1976 World Series

vs. 1976 World Series (4-0) Cincinnati Reds (102-60, NL) over New York Yankees (97-62, AL) BR 1976 World Series Summary

Introduction

The 1976 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 as champions.

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 was the first World Series to utilize the designated hitter. Dan Driessen was the sole 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 1 and 2 respectively. Gullett had come back from a mid-season injury to start Game 1 but had to leave the game in the 8th inning due to a twisted ankle while Norman out-pitched Yankees ace Catfish Hunter in Game 2. Game 3 in New York pitted rookie Pat Zachry 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 4 was delayed a day due to rain but the Reds were ready for the sweep. Four Cincinnati runs in the 9th 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 NL team to repeat as World Champions since the 1921-1922 New York Giants. Bench would claim the MVP Award 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 in a losing cause.

The New York Yankees

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 had now owned the team for three 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 California Angels for Bobby Bonds; Willie Randolph and Dock Ellis from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Doc Medich; and Doyle Alexander, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson from the Baltimore 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 him 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 pitching staff while reliever Sparky Lyle led the AL in saves with 23. The Yankees finished advanced to the World Series by beating the Kansas City Royals in the 5th game of the playoffs on a 9th-inning walk-off home run by Chambliss.

The Cincinnati Reds

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.

Umpires

• Lee Weyer (NL), Lou DiMuro (AL), Bill Williams (NL), Bill Deegan (AL), Bruce Froemming (NL), Dave Phillips (AL)

Summary

NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (0)

Game	Road	Home	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Yankees	Reds	5 - 1	October 16	Riverfront Stadium	54,826	2:10
2	Yankees	Reds	4 - 3	October 17	Riverfront Stadium	54,816	2:33
3	Reds	Yankees	6 - 2	October 19	Yankee Stadium	56,667	2:40
4	Reds	Yankees	7 - 2	October 21	Yankee Stadium	56,700	2:36

Matchups

Game 1

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 RBI' in the 3rd and 6th innings and Johnny Bench had an RBI triple and then scored on a Sparky Lyle wild pitch in the 7th. The only bad news for the Reds was an injury to starting pitcher Don Gullett, who pulled a calf muscle in the 8th 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 2nd off a rested Catfish Hunter on RBI singles by George Foster and Dave Concepcion and a sacrifice fly by Pete Rose. The Yankees got on the board on an RBI single by Graig Nettles in the 4th. In the 7th, 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 9th. ith 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.

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 Cesar Geronimo, and an RBI single by Dave Concepcion provided the tallies. Dan Driessen smacked a solo homer in the 4th, and Joe Morgan had an RBI double and Foster an RBI single in the 8th. Yankee backup shortstop Jim Mason entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 7th 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 would be Geoff Blum, 2005). Also in the 7th, 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.

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 1st (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 4th, 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 9th, followed by consecutive doubles by Cesar Geronimo and Dave Concepcion. 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.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
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
Total Attendance: 223,009   Average Attendance: 55,752
Winning Player’s Share: – $26,366,   Losing Player’s Share – $19,935 * Includes Playoffs and World Series

Quotes

This could be it, George Foster... Geronimo... Foster makes the catch, that's it! The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series in 4 straight, it was a sweep, the final score Cincinnati 7, the New York Yankees 2! - NBC's Joe Garagiola calling the final out of the 1976 World Series.

I got news for ya, Sugar Bear. We are going to be World Champions again. We are now going to be World Champions again! - Sparky Anderson to Alex Grammas after Johnny Bench's second Game 4 homer.

It got late real early. - Yogi Berra

References

• David S. Neft and Richard M. Cohen: The World Series, 1st ed., St Martins Press, New York, NY, 1990, pp. 361-364.

External links

• 1976 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1976 ALCS | Game 5 at MLB.com
• 1976 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
• Ah, How Great It Is at SI.com
• 1976 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
• History of the World Series - 1976 at SportingNews.com
• Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: The Chris Chambliss Walk-Off Home Run at SportingNews.com
• Reds History at redshistory.com
• The 1976 Cincinnati Reds at baseballlibrary.com
• The 1976 New York Yankees at baseballlibrary.com

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NL Championship Series (3-0) Reds over Phillies

World Series (4-0) Reds over Yankees

AL Championship Series (3-2) Yankees over Royals