Books and articles about Bob Watson

Watson was a consistent hitter and a dependable team player who, though signed as a catcher, caught only 10 major league games. He played mostly the outfield for Houston until 1975, when he took over at first base for Lee May, who had been traded. He batted a career-high .324 that year and topped the .300 mark in six of his 11 seasons as a regular. In 1976, he scored the one millionth run in ML baseball history. He drove in more than 100 runs in both 1976 and 1977, and was the Astros' all-time leader in hits and RBI when traded to Boston in June 1979.

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Helped by the DH rule, Watson had a late-career renaissance in the American League. On September 15, 1979, he became the first ML player to hit for the cycle in both leagues (he did so in the NL in 1977). He signed as a free agent with the Yankees for 1980 and excelled in postseason play. In 1981 he tied a record by homering in his first World Series plate appearance; the three-run shot boosted the Yankees to a 5-3 Game One victory over the Dodgers. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 7, 1970: Houston sweeps a doubleheader from San Diego 10–5 and 9–4. In the first game Astro Bob Watson and Padre Ramon Webster each hit grand slams. » April 16, 1972: Hitting for the cycle, Dave Kingman drives in six runs to lead the Giants to a 10–6 win over the Astros. The third sacker makes out in his final at bat after clouting a 3-run homer in the 7th. Sudden Sam McDowell, making his NL debut, pitches five 2/3 inning for the win despite allowing 3-run homers to Bob Watson and Tommy Helms. » May 4, 1975: The Giants beat the Astros 8–6 in the first game of a doubleheader at Candlestick. In the 2nd inning, Houston's Bob Watson scores what is calculated as ML baseball's one-millionth run of all time (the Philadelphia Nationals Wes Fisler scored the first run on April 22, 1876) as Milt May hits John Montefusco's first pitch to drive him home. The Reds Dave Concepcion homers about the same moment and races around the bases, but Watson, on 2B, scores first. The Reds lose to Atlanta, 3–2. » April 17, 1977: In Atlanta, the umpiring crew walks off the field to protest a controversial play being shown on the large instant replay screen. The 4th inning play involved the Astros Bob Watson scoring on a close play at the plate. Braves' executive Bill Lucas persuaded the umps to return, assuring them that no more close plays would be shown. The Braves won 5–4. » June 24, 1977: Bob Watson hits for the cycle to lead Houston to a 6–5 win over the SF Giants. Joe Sambito is the winning pitcher. » June 13, 1979: The Astros trade slugger Bob Watson to the Red Sox for two minor league pitchers and cash. » September 15, 1979: Boston's Bob Watson hits for the cycle in a 10–2 win over the Orioles. Watson, hitting in order (2nd inning single; 4th inning double; 6th inning fielder's choice; 8th inning triple; 9th inning homer to LF), becomes the first player to cycle in the both the American League and National League. » November 8, 1979: The Yankees ink 1B-DH Bob Watson and P Rudy May, the first reentry free agents to sign long-term contracts with new teams. » April 10, 1980: At Arlington Stadium, Jon Matlack and the Yankees Ron Guidry both pitch shutout ball for nine innings before being lifted. In the 12th, Goose Gossage relieves with Mickey Rivers on 3rd and Richie Zisk at the plate. His first pitch is wild allowing Rivers to score the games on run. Gossage also lost the '78 Opener when Zisk took him deep in the 9th. Each team manages just four hits in the contest with Bob Watson and Jim Sundberg each collecting three of them. » October 20, 1981: In a World Series rematch of the 1978 teams, the Yankees take Game One over the Dodgers 5–3. Bob Watson's 3-run homer in the first is the big blow as Ron Guidry goes seven innings for the win. Goose Gossage closes down a Dodger rally in the 8th. » October 21, 1981: Goose Gossage gets his 2nd save in as many days as he preserves Tommy John's win 3–0 in game 2. Bob Watson has two hits and an RBI. » July 9, 1988: Chris Speier hits for the cycle and Ernest Riles hits the 10,000th home run in Giants history to lead San Francisco to a 21–2 rout of the Cardinals. The 21 runs are a San Francisco record. Speier also cycled as an Expo in 1978, just the 4th major leaguer to do so for two teams. He joins Joe Cronin (Washington, 1929; Red Sox, 1940), Babe Herman (Dodgers, 1931; Cubs, 1933), and Bob Watson (Astros, 1977; Boston, 1979). » August 25, 1992: Recalled earlier in the day from Tucson (AAA), Houston's Andujar Cedeno hits for the cycle against the Cards, the first Astro to cycle since Bob Watson in 1977. The Cards win, though, 5-3. » October 5, 1993: The Astros fire manager Art Howe. Former Astros star Bob Watson is named Houston's GM, becoming the first black to hold that position in the major leagues. » August 5, 1994: In the Astros' 12–4 win over the Giants, Jeff Bagwell is 3-for-4 to set several club records. His 38th homer is a new mark, his two extra base hits give him 71, and his five RBIs give him 112 to pass Bob Watson. Bagwell will hit his 39th tomorrow. » October 23, 1995: The Yankees name Bob Watson GM, replacing Gene Michael. » July 4, 1996: The Yankees provide the fireworks, signing Darryl Strawberry. On June 24th, Yankee GM Bob Watson said five times that Strawberry "doesn't fit." » February 2, 1998: Yankees GM Bob Watson announces his resignation. He is replaced by 30–year–old Brian Cashman. » February 21, 2002: Bob Watson is named to replace Frank Robinson as Major League Baseball's vice president in charge of discipline.