1981 Profile: Graig Nettles

"The true value of a man is his ability to do the job consistently every game, every month, every season and every year. Graig Nettles has proven his value over the years with consistent work both at the plate and in the field. He's one of those guys who just goes out every day and plays to win. Every day, that is, until last year.
Graig missed over 60 games last year with hepatitis and his presence was sorely missed. It's hard to replace a man who drove in more runs during the '70s than every American Leaguer except Carl Yastrzemski and teammate Reggie Jackson. It's hard to replace a man whose defensive ability is compared to the man he passed last season as the all-time home run leader among American League third basemen, Brooks Robinson. And it's hard to replace a man who stands behind only the greats, Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Maris and Dickey, among those on the all-time Yankee home run list entering this season.
No Yankee has been on the roster for a longer continuous stretch than Graig Nettles. And that leads to an intangible that's hard to replace: leadership. Graig has the ability to lead under tense situations and is one of the best clutch performers the Yankees have. With the bases full of Yankees, Puff is the man the Yankees want at the plate. If a double play is to be handled, Manager Gene Michael wants the ball hit somewhere in Graig's direction. Consistency, longevity and leadership. That's number nine, Graig Nettles."

-The New York Yankees Official 1981 Yearbook

"In the first year in the last 11 that Nettles failed to play in 145 games or more, he discovered he had hepatitis in July and he didn't play from July 24 until the final two games of the year (missing 67 games). Graig still finished second on the club with 16 homers, the first time since 1972 he failed to hit 20. His 16th homer (July 21) was his 267th as a third baseman, passing Brooks Robinson as the all-time American League leader among third basemen in career home runs. He also had a pinch-hit homer on June 1 against Toronto and hit his first career inside-the-park home run in the second playoff game at Kansas City.
Graig got off to a slow start in the field with seven errors in his first 20 games, but then went 41 games before committing one, and committed just three in his final 69 games.
Only Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Maris and Dickey have more home runs in a Yankee uniform than Nettles' 197. During the decade of the '70s only Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski had more RBIs among American Leaguers.
Originally signed by the Twins in 1966, Graig came up for parts of '67 and '68. His first full year was 1969, and he was a member of the AL West champion Twins. He was dealt to Cleveland in December 1969 with Dean Chance, Bob Miller and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Graig was Cleveland's Man of the Year in 1971 when he hit .261 with 28 homers, 86 RBIs, and set league records for most assists (412) and most double plays (54) by a third baseman.
Nettles came to the Yankees after the 1972 season and has been with the Yankees longer than other team member. He hit 32 home runs in 1976 to lead the league, the first Yankee to do so since Maris hit 61 in '61. He finished second in 1977 with a career-high 37, and also set career marks in RBI (107) and runs (99) that year and finished fifth in the MVP vote. Nettles was named to the Sporting News and UPI All-Star teams following the season and was voted the all-time Yankee third baseman in a special poll of sportswriters.
In 1978, Graig set career highs in batting average (.276) and fielding average (.975), a Yankee record. He led the league's third basemen with 20 double plays and won his second straight Gold Glove. He tied Jackson for the club lead with 27 homers and led with 13 game-winning RBIs. He was named to the AP, UPI, Sporting News and Baseball Bulletin All-Star teams. In postseason play, Graig turned around the '78 World Series with his spectacular fielding in Game 3, and finally earned nationwide recognition for his fielding.
In 1979, he fought off some nagging injuries to remain consistent. He hit 20 homers for the seventh straight year and was third among the league's third basemen in fielding. Graig also had a string of nine straight years of 150+ games played broken when he appeared in 145.
A four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Nettles holds the record for most home runs and RBIs by a Yankee third baseman in a single season. He had missed only 38 games as a Yankee prior to last year.
Graig was a baseball and basketball star at San Diego State before signing with the Twins. An accomplished golfer, he's nicknamed 'Puff' by his teammates. His brother Jim played at Columbus last year, and has also played with the Twins, Tigers, Indians and Royals."

-1981 New York Yankees Media Guide