1976 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1976 Baltimore Orioles season was the 78th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 23rd in Baltimore, and the 23rd at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished second in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. The Orioles stayed in contention for the division title until a 1–0 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Memorial Stadium on September 25.

The Orioles sustained a net operating loss of $102,531. Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich and Wayne Garland left the team following the campaign in what was the advent of Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency.

Offseason

January 7, 1976: Wayne Krenchicki was selected by the Orioles in the first round (7th pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft Secondary Phase.
April 2, 1976: Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell were traded to the Oakland Athletics for Reggie Jackson, Ken Holtzman, and Bill VanBommell (minors).

Regular season

This was the first season since 1957 that an Oriole other than Brooks Robinson got the most starts at third base, with Doug DeCinces taking over the position for the future Hall of Famer.

Following the early April trade, Reggie Jackson did not immediately report; his first plate appearance was on

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

April 8, 1976: Bobby Brown was released by the Orioles.
June 8, 1976: Dallas Williams was selected in the first round (20th pick) of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft.
June 15, 1976: Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson were traded to the New York Yankees for Rudy May, Tippy Martinez, Dave Pagan, Scott McGregor, and Rick Dempsey.
October 1, 1976: Dave Johnson was purchased by the expansion Seattle Mariners.

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