One of the finest defensive third baseman to ever play the position, Nettles was part of four pennant-winning Yankee teams. In 1976 he led the American League in home runs and he was a good offensive player despite his low .248 career batting average. On September 14, 1974 he and brother Jim became just the fourth set of brothers to homer in the same game.
Teams Graig Nettles Played For
Minnesota Twins (1967-1969) Cleveland Indians (1970-1972) New York Yankees (1973-1983) San Diego Padres (1984-1986) Atlanta Braves (1987) Montreal Expos (1988)
Where does Graig Nettles rank among baseball greats?
Graig Nettles ranks #14 among the Top 50 all-time at 3B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1977 Career highs in homers (37) and RBI (107). Nettles hit .255 with a career high .496 slugging percentage. He also scored 99 runs and won his first Gold Glove.
Factoids When he was named captain of the Yankees in 1980, Graig Nettles followed Lou Gehrig and Thurman Munson in that role.
Born Graig Nettles was born on August 20, 1944, in San Diego, CA.
Related Players Jim Nettles, Harmon Killebrew, Chris Chambliss, George Brett, Reggie Smith
Hall of Fame Voting
Year
Election
Votes
Pct
1994
BBWAA
38
8.4%
1995
BBWAA
28
6.1%
1996
BBWAA
37
7.9%
1997
BBWAA
22
4.7%
Post-Season Appearances
1969 American League Championship Series
1976 American League Championship Series
1976 World Series
1977 World Series
1977 American League Championship Series
1978 American League Championship Series
1978 World Series
1980 American League Championship Series
1981 World Series
1981 American League Division Playoffs
1981 American League Championship Series
1984 National League Championship Series
1984 World Series
Awards and Honors
1977 AL Gold Glove
1978 AL Gold Glove
1981 AL ALCS MVP
Hitting Streaks
19 games (1971)
Transactions Nettles tell-all book Balls did as much to hasten his exit from New York as anything. In the book he is critical of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as well as former teammates and managers.
All-Star Selections
1975 AL
1977 AL
1978 AL
1979 AL
1980 AL
1985 NL
Best Strength as a Player Playing third base and ability to pull the ball.
Largest Weakness as a Player He was a streaky hitter who could go into some serious slumps at times.
