Robert Jose Watson was an American professional baseball player, coach and general manager.
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24 Facts About Bob Watson
2.
Bob Watson played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from 1966 to 1984, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he was a two-time All-Star player.
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3.
Bob Watson then served as the Yankees general manager from 1995 through 1998, during which time the team won the 1996 World Series.
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4.
Bob Watson became the first African-American general manager to operate a team which would win the World Series.
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5.
Bob Watson later served as MLB's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations, from 2002 to 2010.
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6.
Bob Watson's parents separated prior to his birth, and his grandparents raised him.
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7.
Bob Watson nearly quit baseball while playing in Minor League Baseball for an affiliate based in Savannah, Georgia, due to segregation in restaurants and hotels.
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8.
Bob Watson was a dependable hitter whose home run numbers were somewhat hurt by the fact that he played the majority of his career in the Astrodome, which had a reputation for being a pitcher-friendly ballpark.
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9.
From 1966 through 1970, Bob Watson appeared in less than 100 games each season for the Astros, batting.
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10.
From 1971 through 1978, Bob Watson appeared in at least 129 games each season, batting.
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11.
Bob Watson played 84 games for the Red Sox through the remainder of the season.
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12.
Bob Watson was nearly dealt along with Oscar Gamble and Mike Morgan from the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Al Oliver prior to the 1982 regular season, but the transaction was squashed by Gamble whose contract had a list of eight teams to which he can be traded which did not include the Rangers.
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13.
Bob Watson was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Scott Patterson on April 23,1982.
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14.
Bob Watson helped propel the Braves to the 1982 National League West title.
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15.
Bob Watson was credited with scoring the 1,000,000th run in major league history on Sunday, May 4,1975, at 12:32 in the afternoon.
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16.
Bob Watson joked that in the aftermath of the event, his fan mail doubled—from four letters to eight.
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17.
Bob Watson served as GM for the Yankees from October 23,1995, to February 2,1998.
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18.
Bob Watson served as MLB's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations, beginning in 2002.
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19.
In 2000, Bob Watson worked with USA Baseball to select the team roster competing in baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
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20.
Bob Watson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 1994, which was successfully treated.
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21.
Bob Watson wrote about his experience with prostate cancer in his 1997 book, Survive To Win, and spoke regularly at cancer awareness conferences and with players and staff in Major League Baseball.
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24.
Bob Watson died on May 14,2020, from that illness at the age of 74.
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