Graig Nettles
Encyclopedia
Graig Nettles nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 (1970–1972), New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 (1973–1983), San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

 (1984–1986), Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 (1987) and Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 (1988).

Nettles was one of the best defensive third basemen of all time, and despite his relatively low career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, he was an excellent offensive contributor, setting an American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 record for career home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s by a third baseman. As a part of four pennant-winning Yankee teams, Nettles enjoyed his best season in 1977 when he won the Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...

 and had career-highs in home runs (37) and runs batted in (107) in leading the Yankees to the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

.

Early life

His unusual name derives from his mother's dislike of the names Greg and Craig - and her combining the two to produce 'Graig'. "My Dad was away at the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, so he didn't have any say". The name also led to confusion for baseball card
Baseball card
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on some type of paper stock or card stock. A card will usually feature one or more baseball players or other baseball-related sports figures...

 companies; the error-prone inaugural 1981 Fleer
Fleer
The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubblegum; it remained a family-owned enterprise until it was taken private in 1989....

 baseball card set includes an error card where his name is spelled "Graig" on the front, and "Craig" on the back.

He played collegiate baseball with the Aztecs
SDSU Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the collegiate athletics and sports teams for San Diego State University .San Diego State has organized programs for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, gymnastics, rowing , softball, tennis, track, swimming, diving, women's volleyball, and water polo.The...

 of San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

 where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

 fraternity.

Career

Nettles' most clutch performance came in the field, during Game 3 of the 1978 World Series
1978 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...

 against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...

 in back of the 25-game-winning left-handed pitcher Ron Guidry
Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry , nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...

. With the Dodgers leading the series two games to none, Nettles made several plays at the hot corner to stop potential run-scoring hits, and helping the Yankees gain a key win in the series. New York went on to win the next three contests and clinch the world championship.

In his 22-season career, Nettles hit .248 with 390 home runs and 1,314 RBI in 2,700 games. He had a career fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...

 of .964, exceptional for the hot corner (third base). After retiring at age 43, Nettles coached
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 for the Yankees (1991) and Padres (1995).

On September 7, , Nettles, then with the New York Yankees, was caught using a bat that had six superballs inside it. He said that he had received the bat from a Yankees fan in Chicago and did not know that the bat had been altered. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/cheaters/ballplayers.html

On September 14, , Nettles and his brother Jim
Jim Nettles
James William Nettles is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors, between 1970 and 1981, for the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics. In 1975, he played for the Nankai Hawks in Japan, and in 1976 he played...

 homered in the same game, joining a select club that includes Bret
Bret Boone
Bret Robert Boone is a former Major League Baseball second baseman.-Personal life:Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. Roel and Bob Boone. He is a graduate of El Dorado High School and the University of Southern California. He is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and...

 and Aaron Boone
Aaron Boone
Aaron John Boone is a former Major League Baseball infielder whose famous home run off Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield won the 2003 American League Championship Series for the New York Yankees. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Washington...

, José
José Cruz
José Cruz Dilan is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is also the former first base coach for the Houston Astros. During his 19-year baseball career, he played from 1970-1988 for three different teams, playing primarily for the Astros...

 and Héctor Cruz, Felipe
Felipe Crespo
Felipe Javier Crespo is a former utility in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between and . Listed at 5'11, 195 lb., Crespo was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed...

 and César Crespo
César Crespo
César Antonio Crespo is a former second baseman who last played in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Listed at 5'11, 170 lb., Crespo is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed...

, Al
Al Cuccinello
Alfred Edward Cuccinello was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the New York Giants during the 1935 season. Listed at 5' 10", 165 lb., Cuccinello batted and threw right-handed...

 and Tony Cuccinello
Tony Cuccinello
Anthony Francis 'Tony' Cuccinello was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Cincinnati Reds , Brooklyn Dodgers , Boston Bees/Braves , New York Giants and Chicago White Sox . Cuccinelo batted and threw right-handed...

, Joe
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

 and Dom DiMaggio
Dom DiMaggio
Dominic Paul DiMaggio , nicknamed "The Little Professor", was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox...

, and Rick
Rick Ferrell
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the...

 and Wes Ferrell
Wes Ferrell
Wesley Cheek Ferrell was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1927 through 1941. Primarily a starting pitcher, Ferrell played for the Cleveland Indians , Boston Red Sox , Washington Senators , New York Yankees , Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves...

. The seven sets of brothers hit their homers playing for opposing teams.

During a brawl in a game against the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 in , Nettles, who was on second base at the onset of the brawl, tackled Boston pitcher Bill Lee
Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)
William Francis Lee III , nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox from - and the Montreal Expos from -...

 from behind. When it appeared that the dust had settled and the brawl was over, Lee confronted Nettles for tackling him from behind. The fracas resumed when Nettles swung at Lee. More players joined in the fray and Nettles broke Lee's collarbone when they went down in the pile. He was arguably never the same pitcher he was before the incident, though he continued to be a thorn in the Yankees' side for a few more years with Boston. However, the Yankees continued to win the division during this time and the incident added to the storied Yankees – Red Sox rivalry.

In the one game playoff
1978 American League East tie-breaker game
The 1978 American League East tie-breaker game was played between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on October 2, 1978....

 in against the Red Sox at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

, a game best known for Bucky Dent
Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent , is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in and , and was voted the World Series MVP in 1978...

's three-run home run in the seventh inning, Nettles caught Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...

's foul pop-up for the final out.

Nettles was involved in the infamous 1984 "San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

-Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 Beanball Game," while playing for the Padres during a Braves home game on August 12, 1984. Nettles charged the mound, and attempted to tackle Braves relief pitcher Donnie Moore
Donnie Moore
Donnie Ray Moore was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs , St...

, after Moore intentionally beaned
Beanball
"Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking him such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head...

 Nettles. Nettles missed and then was thrown to the ground by Braves first baseman Chris Chambliss
Chris Chambliss
Carroll Christopher Chambliss is a former Major League Baseball player who played from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...

.

After baseball

Nettles' son, Jeff, was drafted by the Yankees in the 47th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft
1998 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998...

.

On March 21, 2008 he announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

 in late November 2007 and would undergo surgery at Manhattan's Sloan Kettering Hospital on April 8.

He now resides in Lenoir City, Tennessee
Lenoir City, Tennessee
Lenoir City is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 8,642 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area....

, a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

. Graig and his wife Ginger have four children: Mike, Barrie, Tim and Jeff.

He regularly does commercials for Audi of Mendham in Mendham, New Jersey.

Legacy

  • The controversial book Balls (Putnam, 1984) is a memoir of Nettles's baseball career written in collaboration with Peter Golenbock
    Peter Golenbock
    Peter Golenbock is a sports journalist and author. He is best known for the 1975 book Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949–1964 about the Yankees of that era...

    , in which the player criticizes George Steinbrenner
    George Steinbrenner
    George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...

    , the ostentatious Yankees owner, and some players as well. When the book's advance promotion came to Steinbrenner's attention in March 1984, Nettles was summarily traded to the San Diego Padres.

  • Baseball writer Bill James
    Bill James
    George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...

     noted in his 1984 Baseball Abstract that Nettles is arguably the best position player (i.e., non-pitcher) in major league history whose surname begins with the letter "N." this judgment appears to hold up: the only 3 players elected to the baseball Hall of Fame with "N" surnames are pitchers Hal Newhouser
    Hal Newhouser
    Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League...

    , Kid Nichols
    Kid Nichols
    Charles Augustus Nichols , better known as Kid Nichols, was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Admired for his steadfast consistency year-in and year-out, Nichols won 361 games, the 7th highest total in major league history...

     and Phil Niekro
    Phil Niekro
    Philip Henry Niekro , nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997....

    .


  • As of 2010, Nettles holds the single-season Major League record for assists
    Assist (baseball)
    In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...

     by a third baseman, and is tied with Brooks Robinson
    Brooks Robinson
    Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...

     for second-most all-time. His 412 assists in 1971 broke the record of 405 shared by Harlond Clift
    Harlond Clift
    Harlond Benton Clift born in El Reno, Oklahoma, was a third baseman for the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators ....

     in 1937 and Robinson in 1967. In 1973, his first year as a New York Yankee, he recorded 410 assists, breaking Clete Boyer
    Clete Boyer
    Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer was a Major League Baseball player.A third baseman who also played shortstop and second base occasionally, Boyer played for the Kansas City Athletics , New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...

    's franchise record of 396 in 1962; Robinson would tie this mark in 1974. To date, Nettles and Robinson have four of the six 400-assist seasons by a third baseman in Major League history.

  • Nettles is mentioned in the video for Bruce Springsteen's
    Bruce Springsteen
    Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

     1985 hit Glory Days
    Glory Days (song)
    "Glory Days" is a 1984 song, written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. In 1985, it became the fifth single released from his massively successful album Born in the U.S.A.-History:...

    . At the end of the video, Springsteen's character, a pitcher, tells a teen that he lost an imaginary game playing against the San Diego Padres
    San Diego Padres
    The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

     because "Nettles got me, bottom of the ninth."

See also


External links

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