirkwood (6–10)Pattin (6–12)–2:269,22579–58L3
138September 87:30 p.m. CDTAngelsL 0–2Drago (6–7)Fitzmorris (15–11)–3:0711,93979–59L4
139September 97:30 p.m. CDTAngelsW 6–5 (10)Mingori (4–4)Overy (0–2)–3:031089780–59W1
143 (1)September 135:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 3–4Knapp (3–1)Leonard (16–8)Hamilton (10)2:33–82–61L1
144 (2)September 138:38 p.m. CDT@ White SoxL 4–5Brett (10–9)Mingori (4–5)–2:315,32782–62L2
145September 147:30 p.m. CDT@ White SoxW 2–1Hassler (5–10)Forster (2–11)–2:082,76283–62W1
146September 159:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsL 1–2Ryan (14–17)Bird (11–9)–2:226,35083–63L1
147September 169:30 p.m. CDT@ AngelsW 2–0Pattin (8–12)Tanana (16–10)–2:257,44084–63W1
148September 177:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 3–2Leonard (17–8)Gossage (9–15)–2:3815,08785–63W2
149September 187:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 6–5Gura (2–0)Brett (10–10)–2:3524,95586–63W3
150September 191:30 p.m. CDTWhite SoxW 6–5Mingori (5–5)Forster (2–12)–2:4339,79787–63W4
October: 0–3 (Home: 0–3; Away: 0–0)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Royals team member

Postseason Game log
1976 Postseason game log: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 1–2)
AL Championship Series: vs. New York Yankees 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 1–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceSeriesBox/
Streak
1October 912 Noon CDTYankeesL 1–4Hunter (1–0)Gura (0–1)–2:0941,077NYY 1–0L1
2October 107:15 p.m. CDTYankeesW 7–3Splittorff (1–0)Figueroa (0–1)–2:4541,091Tied 1–1W1
3October 127:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesL 3–5Ellis (1–0)Hassler (0–1)Lyle (1)3:0056,808NYY 2–1L1
4October 132:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesW 7–4Bird (1–0)Hunter (1–1)Mingori (1)2:5056,355Tied 2–2W1
5October 147:15 p.m. CDT@ YankeesL 6–7Tidrow (1–0)Littell (0–1)–3:1356,821NYY 3–2L1
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Royals team member

Player stats

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
CBuck Martinez9526761.228534
1BJohn Mayberry161594138.2321395
2BFrank White152446102.229246
3BGeorge Brett159645215.333767
SSFreddie Patek144432104.241143
LFTom Poquette104344104.302234
CFAmos Otis153592165.2791886
RFAl Cowens152581154.265359
DHHal McRae149527175.332873

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
Jim Wohlford10729373.249124
Bob Stinson7920955.263225
Dave Nelson7815336.235117
Cookie Rojas6313232.242016
Jamie Quirk6411428.246115
Tony Solaita316816.23509
Ruppert Jones285111.21617
John Wathan274212.28605
Fran Healy8243.12501
Tommy Davis8195.26300
Willie Wilson1261.16700

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
Dennis Leonard35259.017103.51150
Al Fitzmorris35220.115113.0680
Paul Splittorff26158.21183.9759
Andy Hassler1999.2562.8945
Steve Busby1371.2334.4029

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
Doug Bird39197.212103.37107
Marty Pattin44141.08142.4965

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
Mark Littell6084162.0892
Steve Mingori5555102.3238
Tom Hall311114.4525
Larry Gura204012.3022
Tom Bruno121006.7511
Bob McClure80009.003
Jerry Cram40006.232
Roger Nelson30002.084
Ray Sadecki30000.001
Ken Sanders30000.002

ALCS
Main article: 1976 American League Championship Series

Game 1

October 9, 1976, at Royals Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 200 000 002 4120
Kansas City 000 000 010 152
W: Catfish Hunter (1–0)   L: Larry Gura (0–1)
HR: None

Game 2

October 10, 1976, at Royals Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 012 000 000 3125
Kansas City 200 002 030 790
W: Paul Splittorff (1–0)   L: Ed Figueroa (0–1)
HR: None

Game 3

October 12, 1976, at Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 300 000 000 360
New York 000 203 00X 590
W: Dock Ellis (1–0)   L: Andy Hassler (0–1)   S: Sparky Lyle (1)
HR: NYY: – Chris Chambliss (1)

Game 4

October 13, 1976, at Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 030 201 010 791
New York 020 000 101 4110
W: Doug Bird (1–0)   L: Catfish Hunter (1–1)   S: Steve Mingori (1)
HR: NYY: – Graig Nettles 2 (2)

Game 5

October 14, 1976, at Yankee Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 210 000 030 6111
New York 202 002 001 7111
W: Dick Tidrow (1–0)   L: Mark Littell (0–1)
HR: KCR: – John Mayberry (1), George Brett (1)   NYY: – Chris Chambliss (2)

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Omaha Royals American Association Billy Gardner
AA Jacksonville Suns Southern League Bill Scripture
A Waterloo Royals Midwest League John Sullivan
Rookie GCL Royals Gulf Coast League José Martínez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo

Notes
  1. Killebrew cut by Royals
  2. Royals trade Briles to Texas
  3. Roger Nelson at Baseball Reference
  4. Bill Paschall at Baseball Reference
  5. Ken Phelps at Baseball Reference

References
  • 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.
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