1976 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1976 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The Reds entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The Reds dominated the league all season and won their second consecutive National League West title with a record of 102–60, finishing ten games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the best record in baseball, they went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS in three straight games to reach the World Series. They proceeded to win the title in four straight games over the New York Yankees. They were the third and most recent National League team to achieve this distinction, and the first since the 1921–22 New York Giants. The Reds drew 2,629,708 fans to their home games at Riverfront Stadium, an all-time franchise attendance record. As mentioned above, the Reds swept through the entire postseason with their sweeps of the Phillies and Yankees, achieving a record of 7-0. As of 2024, the Reds are the only team in baseball history to sweep through an entire postseason in the divisional era.

Offseason

 * October 24, 1975: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Reds to the Houston Astros for players to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Luis Sánchez and Carlos Alfonso (minors) to the Reds on December 12.
 * December 12, 1975: Clay Carroll was traded by the Reds to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Hinton and Jeff Sovern (minors).

Season summary
The "Big Red Machine" was at the height of its power in the 1976 season, with four future Hall-of-Famers (Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez, and manager Sparky Anderson), the future MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose, and a notable supporting line up including Dave Concepción at shortstop, and Ken Griffey, César Gerónimo, and George Foster in the outfield. This would also turn out to be the final full year for the Big Red Machine, Perez would be traded in the offseason to the Montreal Expos.

The Reds retained their NL pennant by winning the NLCS in three games over the Phillies, and their second consecutive World Series title by defeating the Yankees in four games, becoming only the second team to sweep a World Series from the Yankees (following the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers). By sweeping both the Phillies and Yankees, the Reds became the first and only team to have a perfect postseason since the League Championship Series was started in 1969. Joe Morgan was the NL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season and Johnny Bench was the World Series MVP.

To celebrate the National League's 100th anniversary, the Reds and several other teams adopted pillbox-style caps.

Notable transactions

 * April 5, 1976: Merv Rettenmund was traded by the Reds to the San Diego Padres for Rudy Meoli.

Starters by position
Note: Pos=Position; G=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; Avg.=Batting average; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; SB=Stolen Bases

Other batters
Note: G=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; Avg.=Batting average; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; SB=Stolen Bases

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

Game 1
October 9, Veterans Stadium

Reds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth. George Foster added a solo homer.

Game 2
October 10, Veterans Stadium

Game 3
October 12, Riverfront Stadium

Awards and honors

 * Johnny Bench, Babe Ruth Award
 * Johnny Bench, World Series Most Valuable Player Award
 * Pete Rose, Roberto Clemente Award

1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
 * Johnny Bench, catcher, starter
 * Joe Morgan, second base, starter
 * Pete Rose, third base, starter
 * Dave Concepción, shortstop, starter
 * George Foster, outfield, starter
 * Tony Pérez, first base, reserve
 * Ken Griffey, Sr., outfielder, reserve