Otis Nixon Marquee

b. January 9, 1959 · New York Yankees 1983, Cleveland Indians 1984–1987, Montreal Expos 1988–1990, Atlanta Braves 1991–1993, 1999, Boston Red Sox 1994, Texas Rangers 1995, Toronto Blue Jays 1996–1997, Los Angeles Dodgers 1997, Minnesota Twins 1998

Atlanta suspended him for the last six weeks of the 1991 season and the entire postseason, including the World Series it lost in seven games, after he tested positive for cocaine — a devastating loss for a club built partly around his speed at the top of the order. He returned the following year and helped Atlanta reach a second straight World Series.

Seventeen seasons gave him 1,379 hits, 620 stolen bases, 878 runs, 585 walks and a .270 average, with 1,527 games in the outfield for nine clubs. His 620 stolen bases rank sixteenth in the game's history, built almost entirely on speed rather than power — he hit only 11 home runs in his career.

He hit .286 with 54 stolen bases for Toronto in 1996, his last full season as a regular. He finished with Minnesota in 1999 at forty. The 2005 ballot gave him no votes of 516.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1983	NYY	13	14	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	5	2	.143
1984	CLE	49	91	16	14	0	0	0	1	8	11	12	.154
1985	CLE	104	162	34	38	4	0	3	9	8	27	20	.235
1986	CLE	105	95	33	25	4	1	0	8	13	12	23	.263
1987	CLE	19	17	2	1	0	0	0	1	3	4	2	.059
1988	MON	90	271	47	66	8	2	0	15	28	42	46	.244
1989	MON	126	258	41	56	7	2	0	21	33	36	37	.217
1990	MON	119	231	46	58	6	2	1	20	28	33	50	.251
1991	ATL	124	401	81	119	10	1	0	26	47	40	72	.297
1992	ATL	120	456	79	134	14	2	2	22	39	54	41	.294
1993	ATL	134	461	77	124	12	3	1	24	61	63	47	.269
1994	BOS	103	398	60	109	15	1	0	25	55	65	42	.274
1995	TEX	139	589	87	174	21	2	0	45	58	85	50	.295
1996	TOR	125	496	87	142	15	1	1	29	71	68	54	.286
1997	LAD/TOR	145	576	84	153	18	3	2	44	65	78	59	.266
1998	MIN	110	448	71	133	6	6	1	20	44	56	37	.297
1999	ATL	84	151	31	31	2	1	0	8	23	15	26	.205
Career	—	1709	5115	878	1379	142	27	11	318	585	694	620	.270

On this day & linked events

1959

Born January 9, 1959

Evergreen, NC, USA

1983

Major-league debut: Otis Nixon

Otis Nixon made a major-league debut on September 9, 1983.

1992

The Blue Jays Become World Series Champions

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 4–3 in eleven innings to win the World Series, becoming the first team based outside the United States to become world champions.

1999

Final major-league game: Otis Nixon

Otis Nixon played a final major-league game on October 3, 1999.

Image: Public domain