1976 Minnesota Twins season


The 1976 Minnesota Twins finished 85–77, third in the American League West. Only 715,394 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League. It was the third year in a row that the Twins attracted the fewest fans in the AL.

Offseason

In June and July, Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock became the third and fourth Twins to hit for the cycle. Hisle cycled on June 4 in an 8–6 win over Baltimore, going double, triple, single, home run. He is the only Twin that took an extra inning to accomplish the feat, as he'd grounded out in his first at-bat. Six weeks later Bostock became the second Twin to cycle during a season, a first for the club.
Two Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Rod Carew and catcher Butch Wynegar.
On July 24, Lyman Bostock, batting fourth, went four-for-four to become the fourth Twin to hit for the cycle. He had four RBI and scored four runs in the 17–2 win over Chicago.
Steve Luebber is the Minnesota pitcher to come closest to a no-hitter without achieving it. On August 7, he was one out away before losing his bid when Texas Ranger Roy Howell singled. Luebber then lost the shutout when Mike Hargrove singled Howell home. The Twins won the game, 3–1.
For the first time in four years, Carew did not win the AL batting title, finishing third with a.331 batting average. Carew did have 200 hits and 90 RBI. Larry Hisle hit 14 home runs and collected 96 RBI. Dan Ford added 20 HR and 86 RBI. The Twins set a season-record low with just 81 homers.
Reliever Bill Campbell led the Twins pitchers with 17 wins, all in relief. He also led the team in saves and appearances. His earned run average of 3.01 was second only to reliever Tom Burgmeier's 2.50; Burgy added 8 relief wins and a save. The Twins needed the relief help because the starting pitching was terrible, with only Dave Goltz managing double digit wins.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C149534139.2601069
1B156605200.331990
2B153475127.267134
3B10434289.260349
SS103384104.271236
LF155581158.2721496
CF128474153.323460
RF145514137.2672086
DH10926669.2591136

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
122417120.288361
8725868.264223
8917142.24608
4513828.20308
3412429.23406
6712326.211116
246516.24616
385711.19303
184610.21704

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
36249.114143.36133
371779144.9887
26172993.7763
23118883.5174
1295.1453.1275
1779.1475.1124
1358275.2835

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
38119.1454.0045

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
78175203.01115
578112.5045
233103.5823
183102.6137
50007.006

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Reno
Reno affiliation shared with San Diego Padres