Entertainment

THE VIEW FROM THIRD BASE

Graig Nettles says he doesn’t remember how he well he played when he won his first World Series. But that didn’t stop him from telling ESPN what the games should look like.

Nettles, the third baseman when the ’77 Yankees defeated the Dodgers, served as an adviser for the “The Bronx is Burning” miniseries, which wraps up Tuesday.

“I was there to make sure things were being done right,” Nettles says. “They needed some reassurance.”

It was the actors’ job to dramatize off-the-field scenes, with old television broadcasts used for game action — much safer that way.

“We actually had a long debate whether to let Erik Jensen, who plays Thurman Munson, slide into second base,” executive producer Gordon Greisman says.

Tuesday’s finale highlights the epic game by Reggie Jackson, who clubbed three home runs, ending a season that featured numerous run-ins with teammates and manager Billy Martin.

“He had been through a lot of turmoil, but we didn’t care who came through,” Nettles says. “We had all been through a lot. Being on the Yankees meant you had to go through some turmoil.”

Nettles, a fan of the miniseries, says he’s never watched Game 6, an 8-4 Yankees win.

“I don’t even remember how I did in the game,” Nettles says. “I’m not a big fan of watching myself on TV.”

For the record, Nettles was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the clincher, played Oct. 18, 1977.

“It was great that we finally won,” Nettles says. “We were embarrassed by the Reds in the World Series the year before (a four-game sweep), but we got down to business in ’77 and showed ourselves and everyone else how good we really were.”

The miniseries hangs its cap on its authenticity, a story of triumph during a turbulent New York summer that included a blackout and the Son of Sam.

“I think they captured that feeling,” Nettles says, “not only for us, but what it was like for the whole city.”