Nettles Signs With Royals
by Mike Ashmore

Just because nobody ever thought it would happen doesn't mean he didn't deserve it.

But you had to wonder what was left for Somerset Patriots third baseman Jeff Nettles to accomplish in order to get signed by an affiliated team, this being his fifth season in the Atlantic League.

The day finally arrived on July 2nd, when Nettles was signed by the Kansas City Royals and assigned to Double-A Wichita.

He was hitting .316 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI at the time of his departure.

"It got to the point where I'd been here five years, I started to wonder if it was ever going to happen," said Nettles, cleaning out his locker.

Nettles had previous experience in the Royals organization, playing for them in Spring Training in 2005, but he was released despite hitting over .300.

"From what I've heard, they're under all new ownership," he said.

"It's all new people running it. The guy who called me didn't even know until right before he called that I was in spring with them in '05."

But the big question remains: What took so long?

"I don't know," Nettles said. "Baseball's weird like that sometimes. You have to have talent, but a lot of it's luck and a lot of it's timing. You have to be in the right place at the right time."

Nettles said it would be hard to leave the team, especially while they were in the thick of a playoff race that they would eventually go on to lose.

"He was a big part of our offense," said Patriots skipper Sparky Lyle, who has since used Elliott Ayala as his everyday third baseman.

"But I have confidence that (Mike) Lockwood can step up and do the same thing."

But a player like Jeff Nettles simply cannot be replaced.

"He's been the best player in this league for the past five years," Lyle said.

"It's a happy and sad day. I'm glad he's getting another shot, but it couldn't have happened at a worse time."

Nettles is hitting .333 with a home run and three RBI in his first five games with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers.

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