It’s always a great time to get a group of friends together and reminisce about past Red Sox teams and players. Trot Nixon was a always a guy who came up in conversation, and it’s because of the way he played the game. Nixon was always one of those guys who gave it all he could each and every day, a true scrapper of the game. Their’s no measure for heart in baseball, and Trot had it (he still does). Sure he was injury prone, but you never had to worry about Nixon going out there to play lackadaisical, for Trot that term just wasn’t part of his vocabulary. I think that’s why he was one of the bigger fan favorites in Red Sox history.

Trot Nixon was drafted by the Red Sox 7th overall in 1993. I’m sure the Sox front office didn’t know the impact Trot would have on not only the Red Sox franchise, but as well as the fans in New England. We all remember the good times, like in 2003, Trot’s best year. Nixon batted .303 with 28 HR and 87 RBI. Unfortunately, he wasn’t named to the All Star team that year after batting .314 with 14 HR and 52 RBI’s in the first half.

We remember the good times, like the Cowboy Up playoff run of 2003. He was such a force in the playoffs that year. Remember game 3 of the ALDS against the Oakland Athletics? It was Trot Nixon who extended the series with his game winning home run. If it wasn’t for Nixon, those group of idiots would not have been to the ALCS vs. the Yankees. And all Trot Nixon did in the ALCS was bat .333 with 3 HR. (On a personal note, I remember how Trot Nixon OWNED Roger Clemens.)

But we also remember the sad times, like Nixon’s final appearance as a Red Sox player. During a rain-shortened game in 2006 David Murphy was called in to replace Nixon. Trot received a standing ovation from the crowd, knowing full well it was probably his last time playing right field for the Red Sox. This had to be one of the more emotional times in recent Sox history. Terry Francona described that night to the press, “The last thing I want to do in the middle of a game is get emotional and turn into a puddle. “It was hard not to. It’s hard not to be close to players like Trot. He’d run through a wall for you.’’

Francona hit it right on the nose, he knew what Trot was all about and the city of Boston knew as well.

Why are we reflecting back on Trot Nixon? Well because he was just traded to the New York Mets yesterday. It’s awesome to see him still playing after the number of injuries that have taken a toll on his body. Without a shadow of a doubt the New York Mets are lucky to have a player like him; rugged, determined, and a guy with the biggest heart you will ever meet, both on and off the field. That’s what Nixon is all about.

Here’s to Christopher Trotman Nixon!

The 90’s was a decade in which the Yankees, Braves, Blue Jays, Twins, and Indians all were the heavy favorites in baseball. For our dear Red Sox, the 90’s was a time of ups and downs. In the mid to later 90’s we witnessed division winning, playoff contending teams. The early 90’s? Not so much, those teams have seemingly been forgotten, and rightly so. What I will give credit to the Red Sox teams of 1990-1994 was the utter dominance in moustache etiquette. I would like to pay tribute to not only the men early 90’s, but the mid to later Sox teams need some credit as well.
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