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. 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.

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 10⅛ 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). 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.

Background

After spending the last two years sharing home field with the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, the 1976 New York Yankees returned home to a rebuilt and modified Yankee Stadium. George Steinbrenner had now owned the team for four years, since 1973, with Billy Martin serving the first of his five stints as manager since 1975. General Manager Gabe Paul made numerous trades getting Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa from the Angels for Bobby Bonds; Willie Randolph and Dock Ellis from the Pirates for Doc Medich; and Doyle Alexander, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson from the Orioles for Rudy May, Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor, and Rick Dempsey

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