1976 Pacific Coast League season

The 1976 Pacific Coast League season was the 74th season in the league's history. It ended with the Hawaii Islanders winning their second straight league championship.

Hawaii and Tacoma finished the season tied, so a one-game playoff took place on September 7th in Tacoma, WA for the Western Division title. The Islanders won 3-1, and this result is reflected in the standings below.

Originally, the championship finals were supposed to be a best-of-seven series. But due to the Hawaii franchise's financial troubles, the series was shortened to a best-of-five format and all games were played in Salt Lake City, UT. The two teams decided to alternate home and away status throughout the series.

This was the final season for the Sacramento Solons.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Salt Lake City Gulls	90	54	.625	-	Jimy Williams	California Angels
Phoenix Giants	75	67	.528	14	Rocky Bridges	San Francisco Giants
Albuquerque Dukes	66	78	.458	24	Stan Wasiak	Los Angeles Dodgers
Tucson Toros	54	88	.380	35	Harry Bright/Lee Stange	Oakland Athletics

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Hawaii Islanders	77	68	.531	-	Roy Hartsfield	San Diego Padres
Tacoma Twins	76	69	.524	1	Cal Ermer	Minnesota Twins
Sacramento Solons	71	72	.497	5	Rich Donnelly	Texas Rangers
Spokane Indians	65	78	.455	11	Frank Howard	Milwaukee Brewers

Championship Finals

Salt Lake City vs. Hawaii Date Away Home September 8 Hawaii 3 Salt Lake City 2 September 9 Hawaii 9 Salt Lake City 10 September 10 Salt Lake City 5 Hawaii 4 September 11 Salt Lake City 2 Hawaii 7 September 12 Salt Lake City 2 Hawaii 3 Hawaii wins series 3-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Paul Dade, Salt Lake City, .363
• Runs Scored Doug Ault, Syracuse, 112
• Hits Gene Richards, Hawaii, 173
• Doubles Rich McKinney, Tucson, 34
• Triples Jack Clark, Phoenix, 16
• Home Runs Bob Gorinski, Tacoma, 28
• Runs Batted In Gorinski, 110
• Stolen Bases Glenn Burke, Albuquerque, 63

Pitching

• Wins Four tied with 15
• Earned Run Average Diego Segui, Hawaii, 3.18
• Complete Games Tom Dettore, Hawaii; Mark Wiley, Tacoma, 16
• Shutouts Bob Knepper, Phoenix; Mike Pazik, Tacoma, 3
• Strikeouts Gary Wheelock, Salt Lake City, 138
• Saves Tommy Toms, Phoenix, 21

All-Star Team

• First Base Doug Ault, Sacramento
• Second Base Bump Wills, Sacramento
• Shortstop Johnnie LeMaster, Phoenix
• Third Base Wayne Gross, Tucson
• Outfield Jack Clark, Phoenix; Rod Gaspar, Hawaii; Carlos Lopez, Salt Lake City
• Catcher Gary Alexander, Phoenix
• Designated Hitter Bob Gorinski, Tacoma
• Pitcher Mark Wiley, Tacoma; Bob Knepper, Phoenix
• Manager Jimy Williams, Salt Lake City

References

• W. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, eds.: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Baseball America, 1993.
• 1977 Baseball Guide

Related Sites

• BR Minors page