New York Baseball

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Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees: #21 Graig Nettles
A golden defender at the hot corner, “Puff” was a catalyst for the Yankees’ long-awaited return to glory and remains one of the great underrated players in MLB history.
By Peter Brody@PBrods7 Jan 17, 2024, 12:00pm EST

...In 1971, Nettles set the MLB record for most assists by a third baseman in a single season, his mark of 412 besting the previous record of 405 held jointly by Robinson and Harland Clift. He’d also break Clete Boyer’s Yankees franchise record of 396 assists by a third baseman by converting 410 in 1973. As if preordained, Nettles and Robinson would finish tied for the second-most assists by any defender in MLB history.

....“I am convinced that batting averages are the most overrated statistics in baseball. Many people say fielding averages are meaningless primarily because they award the fielder who neither covers ground nor takes chances. I’ll exchange a hit any time for driving in a run with either a sacrifice fly or an infield grounder. A player who scores runs and drives them home is the type of player who helps his club. Who would you rather have, a .300 hitter with 45 ribbies or a .250 hitter with 75?”


...Nettles is likely one of the biggest Hall of Fame snubs of the last half-century, his 67.9 rWAR the highest mark for a third baseman not enshrined in Cooperstown. His 390 home runs ranked 24th in MLB history at the time of his retirement, trailing only Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, and Darrell Evans among regular third basemen. Nettles still sits in the top-15 in Yankees history in both iterations of position player WAR, and he’s one of just 11 Bombers to hit at least 250 homers with the team. He was removed from the BBWAA ballot after earning just 4.7 percent of the vote in 1996, and has fallen short of consideration on multiple Veterans Committees.
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/1/17/24040870/yankees-top-100-players-graig-nettles-biography-21-third-base-world-series-gold-glove-defender