Bob Watson

Infobox MLB retired
name=Bob Watson
position=First Baseman / Left fielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1946|4|10
Los Angeles, California
debutdate=September 9
debutyear=by|1966
debutteam=Houston Astros
finaldate=September 30
finalyear=by|1984
finalteam=Atlanta Braves
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.295
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=184
stat3label=Hits
stat3value=1,826
teams=
* Houston Astros (by|1966-by|1979)
* Boston Red Sox (by|1979)
* New York Yankees (by|1980-by|1982)
* Atlanta Braves (by|1982-by|1984)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1973, 1975)

Robert Jose Watson (born April 10 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves from 1966-1984. Nicknamed "Bull", Watson's best seasons and lengthiest tenure were with the Astros. Though originally a catcher in the minor leagues, he played as a first baseman and left fielder in the majors and was a dependable hitter (serving as designated hitter during his tenure in the American League). His home run numbers were somewhat hurt by the fact that he played the majority of his career in the Astrodome.

In 1979, as a member of the Red Sox, he hit for the cycle, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat in both the National League and American League.

At the end of the 1993 season he was named general manager of the Houston Astros, becoming the first ever African American to serve as a GM in the major leagues. He served as GM for the New York Yankees from October 23, by|1995 to February 2, by|1998. The 1996 team won the World Series, the first Yankee team to do so since 1978. After the 1997 season, Watson retired from the Yankees and now serves as Major League Baseball's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations. He was under consideration for the Astros General Manager position, but the position was given to Ed Wade, the Philadelphia Phillies' former GM.

Watson holds the distinction of having physically scored the 1,000,000th run (reaching home plate and narrowly eclipsing Dave Concepción by 1.5 seconds) in major league history on May 4, by|1975. At 12:32 in the afternoon, Watson scored from second base on a three-run homer by teammate Milt May at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The 1,000,000 run total only included runs scored in the National and American Leagues (not "3rd" major leagues, such as the Federal League).

Watson's chief assistant in his current position is Matt McKendry.

Criticism

Watson drew criticism late in the 2007 season. Under his watch, Major League Baseball mandated that managers could no longer wear a team pullover instead of a uniform jersey top.

“There's going to be, for lack of a better term, a Francona Rule,” Watson said. “You can only wear your uniform top or jacket. You can't wear your nightshirt, or whatever it is. You can wear it before games, or after games, but not during games. You have to have your uniform top at all times.”

This caused particular friction between MLB and Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who prefers to wear a pullover due to circulation problems. During game action of the second inning of a Red Sox-Yankees game on August 28, an MLB representative was sent to verify that Francona was wearing a uniform jersey. This was seen as frivolous, or even biased treatment by Watson's office, due to the public's indifference towards the issue, the specific use of Francona as an example, and the fact that the representative appeared during an important in-division matchup.

Prostate Cancer Spokesperson

Watson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March of 1994 which was successfully treated. Watson writes about his experience with prostate cancer in his 1997 book "Survive To Win" and speaks regularly at cancer awareness conferences and with players and staff in Major League baseball. Watson's advocacy has been credited with detecting and treating many League personnel, including manager Joe Torre.

ee also

*Top 500 home run hitters of all time
*Hitting for the cycle

External links

*baseball-reference|id=w/watsobo01