On a Saturday night in July in 1992, Otis Nixon made one of the most unforgettable catches for the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves were riding a 12-game winning streak. They held a one-run lead off a David Justice second-inning home run, and a four-hit shutout by Braves starter Charlie Leibrandt against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“The Catch” saved all that.
Alejandro Pena came on in relief of Leibrandt in the ninth. Pena gave up a one-out single to Jay Bell. Andy Van Slyke followed for the Pirates.
Van Slyke lined a shot over the center field wall. Nixon was in full stride when - with an assist from the pad on the 10-foot fence at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium - he reached over the wall and webbed the ball for a game-saving catch.
Van Slyke stopped his home run trot to first base. He had few words afterward: “I got nothing to say.”
“It was a home run, no doubt about it,” Nixon would say after the game. “I don’t know where that ranks. I used to watch Willie Mays make great catches.”
Credit: W. A. BRIDGES JR.
Credit: W. A. BRIDGES JR.
