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Russell Eugene Nixon (February 19, 1935 – November 8, 2016) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1957 to 1968. A veteran of 55 years in professional baseball, Nixon managed at virtually every level of the sport, from the lowest minor league to MLB assignments with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and stood tall and weighed in his playing days.
Nixon and his twin brother, Roy, an infielder, each signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1953. Although Roy never played Major League Baseball, retiring after five minor league seasons, Russ Nixon fashioned a 12-year MLB career with the Indians (1957–60), Boston Red Sox (1960–65; 1968) and Minnesota Twins (1966–67). In his best season, , Nixon caught 101 games for Cleveland and batted .301.
Overall, he appeared in 906 games through all or parts of 12 seasons, and batted .268. His 670 hits included 115 doubles, 19 triples and 27 home runs. He holds the record for most games played without ever stolen base.
In addition, Nixon was actually traded twice to the Red Sox in . Cleveland initially dealt him to Boston on March 16 for catcher Sammy White and first baseman Jim Marshall. Indians get Sammy White White chose to retire and the trade was cancelled but not before Nixon played five exhibition games for the Red Sox. Russ Nixon feels Staub getting too concerned Nixon returned to the Indians and started the regular season with them, appearing in 25 games, 21 as the starting catcher; then, almost three months after the original swap, on June 13, he was traded to the Red Sox a second time, with outfielder Carroll Hardy for Canadian-born pitcher Ted Bowsfield and outfielder Marty Keough.
Nixon remained with the Red Sox' organization through as a platoon catcher, although he spent part of 1965 with Triple-A Toronto. At the close of spring training in , Boston packaged him and second baseman Chuck Schilling in a trade with the Minnesota Twins for left-handed pitcher Dick Stigman. Nixon spent two years as the Twins' second-string catcher, then was released in April 1968 and returned to the Red Sox' organization. Beginning the year at Double-A Pittsfield, he was recalled in July and in his first at bat, he hit a three-run, pinch hitter double, providing the winning margin in a 6–5 victory over the Twins.Retrosheet box score (17 July 1968): "Boston Red Sox 6, Minnesota Twins 5"
But Nixon hit only .153 in his final Boston tour and was outrighted to their Triple-A Louisville affiliate. The Chicago White Sox then selected him in the Rule 5 draft that December. Nixon went to spring training in with the White Sox, but was given his unconditional release a week before the regular season began. Baseball Reference
Nixon reached base 863 times in his career without ever stealing a base, a Major League record.
After compiling the best overall record in baseball during the strike-affected split season of 1981, the Reds unraveled in 1982, plummeting into last place and losing 101 games. McNamara was fired July 21 and Nixon took his place. Nixon was unable to right the ship, as the Reds went 27–43 the rest of way en route to what is still the only 100-loss season in franchise history. When the Reds finished last again in 1983, Nixon was fired. He then coached for the Montreal Expos (1984–85) before signing as a coach with the Braves. Nixon worked for Chuck Tanner in 1986–87 before his appointment as pilot of the Greenville Braves, the club's Double-A Southern League affiliate, for 1988.
While new general manager Bobby Cox had done much to rebuild the Braves' farm system, at the National League level they were in the midst of their worst stretch since their days in Boston. When the Braves dropped 27 of their first 39 games in 1988, Nixon was recalled from Greenville to succeed Tanner on May 23—a rare promotion of a manager from AA all the way to the majors. However, the losses continued to pile up. The 1988 Braves finished 54–106, the worst season in the Atlanta portion of Braves history and the franchise's worst since its struggles in Boston during the Great Depression. Nixon was unable to turn the Braves' fortunes around in 1989 and through the first 65 games of 1990, seasons in which the Braves lost 97 games each while seeing young pitchers such as Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery make the roster. On June 22, 1990, Cox fired Nixon and took over as field manager himself.
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