Playing career

Nichols was selected by Boston Red Sox in 12th Round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. He worked his way through the Red Sox minor league system until he made his debut in 1980.

In the early 1980s, Nichols played reserve roles in a Boston outfield that was composed of Jim Rice, Tony Armas and Dwight Evans, being also used as a pinch-hitter against left-handing pitching.

In 1982 Nichols reached career-numbers in batting average (.302), home runs (7), and runs batted in (33) in 92 games, then in 1983 appeared in a career-high 100 games. During the 1985 midseason he was traded by Boston to the White Sox in exchange for Tim Lollar, and later was signed as a free agent by Montreal in 1987, his last major league season.

In an eight-year career, Nichols was a .266 hitter (308-for-1160) with 22 home runs and 131 RBI in 540 games, including 156 runs, 63 doubles, eight triples, 27 stolen bases and a .326 on-base percentage. In 408 outfield appearances, he posted a collective .990 fielding percentage (eight errors in 782 chances).

Nichols ended his professional career with the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1988.

Post playing career

Nichols served as the Farm Director for the Texas Rangers from 1994-2000. In 2001 he served as the Rangers first base coach.

In 2002 he was hired as the Farm Director/Director of Player Development for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002, a position he still holds. During his tenure the Brewers farm system has gone from one of the lowest ranked development systems to a number seven ranking in 2007 by Baseball Prospectus, developing current players such as Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks. David Stearns, who was hired as general manager after the 2015 season, reassigned Nichols within the organization.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]