1976 Kansas City Royals season
The 1976 Kansas City Royals season was their eighth in Major League Baseball. The Royals won their first division title, taking the American League West with a record of 90-72 in the first full season as manager for Whitey Herzog. Kansas City was defeated 3-2 by the New York Yankees in the 1976 American League Championship Series. George Brett became the first Royals player to win a league batting title.Offseason
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup
- Dave Nelson, DH
- Amos Otis, CF
- George Brett, 3B
- John Mayberry, 1B
- Hal McRae, LF
- Al Cowens, RF
- Fran Healy, C
- Freddie Patek, SS
- Frank White, 2B
Notable transactions
- June 8, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball draft
- *Bill Paschall was drafted by the Royals in the 3rd round.
- *Ken Phelps was drafted by the Royals in the 15th round.
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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | | 95 | 267 | 61 | .228 | 5 | 34 |
| 1B | | 161 | 594 | 138 | .232 | 13 | 95 |
| 2B | | 152 | 446 | 102 | .229 | 2 | 46 |
| 3B | | 159 | 645 | 215 | .333 | 7 | 67 |
| SS | | 144 | 432 | 104 | .241 | 1 | 43 |
| LF | | 104 | 344 | 104 | .302 | 2 | 34 |
| CF | | 153 | 592 | 165 | .279 | 18 | 86 |
| RF | | 152 | 581 | 154 | .265 | 3 | 59 |
| DH | | 149 | 527 | 175 | .332 | 8 | 73 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| 107 | 293 | 73 | .249 | 1 | 24 |
| 79 | 209 | 55 | .263 | 2 | 25 |
| 78 | 153 | 36 | .235 | 1 | 17 |
| 63 | 132 | 32 | .242 | 0 | 16 |
| 64 | 114 | 28 | .246 | 1 | 15 |
| 31 | 68 | 16 | .235 | 0 | 9 |
| 28 | 51 | 11 | .216 | 1 | 7 |
| 27 | 42 | 12 | .286 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 24 | 3 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 35 | 259 | 17 | 10 | 3.51 | 150 |
| 35 | 220.1 | 15 | 11 | 3.06 | 80 |
| 26 | 158.2 | 11 | 8 | 3.97 | 59 |
| 19 | 99.2 | 5 | 6 | 2.89 | 45 |
| 13 | 71.2 | 3 | 3 | 4.40 | 29 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 39 | 197.2 | 12 | 10 | 3.37 | 107 |
| 44 | 141 | 8 | 14 | 2.49 | 65 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 60 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 2.08 | 92 |
| 55 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2.32 | 38 |
| 31 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.45 | 25 |
| 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2.30 | 22 |
| 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 11 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 2 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 4 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
ALCS
Game 1
October 9, 1976, at Royals StadiumGame 2
October 10, 1976, at Royals StadiumGame 3
October 12, 1976, at Yankee StadiumGame 4
October 13, 1976, at Yankee StadiumGame 5
October 14, 1976, at Yankee StadiumFarm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo
