100 Greatest Red Sox >> #48 Trot Nixon

Trot Nixon, RF, #7 (1996-2006)

982 G, 912 H, 547 R, 133 HR, 523 RBI, .278 Avg, .365 OBP, .478 SLG

Trot Nixon (or Christopher Trotman Nixon) was born on April 11, 1974 in Durham, NC. He went to New Hanover High School where he played both baseball and football. Both of which he was very adept at. During his senior year is where he came to his high school career peek. As a senior in football he broke records for passing and in baseball he got State Player of the Year and was named High School Player of the Year by Baseball America. He finished his senior baseball year with .512 BA, 56 RBIs (which was a state record), and 12 homeruns. He also pitched 40 innings with a 12-0 record and a .40 ERA.

He was drafted in 1993 in the amateur draft as first pick by the Sox, 7th overall. His first professional season came in 1996. His best year came in 2003 where he posted a .306 BA, 28 homeruns, and 24 doubles.

He is said to have been just about as Red Sox as they come. From saving the Sox from elimination in 2004 to wearing goofy hairstyles in the 2004 season, he’s said to be the one who coined the phrase “Boston Dirt Dog”. He also one of the rare cases of being on the disabled list and being kicked out of the game. When Gabe Kapler hit a homerun which the umpires counted as a double, Nixon ran out to contest the call and ended up getting ejected.

During the final game of the 2006 season Nixon got taken out in the 5th inning, everyone knowing it was his last game in Boston. He got replaced by David Murphy. He wasn’t offered arbitration by the Sox in the off-season either, and after the signing of JD Drew things started to look bleak for him on the Sox. In January of 2007 Nixon signed with the Cleveland Indians in a 1 year $3 million deal.

He also chose to change his number from 7 to 33 by the advice of his son Chase, who chose it because Nixon is turning 33 this year.

This 100 Greatest Red Sox biography was written by Mander.