#333 Otis Nixon

About the Front: Here's an action shot that's pretty cut and dried. Unless my eyes deceive me, Otis Nixon has just laid down a bunt for the visiting Braves against the Cubs. If the bunt landed in fair territory, that would place us on May 5, 1992, a Tuesday afternoon game at Wrigley. In the first inning, Otis unsuccessfully bunted for a leadoff hit, as Mark Grace fielded the ball and tossed to Ryne Sandberg covering first base. In the top of the ninth, with the scored tied 3-3, the first two Atlanta  runners reached against Bob Scanlan. Nixon then bunted back to Scanlan, who threw to Sandberg at first for the putout. It was all in vain, as pinch hitter Jerry Willard was intentionally walked and Terry Pendleton followed with an inning-ending double play. Chicago won it in the bottom of the tenth with a Rey Sanchez sacrifice fly off of Alejandro Pena.

About the Back: At this point in his career, Otis had six home runs and 305 steals. Naturally, Topps talked up a pair of his few deep flies. I guess it's not just chicks that dig the long ball.

Triple Play:

1. His younger brother Donell patrolled the outfield for the Mariners, Giants, and Orioles from 1987 through 1990.

2. Otis set a National League record on June 16, 1991 by stealing six bases in six tries against the Expos, including three successful swipes of third base. In a big league career that spanned parts of 17 seasons, he was 620-for-806 (77%) in steals, 16th all-time.

3. Nixon battled drug and alcohol abuse throughout his career, and was thought to have rehabilitated himself following a suspension for cocaine use in 1991. He opened up his home as a halfway house for paroled felons, but in 2013 was accused of scamming the families of prisoners who were not even parole-eligible and lost his approved designation. A few months later, he was pulled over in Atlanta for erratic driving and was found to be in possession of a crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia. He passed sobriety tests and claimed that the items in question belonged to his son.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Otis was in his mid-thirties by the time I got into baseball, and he looked even older.

Bill James Said: "With men on he tends not to bunt, and this takes away his best weapon."

On This Date in 1993: December 3. Calvin and Hobbes? Don't mind if I do!