Former big leaguer Otis Nixon arrested on crack charges

ATLANTA, May 6 (UPI) -- Otis Nixon, who played for nine major league teams during a 17-year career, is facing crack cocaine charges in Georgia, authorities say.

A Cherokee County Sheriff's Office report reveals Nixon, 54, allegedly had a crack pipe in his pocket, and crack cocaine and a second pipe in his pickup truck, when he was pulled over on Interstate 575 early Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday. He allegedly handed a deputy another small bag of suspected crack cocaine rocks after being placed in the back seat of a squad car, the newspaper said.

"Otis admitted to me that the substance was crack cocaine but it didn't belong to him," a deputy wrote in the report. "Otis said the crack cocaine and the pipe belonged to his son."

Police said Nixon, who lives in Gordon County, submitted to field sobriety tests and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Nixon told deputies, who had responded to a 911 call of a pickup being driven erratically, he was taking his female passenger home at the time he was stopped. His companion was not charged.

Nixon remained jailed Monday afternoon on cocaine and drug paraphernalia possession charges in lieu of $11,880 bond.

Nixon, a switch-hitting center fielder, was a career .270 hitter with 620 stolen bases and 318 runs batted in.

He played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland, Montreal, Atlanta (twice), Boston, Texas, Toronto, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota.

He helped the Braves get to the 1991 World Series but didn't get to play because he was suspended for drug use.

He also was arrested on drug charges in 1987 while with Cleveland.