An Interview with Graig Nettles

I have another interview today. This one is with All Star third baseman,  Graig Nettles ! But, before we get to the interview, let me tell you a little bit about one of the most familiar faces to Yankee fans from the 1970s.

A native of San Diego, California, Nettles was a power-hitting third baseman from 1967-1988 with the Yankees, Twins, Padres, Indians, Braves, and Expos. He hit 390 career home runs, the most ever by an AL third baseman. The six-time All Star could also do it with the glove, winning two Gold Gloves in 1977 and ’78. In the 1978 World Series against the Dodgers, Graig put on a fielding clinic, saving numerous runs in Game Three, propelling the Yankees to win that game and the next three after being down 2-0 in the Series. Nettles also made a World Series appearance in 1984 with his hometown Padres. Although they lost the Series to Detroit, Nettles loved playing in front of his home crowd. Now, without further ado, let’s get to the interview.

Matt:  Did you ever face your brother (Jim) in a game?
Graig:  I played against him a couple times. One time, I was playing for the Yankees and he was playing with the Tigers and we both hit home runs.

Matt:  Which of your 390 career homers is the most memorable in your opinion?
Graig:  Probably my first home run of my career. It was off  Denny McLain  when he got his 28th win of the 1968 season. Last guy ever to this day to win more than 30 games in a season.

Matt:  In the 1978 World Series, you had a couple of great fielding plays at third base. Did you have the mindset before that series that you were not going to allow those Dodger hitters to get a ball past you?
Graig:  I tried to catch any ball that came my way and it was just one of those series that I got to put on a fielding show.

Matt:  What was your favorite experience on the 1984 pennant-winning San Diego Padres?
Graig:  I would say coming from behind from two games to nothing in the NLCS against Chicago. And to do it in my home town made it even more fun.

Matt:  What do you like to do in your spare time?
Graig:  I play golf three to four times a week and I also raise my grandkids.

Well, that’s the interview. Thanks to Graig for answering my questions. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading it. Check back in a few days for more of “all the buzz on what wuzz.”