His mother abandoned him when he was 12 years old, and his father Charles "Tuttie" Payton raised him along with his younger sister Joanna in a trailer home.
Standing 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and weighing 140 pounds (64 kg), he struck out 17 of 21 batters he faced with a 70-mile-per-hour (110 km/h) fastball, and hit two home runs.
[2][3][6] Tampa Bay Devil Rays scout Benny Latino, a former college player at Southeastern Louisiana University whose hometown is Hammond, watched the game, and made a note to look for Nash in the future, assuming he would be a star in high school.
In a game in Tangipahoa, the scout witnessed Toe hitting 400-foot (120 m) home runs from both sides of the plate, and throwing 93 miles per hour (150 km/h) from the mound.
[3][5][6][8][9] The Devil Rays brought Nash to their minor league camp in Princeton, West Virginia, for a workout in front of scouting director Dan Jennings.
There, Nash worked out with MLB players, including Tony Gwynn, Barry Bonds, Eddie Murray, and Alvin Davis.
[3][10] They assigned him to extended spring training,[2] and then to the Princeton Devil Rays of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2001, playing alongside future major leaguer Jonny Gomes.
[13] Nash was arrested again in 2005 for a parole violation, and was charged for drug possession, leading him to serve the full 10 years of his previously suspended jail sentence.