July 29, 1977 – Yankees 4, Athletics 0
- Sal Maiorana
- Jul 29, 2017
- 3 min read
OAKLAND – Graig Nettles could have taken a page from Thurman Munson’s book the day before and gotten a few things off his chest, but that just wasn’t Nettles’ way.
He was a tough guy to read in that reporters weren’t sure if he was just a prick, or he simply didn’t have a whole lot to say and preferred to stay out of the daily controversies that boiled in the Yankee clubhouse. After all, his nickname was “Puff” because he’d often disappear from the clubhouse like a puff of smoke when the media was around which would lend credence to either of the aforementioned theories.
Instead, the third baseman let his play on the field do his talking and in New York’s trip-opening victory over the A’s, he homered for the second day in a row, giving him 24 for the season, just eight shy of his AL-leading total of 32 in 1976.
“This off-the-field stuff doesn’t bother me,” said Nettles. “There’s a difference between being less than happy about something and complaining about it.”
Billy Martin had made the point recently that too many players had been grumbling about where they were hitting in the order. No. 1 on that list had been Reggie Jackson who felt he was born to bat cleanup, but had rarely been in that position during his first season in New York. Meanwhile, Nettles had been placed quite often in the eighth spot by Martin, primarily because his batting average was still hovering at .230.
Oddly, despite the low batting average, Nettles was now tied with Willie Randolph in runs scored, and his RBI’s to hit ratio was tops among all players in the AL. Basically, Nettles was quietly doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.
“Maybe Roy (White) and I have been hitting at the bottom because Billy knows we’re the only two who won’t scream about it,” Nettles said. “It seems like you have to be controversial to get the money from the owner on this team and we’re just not that way. We’re veterans and we know somebody’s got to do what the manager says. He’s the one who gets fired, never the players.”
Martin’s security was improving by the day as the Yankees won for the fifth time in the last six games. With Ron Guidry churning out another quality start – no runs, five hits, five walks and seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings – the Yankees had no trouble against the lowly A’s.
Randolph led off the game with a double and scored on Thurman Munson’s RBI single; Cliff Johnson and Nettles hit solo homers in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively; and Randolph tripled in the ninth and jogged home on Mickey Rivers’ single. Then, when Guidry wobbled in the ninth and loaded the bases after two men were out, Sparky Lyle came in to slam the door by striking out Rodney Scott to end it.
After the game, Martin was in such a good mood, he didn’t chew out the reporters who had ventured into the clubhouse before all the players had come in, normally a no-no in Martin’s book. “You can go in, go ahead in,” Martin said. “See how nice a guy I am. How come none of you guys ever write that?”
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