1980 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"'He's the best in the business,' says Tommy John. 'Nobody else is even close to him. In spite of his defensive prowess, he played the '79 season without a contract. His acrobatic catches made him a hero in the '78 World Series. Quick-witted, he's a streak hitter- when he's hot he's hot.
Born in San Diego, Nettles is very durable and rarely misses a game. Named the all-time Yankee third baseman, he never has received the national publicity many people feel he deserves."
-Jim Hawkins, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1980 Edition
"His teammates call him Puff, his peers call him a true superstar and Brooks Robinson once called him the finest fielding third baseman in the game today. But Graig Nettles will be the first to point out how little all those past accolades really mean. The man with a powerful bat, lightning reflexes and strong arm doesn't really care to rest on his laurels. He'd much rather look forward to the '80s and the hopes of another championship summer.
But Graig deserves recognition ... even if he doesn't care to hear it. Most of the praise has been about his defense ... and rightfully so. His performance in Game 3 of the 1978 World Series has been well documented. Day in and day out, no third baseman is more spectacular or consistent.
Graig's hitting prowess is also well known, but did you know that during the '70s only two other American Leaguers drove in more runs than Graig? And did you that over the past six seasons, only two American Leaguers have hit more home runs? Or that Graig led the league in round-trippers in 1976? How about the fact that his 37 home runs and 107 RBIs in 1977 are the best ever by a Yankee third baseman?
While Graig Nettles is not really an unknown, perhaps some of his finer accomplishments have been overlooked. Just watch this man perform each day in the field and at the plate and you won't need statistics to tell you the story. It will be well documented in living color."
-The New York Yankees Official 1980 Yearbook
"Graig fought off some nagging injuries in '79 and came up with another consistent year, both offensively and defensively, for the Yankees. He was spiked in his left heel, requiring four stitches, on May 7, and then on July 18 during the All-Star break, suffered a lacerated right index finger, in a lawnmower accident at his home, that had some effect on his batting grip and his fielding.
Graig started off fast for the Yanks. In his first eight games he was batting .345 with three home runs and seven RBIs and stayed around the .300 mark into June. He batted .308 in May, was at .318 on May 22, and had a five-game hit streak (10-23, .435) from May 9-13, one of six five-game hitting streaks on the year.
Graig had a two-homer game off Mark Fidrych on May 16 against Detroit, went 4-for-4 against the Rangers on April 22, and had a five-RBI game against the Angels on May 13. From May 12-16 (five games) he picked up 13 RBIs.
Graig went without a home run for 29 games from June 26 to August 4, yet still ended up with 20, the seventh straight year he's had 20+ home runs and his tenth straight year of double figures in home runs. He also had eight game-winning RBIs, third on the club. Graig moved into the all-time Yankee top 20 in RBIs, surpassing Ben Chapman, and he passed Tony Lazzeri to move into the all-time Yankee top 10 in home runs.
Graig was third among the league's regular third basemen in fielding with a .966 percentage, second in double plays with 30, third in total chances with 465, third in assists and fifth in putouts. He played in 145 games, breaking a string of nine straight years in which he had played in 150+ games.
Over the last six years, Nettles has the third highest home run total in the American League; in that span he has hit 159, Reggie Jackson has hit 180 and Jim Rice has hit 172. Graig was third in the American League in RBIs over the decade of the '70s with 831; again Reggie led with 922 while Carl Yastrzemski had 846.
Nettles turned the 1978 World Series around for the Yankees with his fielding exhibition in Game Three, and he was finally recognized around the world for the great third baseman that he is. The Yanks knew it along, and so did anybody else who watched Graig play day in and day out.
Graig tied Reggie for the Yankees' home run lead with 27 in '78 and had a career high batting average of .276. He led the Yankees with 13 game-winning RBIs in '78. Nettles had a .975 fielding percentage that year, breaking the all-time Yankee single-season mark, which he already jointly held, and led the league with 20 double plays. He was named to the 1978 AP and UPI All-Star teams, along with the Sporting News and Baseball Bulletin All-Star teams.
Graig led the Yankees in homers in 1977 with 37, second in the league, after winning the A.L. homer title in '76 with 32. He set personal highs in home runs, RBIs (107) and runs (99) in '77, having what was probably his finest offensive year. He was named to the Sporting News and UPI All-Star teams that year and was fifth in the MVP vote.
Graig now holds the all-time Yankee record for most homers and RBIs by a third baseman in a single season. He was named the all-time Yankee third baseman in a special poll of sportswriters in 1977. By winning the home run title in 1976, Graig was the first Yankee to do that since Roger Maris in 1961. He also stole a career high of 11 bases in '76. He has missed only 38 games in his seven years with the Yankees. A four-time All-Star, Graig has led the Yanks in homers five times.
Nettles was a baseball and basketball star at San Diego State before signing with the Twins in 1966. His first full year was 1969 when he was a member of the AL Western Division champs. Graig was dealt to Cleveland in December 1969 with Dean Chance, Bob Miller and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. While with Cleveland, Graig set records for assists by a third baseman in one season (412 in 1971) and for double plays in a season (54 in '71). He was Cleveland's Man of the Year in 1971.
An accomplished golfer, Graig is nicknamed 'Puff' by his teammates. He's the brother of Jim Nettles, former outfielder with the Twins, Tigers and Indians."
-New York Yankees 1980 Media Guide
HOME RUN LEADERSHIP FOR NETTLES
"Graig Nettles became the American League's all-time home run leader for third basemen when he hit his 267th at that position (#280 overall). He surpassed Brooks Robinson when he hit one over the right field wall at the Stadium on July 21."
-New York Yankees 1980 Scorebook and Official Magazine
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