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Trot Nixon

Cleveland Indians — No. 33
Right fielder
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
September 21, 1996 for the Boston Red Sox
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
Batting average	.278
Runs batted in	523
Home runs	133
Former teams
Boston Red Sox (1996-2006) Cleveland Indians (2007–present)

Christopher Trotman "Trot" Nixon (born April 11, 1974 in Durham, North Carolina) is an outfielder on the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. He is best known as a member of the Boston Red Sox from 1993–2006. He was drafted by the Sox in the 1st round of the 1993 amateur draft, and was the 7th pick overall. He bats and throws left-handed.

Following the 2006 season, Boston decided not to offer Nixon salary arbitration due to his notable bouts with injuries and declining offensive numbers. [1] On January 19, 2007, he signed a 1-year, $3-million deal with the Indians.

Contents 1 High school career 2 Career highlights 3 Scouting Report 4 Stats 5 Family 6 See also 7 External links

Nixon attended New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, and as a senior, he was named the State Player of the Year in both football and baseball. In football, as a senior, he broke school passing records held by former National Football League quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen and Roman Gabriel. In baseball, as a senior, he was named Baseball America Magazine’s High School Player of the Year, named the State Player of the Year, and helped lead his team to the State 4A title, and he finished his impressive senior season with a .512 batting average, 12 home runs and a state-record 56 RBIs, and pitched 40 innings with a 12 win-0 loss record and a 0.40 ERA record.

On May 28, 2000, he belted a two-run home run in the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium in a duel between then-teammate Pedro Martinez and ex-Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens that was won 2-0 by the Red Sox.

Trot had a career-best year in 2003 when he batted .306 with 24 doubles and 28 home runs. In game 3 of the AL Division Series, Nixon was called from the bench as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 11th. With the Red Sox facing elimination, Nixon lined a two-run homer over the center field wall for a 3-1 Boston victory.

During the 2004 Red Sox season, Nixon was unavailable for several months due to a herniated disc and a tight thigh muscle. Upon his return, he generally worked as the starting right fielder throughout the regular and post-season. In the deciding game of the 2004 World Series, Nixon laced a two-out, two-run double off the right field wall at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in the top of the third inning to give Boston a 3-0 lead. Those were the last runs scored by either team in that game as the Red Sox swept the Cardinals for the team's first World Series title in 86 years. For the series, Nixon batted .357 and drove in three runs.

He also endeared himself to Sox fans by briefly wearing a mohawk hairstyle, one of the many unconventional and bizarre hairstyles sported by the Red Sox over the course of the 2004 season.

Trot Nixon is considered the inspiration for the expression "Boston Dirt Dogs". The signature is that of a "scrapper", a player who hustles and isn't afraid to get dirty to win a game.

Loved by Boston's fans, Nixon is known for an extremely volatile temper and steadfast dedication to his teammates. In August, 2005, while officially on the disabled list, Nixon remained in uniform and in the dugout with the rest of the team during the game. Most players don't go even to the ballparks when they are officially on disabled lists. When teammate Gabe Kapler (who often acted as Nixon's right field replacement) hit a long fly ball off of the Green Monster, the umpires ruled it a double. Nixon lept off the bench and argued with such passion that Kapler's hit had been a home run (television replays confirmed that the hit had landed above the home run line, and thus should have been ruled a two-run homer) that he was ejected from the game - a rare feat for a player on the disabled list.

On October 1, 2006, with two outs in the fifth inning of the final game of the season, manager Terry Francona replaced Nixon in right field with rookie David Murphy. Knowing Nixon might be playing his final game with the Sox, the fans delivered a grateful ovation to Nixon as he ran off the field. Said Nixon, when asked if it was difficult playing what may have been his last game for the Red Sox:

There were a couple of times — my first at-bat and coming out of the game. It really was, because this is the only organization I’ve ever known. There was definitely a couple of times out there that I did want to break down. I really did care about this organization. I did care about this town. I think this town has been unbelievable for my family and me. Absolutely unbelievable. I think there’s a lot of guys in this organization who feel the same way.

– Trot Nixon, The Patriot Ledger

Following the 2006 season, Nixon was not offered salary arbitration by the Red Sox as the team pursued and eventually signed free agent J.D. Drew, coupled with the fact that Boston had a fourth outfielder, Wily Mo Peña, on the roster.[2] On January 19, 2007, Nixon signed a one year, $3 million dollar contract with the Cleveland Indians. Instead of going with the number seven, which he wore during his entire career in Boston, Nixon has already chosen to wear number 33 for Cleveland in 2007; the decision was made in part by his son Chase, who chose the number based on the fact that Nixon will turn 33 years of age in April.

Trot's Higher Power: 'When my time's up, I want to be with God … it's important for people to know that he's No. 1 in my life.' "A lot of guys say, 'I want to play five years and retire.' I was one of those guys,' Nixon said. 'I'm going to play until God doesn't allow me to play again." Nixon isn't shy about his faith. He says religion has been ingrained since he was knee-high, but he wasn't always so open. One question about the importance of faith yielded a nearly six-minute answer. Nixon rededicated himself to Christianity when he reached the big leagues, and he says religion and fatherhood have grounded him. "When my time's up, I want to be with God," he said. "I don't want to stand around and be someone who's lost. That's what I believe, and I know there's a lot of belief systems out there, but … it's important for people to know that he's No. 1 in my life." There are a lot of people out there that may believe in God, but they're like, 'Oh, well.' I used to be like that. You put money on a pedestal, your job on a pedestal, your car. You're worshiping that, and then once those things are gone, you're empty. Winning the World Series, I put that on a pedestal. We won one, and then it's over. All the games, all the rah-rah-rah stuff was over, and you put that on a pedestal. You achieve it, and that's it."

– 3.8.07, excerpted from Neil Amato's story, in the Wilmington Star

While he has proven fragile in his time with the Red Sox, when he's healthy Trot is a decent major league right fielder. He has historically hit right-handed pitching very well, particularly during his peak seasons, but has never shown any kind of consistent ability to hit left-handers. However, he has started to hit lefties a bit better over the past two years. He is an excellent fastball hitter and had 25-30 home run power in his prime seasons; between 1999, his rookie season, and 2004, Nixon never slugged lower than .461 in any season. His power has tailed off since 2004. At his best, Trot was capable of hitting .300 with 25 home runs, 85 RBI, and a .385 OBP in a full healthy season with Boston. Despite his declining power numbers, Nixon retains a keen eye at the plate and the ability to get on base, which still makes him somewhat useful at the plate.

On defense, he plays a great right field and is better than he may first appear. Despite average speed, he gets to a lot of balls by taking great routes and getting a good read off the bat. His throwing arm isn't fantastic but is definitely suitable for right. He could be used as a left fielder or designated hitter to keep his body in better shape since he appears to always be banged up. At this point in his career he is not a threat on the basepaths.

BATTING STATISTICS
YEAR	TEAM	LG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1996	BOS	AL	2	4	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.500	.500	.750	1.250
1998	BOS	AL	13	27	3	7	1	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	.259	.286	.296	.582
1999	BOS	AL	124	381	67	103	22	5	15	52	53	75	3	1	.270	.357	.472	.829
2000	BOS	AL	123	427	66	118	27	8	12	60	63	85	8	1	.276	.368	.461	.829
2001	BOS	AL	148	535	100	150	31	4	27	88	79	113	7	4	.280	.376	.505	.881
2002	BOS	AL	152	532	81	136	36	3	24	94	65	109	4	2	.256	.338	.470	.808
2003	BOS	AL	134	441	81	135	24	6	28	87	65	96	4	2	.306	.396	.578	.974
2004	BOS	AL	48	149	24	47	9	1	6	23	15	24	0	0	.315	.377	.510	.887
2005	BOS	AL	124	408	64	112	29	1	13	67	53	59	2	1	.275	.357	.446	.803
2006	BOS	AL	114	381	59	102	24	0	8	52	60	56	0	2	.268	.373	.394	.767
2007	CLE	AL
TOTALS			982	3285	547	912	204	24	133	523	454	621	29	13	.278	.366	.478	.844

Trot has a wife, Kathryn, and two sons: Chase, born September 11, 2001, and Luke, born October 1, 2004. Trot was flying back to Boston to be at Chase's birth when all air traffic was halted due to the September 11 Attacks.

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time

• Trot Nixon Video News Clips
• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Page at Baseball Library
• Trot Nixon at ESPN.com
• Connection Magazine