As Nixon was announced, Gaston made his way to the mound to discuss strategy with his infielders. As the Blue Jays knew, Nixon was one of the fastest players in the game; he was one of two players, Sanders being the other, to record five stolen bases in the series. As many speedy players are known to do, Nixon would lay down bunts from time to time and try to beat them out for base hits. Although doing so resulted in a relatively simple putout if not done properly, and despite the Braves being down to their last out, the Blue Jays still needed to consider the possibility of Nixon bunting. With this in mind, Gaston signaled to the Toronto bullpen to bring in Mike Timlin for his second appearance in the series. This move confused McCarver and his broadcast partner Sean McDonough, who believed Key was staying in the game. Nixon, in addition to all of the aforementioned attributes, was a switch hitter who had better statistics as a right-handed batter. (For the season he had batted .343 right-handed and .263 left-handed.) Since Timlin was a right-handed pitcher, Nixon would be hitting from his weaker side. But at the same time, the left-handed batter's box is located closer to the first base line than the right-handed box, which would give Nixon a faster jump toward first if he bunted.