1976 World Series
The 1976 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1976 season. The 73rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds and the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees. The Reds swept the Series in four games to repeat as champions, avenging their 1939 and 1961 World Series losses to the Yankees. The 1976 Reds became, and remain, the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason, one of the crowning achievements of the franchise's Big Red Machine era.[1] They also became the third NL team (following the Chicago Cubs in 1907–08 and the New York Giants in 1921–22) to win consecutive World Series, and remain the last to do so.
1976 World Series
October 16–21
Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati)
Yankee Stadium (New York)
Johnny Bench (Cincinnati)
Lee Weyer (NL), Lou DiMuro (AL), Billy Williams (NL), Bill Deegan (AL), Bruce Froemming (NL), Dave Phillips (AL)
Reds:
Sparky Anderson (mgr.)
Johnny Bench
Joe Morgan
Tony Pérez
Yankees:
Catfish Hunter
Joe Garagiola
Marty Brennaman (in Cincinnati)
Phil Rizzuto (in New York)
Tony Kubek
Bill White (in Cincinnati)
Marty Brennaman (in New York)
Win Elliot
New York Yankees over Kansas City Royals (3–2)
Cincinnati Reds over Philadelphia Phillies (3–0)
This was also the second time that the Yankees were swept in a World Series—the Los Angeles Dodgers were the first to sweep them in 1963. It was the first sweep of the World Series in ten years and the Reds' first; their next came fourteen years later in 1990.
The Reds won the NL West division by ten games over the Dodgers, then defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in three straight games in the NL Championship Series, after losing seven of twelve to them during the regular season. The Yankees won the AL East division by 10+1⁄8 games over the Baltimore Orioles, then defeated the Kansas City Royals in the deciding fifth game of the AL Championship Series.
This World Series was the first in which the designated hitter rule, which had been introduced in the AL three years prior, was in effect; it was used for all games (for the first ten years, the use of the DH alternated; in even-numbered years, it was used in all games, in odd-numbered years, it was not used; starting in 1986, the DH was used only in games played at the AL representative's park).[2] The use of the DH wound up benefiting the Reds, who were able to get utility infielder Dan Driessen's bat in the lineup. Driessen hit .357 with one home run. Elliott Maddox, Carlos May, and Lou Piniella shared the role for the Yankees. Game 1, played at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, marked the first time the DH was used in a NL ballpark. Game 2, also at Riverfront Stadium, was the first World Series weekend game to be scheduled at night.
Reds catcher Johnny Bench was named the World Series MVP. Bench batted .533 with 8 hits, 6 RBIs and two home runs and also scored 4 runs.
Broadcasting[edit]
This was the last of 30 consecutive World Series telecasts by NBC, which had aired the event since 1947; under Major League Baseball's new television contract, Series coverage would now alternate between NBC (in even-numbered years) and rival network ABC (in odd-numbered years) each year; this arrangement would end after the 1989 World Series, and CBS would hold exclusive rights to MLB games for the next four years. (A similar setup occurred between 1996 and 2000, when Series telecasts would alternate between NBC and Fox.) It was also the last time that local announcers for the participating teams (the Reds' Marty Brennaman and the Yankees' Phil Rizzuto, in this case) would be regularly featured on the network telecast.
This was the first of 21 consecutive World Series to be broadcast by CBS Radio.