Reid Nichols

Thomas Reid Nichols (born August 5, 1958) is an American former outfielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox (1980–1985), Chicago White Sox (1985–1986), and Montreal Expos. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed. After his playing career ended, he served as a coach and minor league coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers.

Though he did not watch professional baseball growing up, Nichols started playing Little League Baseball at age 11 and drew interest from the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers when he graduated high school. The Red Sox selected him in the 12th round (286th overall) of the 1976 MLB draft, and he debuted with them in 1980. Though never an everyday starter, he batted a career-high .302 in 1982 and played a career-high 100 games in 1983. In 1985, he was traded to the White Sox, remaining with them through the 1986 season. Nichols played for the Expos in 1987, spent part of 1988 in the Texas Rangers organization, and joined the Chicago Cubs for 1989 spring training before retiring.

After a brief stint captaining fishing tours, Nichols became a coach for the Orioles, working alongside Doug Melvin in Baltimore. When Melvin became the general manager of the Rangers and later the Brewers, he brought Nichols with him to those organizations. Nichols instituted a program to teach Ranger prospects financial literacy and etiquette, and with the Brewers, he helped the team develop such prospects as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Rickie Weeks.

Early life Thomas Reid Nichols was born on August 5, 1958, in Ocala, Florida, to Leon and Judy Nichols. Leon supported the family by servicing outboard motors. Reid did not watch professional baseball growing up, but at the age of 11, he tried out and made a local Little League Baseball team which played at Grant Field, later the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Nichols made the league's All-Star team. At Forest High School, he starred on the school's baseball team and was teammates with Scot Brantley, who would later reach the National Football League (NFL) as a linebacker. Nichols's coach, Mike McGrath, arranged for Nichols and Brantley to try out for the Los Angeles Dodgers. McGrath also informed George Digby, a scout for the Boston Red Sox, that Nichols was an exciting prospect.

Under Digby's recommendation, the Red Sox selected Nichols in the 12th round (286th overall) of the 1976 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Though he had committed to play college baseball for the Auburn Tigers, he decided to take the opportunity to play professionally. Since he was only 17, his father signed his Red Sox contract for him. He finished second to Dernier in Carolina League Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting.

Major league career Boston Red Sox (1980–1985) When Pawtucket's 1980 season came to an end, Nichols was a September callup by Boston. He made his major league debut on playing center field on September 16, singling against Ross Grimsley in the fourth inning for his first major league hit as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 9–5. After collecting just one hit in his next seven games, he had three on October 1 in a 12–8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He batted .222 with five runs scored, eight hits, no home runs, three RBI, and no stolen bases in 12 games (36 at bats). The season was interrupted for two months from June through August due to the 1981 MLB strike. In 39 games (48 at bats), Nichols batted .188 with 13 runs scored, nine hits, no home runs, three RBI, and 0 stolen bases. Nichols did receive more playing time in 1982, getting many starts in left field as well as center field. He hit his first regular season major league home run on May 28, a solo shot against Floyd Bannister in a 3–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. On August 23, his eighth-inning, two-run home run against Bill Caudill turned a 3–2 deficit into a 4–3 lead, which would be the final score in Boston's victory over Seattle. Facing the Mariners again the next day, he hit two home runs: the first coming against Bob Stoddard in the fourth inning, and the second a game-winner coming against Caudill in the 10th inning as the Red Sox won 5–4. Ultimately, Nichols played 92 games for the Red Sox, setting career highs in batting average (.302), runs scored (35), home runs (7), and RBI (33). He had 74 hits and five stolen bases. In an interview with the Waterbury Republican, he stated: "I’m content with whatever I get to do. I’m going to do whatever I can to help this club, and I’m not going to complain about anything ... We’ve got a good outfield, but you never know what could happen, and I’ll be ready to go in there when I’m needed, just like last year." As it turned out, he would make several starts in center field, usually when Armas was serving as the designated hitter, and he played several games in right field as well. On May 9, he had four hits, scored twice, and hit a two-run home run against Dave Goltz in an 8–2 victory over the California Angels. He had three hits on May 25, and his ninth-inning single with the bases loaded against Dennis Lamp scored the only runs of the game in a 2–0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. In 1983, Nichols appeared in a career-high 100 games, recording 78 hits, 6 home runs, and 22 RBI. He set or tied career highs with 78 hits, 35 runs scored, and 7 stolen bases. He was almost traded to the Yankees for Shane Rawley that month. On June 11, he pinch-hit for Rich Gedman in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Yankees after the Red Sox had scored three runs to tie the game at six. With two outs and a 2–2 pitch count, Nichols fouled off four pitches in a row, then hit a fastball from Bob Shirley into the stands for a game-ending, three-run home run, helping the Red Sox defeat their rivals. In 74 games, he batted .226 with 14 runs scored, 28 hits, 1 home run, 14 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. In the bottom of the 10th inning on May 10, with runners on first and second and the game against the Oakland Athletics tied at four, Nichols singled against Jay Howell to score Bill Buckner and give Boston a 5–4 win. Facing Oakland on July 10, he hit a home run against Bill Krueger in a 5–4 loss. The next day, he was traded by Boston to the White Sox in exchange for Tim Lollar. Against the Yankees on August 4, his catch of a Don Baylor fly ball was the final out of Tom Seaver's 300th career win. With Chicago, he batted .297 with 20 runs scored, 35 hits, one home run, 15 RBI, and five stolen bases. In 72 games combined between Boston and Chicago, he batted .273 with 23 runs scored, 41 hits, 2 home runs, 18 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. Facing his former team on April 12, he had two hits and three RBI in a 3–1 victory. On May 16, his three-RBI double against Charlie Leibrandt put the White Sox up for good in a 4–2 victory over the Kansas City Royals. In the first game of a doubleheader opening a series against the Mariners on September 30, Nichols pinch-hit for Daryl Boston and had a game-tying RBI single against Matt Young. He then had a walkoff single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning against Ed Nunez, giving Chicago a 5–4 victory. After not hitting a home run all season, Nichols hit one in each of the final games of the Seattle series. In 74 games, he batted .228 with 9 runs scored, 31 hits, 2 home runs, 18 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. Nichols enjoyed playing for the team. "here wasn’t as much pressure there. We had a good team that year and after the games, there would be 12 guys going out to dinner together," he reminisced. His last appearance for the Expos was in the team's final game of the year, on October 4, when he played center field in a 7–5 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Returning to his home of Sarasota, Florida, he fished and played slow-pitch softball while hoping that another MLB team would sign him. On July 21, he was finally picked up by the Oklahoma City 89ers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. "I could hardly expect anything else after sitting at home all summer," he said. The 89ers had struggled to field a full roster following several callups by the Rangers, as well as the retirements of Steve Kemp and Ruppert Jones and an injury to Tito Landrum. In 38 games, Nichols batted .241 with 19 runs scored, 32 hits, two home runs, and 19 RBI in 133 at bats in what would be his last professional season. He signed with the Chicago Cubs for 1989 but retired towards the end of spring training.

Career statistics In an eight-year career, Nichols batted .266 (308 hits in 1160 at bats) with 156 runs scored, 63 doubles, 8 triples, 22 home runs, 131 RBI, 27 stolen bases, and a .326 on-base percentage in 540 games. He posted a .990 fielding percentage in 408 outfield appearances, committing eight errors in 782 chances. He batted and threw right-handed. The Wall Street Journal featured the program on the front page of its March 2, 1998 edition. Among his duties was personally notifying players who were released by the organization. "I like to have a good impact on a young person’s life. If someone wasn’t going to make it in the big leagues, I felt like we were doing them a favor to help them get their life going outside of baseball. I would sit with them all and talk to them about it."

For the next three years, Nichols helped with minority baseball camps in Vero Beach, Florida, sponsored by MLB and USA Baseball. Just a coach at first, he eventually became the person in charge of the whole operation. "I really enjoyed coaching. It’s the same successful feeling as playing when you see someone get what you’re teaching them," Nichols said. He and his current wife, Elaine, live in Goodyear, Arizona. His hobbies include fishing, golfing, and hunting. Nichols stands and weighs .