The 1976 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 77th season, and their 76th season in Major League Baseball. They finished with a record 64-97, good enough for 6th place in the American League West, 25.5 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals.
| 1976 Chicago White Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Chicago White Sox Logo.svg | ||
| Division | American League West | |
| Ballpark | Comiskey Park | |
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Owners | Bill Veeck | |
| Managers | Paul Richards | |
| Television | WSNS-TV | |
| Radio | WMAQ (AM) (Harry Caray, Lorn Brown) | |
| ||
Offseason
New ownership
In 1975, White Sox owner John Allyn was broke and placed under enormous pressure from fellow owners to sell his club to Seattle interests and undercut a lawsuit which Seattle had against them.[1] The Seattle lawsuit was directly related to the A.L. owners' approval of moving the Seattle Pilots franchise to Milwaukee. The A.L. owners also planned to appease Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley by making Chicago available to his A's.[1] Charlie wanted out of Oakland and had years earlier tried to buy the Sox. Everyone was lined up against John Allyn and Chicago's Sox fans.
As fall turned to winter in 1975, Bill Veeck emerged as leader of the sole investment group intent on saving the club for Chicago and its Sox fans.[1] The A.L. owners reluctantly agreed to his offer and later voted to expand the league to include an expansion franchise in Seattle, Washington. Veeck purchased 80% of the White Sox, effective December 18, 1975.
Notable transactions
- December 10, 1975: Jim Kaat and Mike Buskey were traded by the White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Ruthven, Roy Thomas, and Alan Bannister.[2]
- December 12, 1975: Larvell Blanks was Traded by the Atlanta Braves with Ralph Garr to the Chicago White Sox for Ken Henderson, Ozzie Osborn and Dick Ruthven.[3]
- December 12, 1975: Larvell Blanks was Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Cleveland Indians for Jack Brohamer.[4]
- December 12, 1975: Rich Hinton and Jeff Sovern (minors) were traded by the White Sox to the Cincinnati Reds for Clay Carroll.[5]
- December 12, 1975: Lee Richard was traded by the White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Buddy Bradford and Greg Terlecky.[6]
Regular season
- August 8, 1976: The White Sox ran out wearing shorts instead of traditional baseball pants during the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. Despite winning the game 5-2, the shorts were such a disaster the White Sox dressed in pants for the second game. [7]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 49–32 | 41–40 |
| Oakland Athletics | 87 | 74 | .540 | 2½ | 51–30 | 36–44 |
| Minnesota Twins | 85 | 77 | .525 | 5 | 44–37 | 41–40 |
| Texas Rangers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 39–42 | 37–44 |
| California Angels | 76 | 86 | .469 | 14 | 38–43 | 38–43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 64 | 97 | .398 | 25½ | 35–45 | 29–52 |
Opening Day lineup
- Chet Lemon, cf
- Ralph Garr, lf
- Jorge Orta, 3b
- Cleon Jones, dh
- Buddy Bradford, rf
- Jim Spencer, 1b
- Bucky Dent, ss
- Jack Brohamer, 2b
- Pete Varney, c
- Wilbur Wood, p
Notable transactions
- April 6, 1976: Jeff Holly was released by the White Sox.[8]
- June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball Draft
- Steve Trout was drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round (8th pick).[9]
- Willie McGee was drafted by the White Sox in the 7th round, but did not sign.[10]
- Lorenzo Gray was drafted by the White Sox in the 8th round.[11]
- June 15, 1976: Pete Varney was traded by the White Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Blue Moon Odom.[12]
- July 14, 1976: Rich Coggins was traded by the White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne Nordhagen.[13]
- August 9, 1976: Phil Roof was selected off waivers by the White Sox from the Minnesota Twins.[14]
- September 10, 1976: Minnie Miñoso was signed as a free agent by the White Sox. [15]
Roster
| 1976 Chicago White Sox roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Jim Spencer | 150 | 518 | 131 | .253 | 14 | 70 |
| 2B | Jack Brohamer | 119 | 354 | 89 | .251 | 7 | 40 |
| 3B | Kevin Bell | 68 | 230 | 57 | .248 | 5 | 20 |
| SS | Bucky Dent | 158 | 562 | 138 | .246 | 2 | 52 |
| LF | Jorge Orta | 158 | 636 | 174 | .274 | 14 | 72 |
| CF | Chet Lemon | 132 | 451 | 111 | .246 | 4 | 38 |
| RF | Ralph Garr | 136 | 527 | 158 | .300 | 4 | 36 |
Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddy Bradford | 55 | 160 | 35 | .219 | 4 | 14 |
| Alan Bannister | 73 | 145 | 36 | .248 | 0 | 8 |
| Jerry Hairston | 73 | 145 | 36 | .248 | 0 | 8 |
| Wayne Nordhagen | 22 | 53 | 10 | .189 | 0 | 5 |
| Sam Ewing | 19 | 41 | 9 | .220 | 0 | 2 |
| Pete Varney | 14 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 3 | 5 |
| Cleon Jones | 12 | 40 | 8 | .200 | 0 | 3 |
| Nyls Nyman | 8 | 15 | 2 | .133 | 0 | 1 |
| Minnie Miñoso | 3 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goose Gossage | 31 | 224 | 9 | 17 | 3.94 | 135 |
| Ken Brett | 27 | 200.2 | 10 | 12 | 3.32 | 91 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Barrios | 35 | 141.2 | 5 | 9 | 4.32 | 81 |
| Terry Forster | 29 | 111.1 | 2 | 12 | 4.37 | 70 |
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Hamilton | 45 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 3.59 | 62 |
| Clay Carroll | 29 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2.56 | 38 |
Farm system
Notes
- ^ a b c WSI's FLYINGSOCK.COM. Chicago White Sox coverage with totally biased attitude!
- ^ Jim Kaat page at Baseball Reference
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blankla01.shtml
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blankla01.shtml
- ^ Rich Hinton page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Lee Richard page at Baseball Reference
- ^ http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/biggestbusts.html
- ^ Jeff Holly page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Steve Trout page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Willie McGee page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Lorenzo Gray page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Blue Moon Odom page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Wayne Nordhagen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Phil Roof page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Minnie Minoso page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997