"Nettles answered critics who questioned if he could come back from the hepatitis that in 1980 limited him to under 100 games for the first time since '69. He won praise even from George Steinbrenner, often his sharpest critic, who said, 'Nettles is one of the few guys earning his money on this club this year.' That was during one of Steinbrenner's 'rap sessions' and Nettles, in fact, had a typical power year, finishing third on the club in RBIs. In the field, he made his customary spectacular plays almost daily and restaked his claim to being one of the great defensive third basemen in history. Only seven players in Yankee history have hit more homers than he has.
Nettles broke his thumb in the World Series of '81 and was limited to just three games. Born in San Diego, he had his contract extended by Steinbrenner through 1983."
-Bill Madden, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1982 Edition
"As the elder statesman on the Yankees, Graig Nettles commands respect for all the things he does so well: driving in a game-winning RBI, cutting off a rally by turning a would-be double-down-the-line into a double play and displaying a cool, confident edge present in only a handful of today's athletes. Measuring a man who exudes such confidence is tantamount to measuring a man who most would consider a leader. Make no mistake about it- Graig Nettles has long been one of the silent leaders on the Yankees and in 1982 his role will be duly recognized. As of this season, number nine is the official leader, the Captain of the New York Yankees.
Such an honor has gone to only two men in the last 41 years, Thurman Munson and Lou Gehrig, and four others previous. It is a position highly revered by his fellow teammates and one which has both honored and humbled this ten-year Yankee veteran. Perhaps Lou Saban, President of the Yankees, put it best when he said, 'Graig fits the mold of a Yankee captain in the tradition of Thurman Munson and Lou Gehrig. He has all the attributes of leadership and pride which are two necessary ingredients to being a leader. Lou and Thurman had it and Graig has it.'
Following in the footsteps of his close friend and teammate, the late Thruman Munson, Graig will have the opportunity to do what Thurman and Lou did best: lead by example. His big bat, peerless glove and immeasurable talent at the hot corner should be more than enough to propel the 1982 Yankees to another winning season."
-The New York Yankees Official 1982 Yearbook
"The 1981 season was a strong comeback after missing the last two months of the 1980 season with hepatitis. Although Nettles didn't hit for a high average for most of the season, he did hit with power. He tied for the team lead with seven homers in the first half and added another eight in the second half, including two against Milwaukee on September 7. The Yankees were 11-3 in games in which he homered.
Nettles moved past Dickey (202) and Maris (203) on the Yankee home run list into sixth place, behind only Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Berra. He also moved past Skowron (672) and Munson (701) into 14th place on the Yankee RBI list. On the all-time home run list, Nettles moved into 46th place with 295.
Graig hit 11 of his 15 homers at Yankee Stadium and hit 10 of his homers against right-handed pitchers, and he's still superb in the field. His .500 (6-for-12), nine-RBI (including a home run) performance against Oakland earned him MVP honors for the ALCS.
Named Yankee Captain on January 29, 1982, Nettles is only the sixth Yankee Captain, joining Lou Gehrig and Thurman Munson among others. He is currently the senior Yankee, joining the team following the 1972 season. During the decade of the '70s, only Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski had more RBIs among American Leaguers.
Graig's first full year was 1969 and he was a member of the AL West Champion Twins. He was Cleveland's Man of the Year in 1971 when he hit .261 with 28 home runs and set AL records for most assists and double plays by a third baseman.
Nettles hit 32 homers in 1976 to lead the league, the first Yankee to do so since Maris hit 61 in '61, and was second in 1977 with a career high 37, finishing fifth in the MVP voting. He was also named to the Sporting News and UPI All-Star teams that year and voted All-Time Yankee third baseman in a special poll of sportswriters. In 1978, Nettles set a Yankee fielding record with a .975 average, tied Jackson for the club lead with 27 home runs and led with 13 game-winning RBIs. He was named to the AP, UPI, Sporting News and Baseball Bulletin All-Star teams, turned around the '78 World Series with his spectacular fielding in Game 3 and finally gained nationwide recognition.
In 1980 he missed 67 games (from July 24 until the final two games of the season) with hepatitis, yet on July 21 hit his 267th career home run as a third baseman, passing Brooks Robinson as the all-time American League leader. Graig also hit his first career inside-the-park homer in Game 2 of the ALCS. He holds the records for most home runs and RBIs by a Yankee third baseman in a single season.
Graig was a baseball and basketball star at San Diego State before signing with the Twins. 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."
-1982 New York Yankees Media Guide
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