1976 San Francisco Giants season

Offseason

Team movement discussion

During the first half of the 1970s, attendance at cold and windy Candlestick Park plummeted, and Giants owner Horace Stoneham had faced financial hardship. Finally, in 1976, he put the team up for sale. In January 1976, Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $13.25 million to a Toronto group consisting of Labatt's Breweries of Canada, Ltd., Vulcan Assets Ltd., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The team would begin play with the 1976 season at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium and be called the Giants. In addition, it was briefly rumored they considered a return to the New York metropolitan area, perhaps to a new baseball stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Instead, Bob Lurie led a group to buy the Giants from Horace Stoneham for $8 million.

Notable transactions

• January 7, 1976: Dennis Littlejohn was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).

Regular season

Opening Day starters

• Von Joshua
• Gary Matthews
• Willie Montañez
• John Montefusco
• Bobby Murcer
• Dave Rader
• Ken Reitz
• Chris Speier
• Derrel Thomas

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• June 2, 1976: Von Joshua was purchased from the Giants by the Milwaukee Brewers.
• June 13, 1976: Willie Montañez, Craig Robinson, Mike Eden, and Jake Brown were traded by the Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Darrell Evans and Marty Perez.
• June 14, 1976: Joe Strain was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.
• June 21, 1976: Casey Parsons was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.
• September 3, 1976: Randy Elliott was signed as a free agent by the Giants.

Draft picks

• June 8, 1976: Jeff Stember was drafted by the Giants in the 26th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Award winners

All-Star Game

• John Montefusco, reserve

Farm system

References

References

1. (January 9, 1976). "Giants Moving: Toronto". St. Petersburg Times.
2. Gordon Sakamoto. (February 11, 1976). "Giants will stay in San Francisco". Bryan Times.
3. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/littlde01.shtml Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference]
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/joshuvo01.shtml Von Joshua page at Baseball Reference]
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/e/evansda01.shtml Darrell Evans page at Baseball Reference]
6. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/straijo01.shtml Joe Strain page at Baseball Reference]
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/parsoca01.shtml Casey Parsons page at Baseball Reference]
8. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/e/elliora01.shtml Randy Elliott page at Baseball Reference]
9. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stembje01.shtml Jeff Stember page at Baseball Reference]
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007