Former MLB star Otis Nixon -- who played 17 years in the big leagues -- has gone missing, cops say ... and officials are hoping the public can help find him.
The 58-year-old was last seen leaving his home in Woodstock, Georgia in a 2011 gray Range Rover to play golf ... but never got to the course.
Officials are clearly concerned and have asked anyone with information to call police immediately.
Nixon has a troubled past ... including a cocaine arrest back in 2013 and a very bizarre incident in 2015 when cops say he let a 16-year-old drive a rental car taken out in his name that had weed inside.
He was arrested for contributing to delinquency of a minor.