Series Wrapup

Story

After the Pittsburgh Pirates won five of the previous six N.L. East titles, the Philadelphia Phillies began a three-year run as Eastern Division champions in 1976.  The Phillies finished the regular season with a record of 101-61, nine games ahead of the runner-up Pirates.

Strong in all aspects of the game, Philadelphia placed second in the National League with 770 runs scored, 110 home runs, a .272 team batting average, and a .981 team fielding average.  Philadelphia’s pitching staff also finished third in the senior circuit with a 3.08 team ERA.

Steve Carlton anchored a starting rotation that featured five double-digit winners.  Lefty finished 20-7, with a 3.13 ERA, 195 strikeouts, 13 complete games, and 253 innings pitched.  Jim Lonborg finished second on the club with 18 victories and eight complete games, while leading the staff with a 3.08 ERA.

Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski powered Philadelphia’s offense.  Schmidt led the league with 38 home runs, and he also placed among the leaders with 107 runs batted in and 112 runs scored.  Luzinski batted .304 and finished second to Schmidt on the team with 21 homers and 95 runs batted
in.  Meanwhile, Dave Cash and Garry Maddox served as the table-setters at the top of the batting order.  Cash batted .284, collected 189 hits, and scored 92 runs.  In addition to playing a brilliant centerfield, Maddox batted .330 and stole 29 bases.  

While the Phillies established themselves as the Eastern Division’s strongest team, the Cincinnati Reds continued to reign supreme in the N.L. West.  Combining an effective pitching staff with easily the most potent offense in all of baseball, Cincinnati finished the campaign with a record of 102-60, 10 full games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.  

A veritable collection of All-Stars, Cincinnati’s lineup led the National League with 857 runs scored, 141 home runs, 210 stolen bases, and a team batting average of .280.  Leadoff hitter Pete Rose batted .323 and topped the circuit with 130 runs scored, 215 hits, and 42 doubles.  Second-place hitter Ken Griffey batted .336, scored 111 runs, and stole 34 bases.  Tony Perez hit 19 homers and drove in 91 runs in his final year in Cincinnati.  Leftfielder George Foster hit 29 home runs, batted .306, and led the league with 121 runs batted in.  An injured Johnny Bench suffered through a subpar season, batting only .234, hitting just 16 homers, and driving in only 74 runs.  But Joe Morgan remained the league’s finest all-around player, capturing N.L. MVP honors for the second straight time.  Morgan hit 27 home runs, placed among the league leaders with 111 runs batted in, 113 runs scored, a .320 batting average, and 60 stolen bases, and topped the circuit with a .453 on-base percentage and a .576 slugging percentage.  

The Phillies remained competitive throughout much of the NLCS, outhitting the Reds in Games Two and Three, and posting a .270 team batting average to the .253 mark Cincinnati compiled during the Series.  Philadelphia even held a lead after five innings in both Games Two and Three.  However, Cincinnati’s powerful offense rallied each time, enabling the Reds to advance to the World Series with a three-game sweep of the Phillies.  They outscored their Eastern Division rivals by a combined margin of 19-11 over the course of the NLCS.

The Reds had an even easier time against the Yankees in the Fall Classic, sweeping their American League counterparts in four straight games.  Cincinnati scored 22 runs, hit four homers, and posted a .313 team batting average; New York scored only eight times, hit just one home run, and batted only .222 as a team.  Johnny Bench earned Series MVP honors by hitting two homers, driving in six runs, and batting .533.  The victory over the Yankees made the Reds the first National League team to repeat as world champions since 1922.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• January 14 - Ted Turner completed his purchase of the Atlanta Braves.

• April 10 - The Braves signed free agent pitcher Andy Messersmith to a "lifetime contract" worth $1 million.

• April 14 - At Wrigley Field, Dave Kingman of the New York Mets launched a home run estimated at 550 feet during a 6-5 loss to the Cubs.  

• September 28 – After 23 seasons and 2,040 victories, Walter Alston stepped down as Dodger manager.  Los Angeles subsequently promoted third base coach Tommy Lasorda to the post.

• San Diego's Randy Jones earned N.L. Cy Young honors by compiling a 2.74 ERA and leading the league with 22 wins, 25 complete games, and 315 innings pitched.

• The National League won the All-Star Game 7-1 at Philadelphia.

• Butch Metzger of San Diego and Pat Zachry of Cincinnati tied for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

• Mike Schmidt hit four home runs in a 10-inning game against the Chicago Cubs on April 17.

• John Montefusco of San Francisco threw a no-hitter against Atlanta on September 29.

• John Candelaria of Pittsburgh tossed a no-hitter against Los Angeles on August 9.

• Larry Dierker of Houston threw a no-hitter against Montreal on July 9.

• Chicago's Bill Madlock edged out Ken Griffey for the National League batting title with a mark of .339.

• Tom Seaver led the league with 235 strikeouts, fanning at least 200 batters for a major league record ninth straight time.  

• Pittsburgh’s Bob Moose died in an auto accident.

• Pete Rose set a National League record for most runs by a third baseman since 1901 (130).

• Cardinal John Denny led the league with a 2.52 ERA.

Seasons of the National League

1876 · 1877 · 1878 · 1879 · 1880 · 1881 · 1882 · 1883 · 1884 · 1885 · 1886 · 1887 · 1888 · 1889 · 1890 · 1891 · 1892 · 1893 · 1894 · 1895 · 1896 · 1897 · 1898 · 1899 · 1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909 · 1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914 · 1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1918 · 1919 · 1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010