Butler had been shifted to left field in July. Nixon managed another 12 steals, as he batted. Ultimately, the Dodgers missed the playoffs by two games. For his age season, Nixon joined the Minnesota Twins. He missed only three games because of the injury and continued batting with a face mask.
Missing time throughout the year, Nixon still managed to hit. For the first time in 10 seasons, he stole under 40 bases 37 , but still led his team. With the Braves coming off the best regular season record in the National League, Nixon would have another chance to see the postseason. Backing up star center fielder Andruw Jones , the now year-old outfielder finally showed signs of wear.
His usually steady batting average dipped to. The Braves did make the postseason and Nixon remained on the roster for all three series, even though he collected just three at-bats. He came in to pinch-run with the Braves down in the eighth inning of Game Six and leading the series He stole second base and advanced to third when the throw went into the outfield. He later scored the tying run and the Braves eventually won in extra innings. Over 24 career postseason games, Nixon gathered 93 plate appearances, batting.
That offseason, Nixon entered free agency once more. Not receiving any substantial offers for his services, he chose to retire. In a career that looked like it might stall early, Nixon wound up playing for nine teams over 17 major-league seasons. He compiled 1, hits, a. In an era filled with prolific base-stealers, Nixon swiped 1, bags between the majors and minors.
He never led his league in any season at the top level, but for 11 years he was in the top His In a year that saw the elections of contemporaries Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg, Nixon was one of just two eligible players who received zero votes. The couple divorced in In , Nixon married gospel singer Candi Staton; the pair split in In , he was arrested twice for possession of cocaine.
As part of an ongoing effort to right his ways, in he started the Otis Nixon Celebrity Golf Tournament, an event that grew to become a major fundraiser for the faith-based Otis Nixon Foundation.
This organization focuses on helping youth avoid the problems that Nixon himself has faced. Nixon also wrote an autobiography called Keeping It Real , which set out to directly address his substance abuse and offer guidance for others struggling with their own battles. I went to drug rehab several times and I could have died several different times. I had to reach for God. It was a calling. Even after that, Nixon relapsed into cocaine use.
In May , he was pulled over in suburban Atlanta for driving erratically. Rosenberg for a feature published on June 18, They throw from the chest or at a count … one, two, three. Things got ugly again in the ninth inning of a Atlanta win, when Phillies closer Roger McDowell plunked Nixon in the right shoulder.
McDowell was ejected, and there were no real fisticuffs, though Pendleton — the on-deck hitter — had words with McDowell as Nixon walked down to first. The bottom of the inning featured one of the more bizarre incidents in Braves history, when Cox ordered Tom Glavine — who was one inning away from a complete game — to throw at Murphy in retaliation for McDowell hitting Nixon.
The victory ended a five-game losing streak for the Braves, who were still hovering around the. On June 28, Justice — who was leading the league in RBIs — went to the disabled list with a bad back that would keep him sidelined for nearly two months. Sanders came up from Richmond to replace him, with the Braves again using a four-man outfield rotation. Sanders had just three hits in his first 23 at-bats upon returning, and by early July, Cox had settled on Smith in left, Gant in center and Nixon in right.
The Braves won seven of their first eight games to begin the second half, and moved into second place in the NL West by mid-July. Nixon had two hits that night, extending his streak to 20 straight games. He entered August batting.
It was also on Aug. He would return to the Braves for a handful of games at the end of the regular season, serving as a pinch-runner and pinch-hitter.
Nixon tweaked a hamstring in mid-August, and used a weeklong absence to drop the appeal of his four-game suspension from the mound-charging incident against the Phillies in early June. But he continued to slump when he returned, hitting just for in August and dropping his average below.
Justice was activated on Aug. The Braves won four straight over the Giants and San Diego Padres , and carried a one-half game lead into a three-game series with the Dodgers in Atlanta Sept.
On Sept. Smith took over in left field and in the leadoff spot, but the Braves lost three of seven on the trip to fall out of first place. He was right on that note, as Atlanta went down the stretch and won the NL West by a single game. On Oct. On Dec. Nixon was good but not as good in , batting. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family. Follow BaseballAlmanac Find us on Facebook.
Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. Born In:. Died On:. I have a trained eye to be able to watch a guy and almost tell when you get ready to go. Nixon stole more than 40 bases in 10 seasons. When he was 40, he stole 26 bases during his second stint with the Atlanta Braves in He played his final game on Oct. During his baseball career, Otis Nixon was arrested in on drug charges and then was suspended for 60 days by MLB in After his career was over, Nixon was still plagued by drug issues.
In , he was arrested for having a crack pipe and crack cocaine on him during a traffic stop, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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