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Bob Watson, the 1B-LF for the Astros and others from 1966 to 1984, passed away on May 14, 2020 at age 74.
After brief cups of coffee in September '66 and '67, Watson made the Astros team in May 1968. Although his rookie card (above) shows his position as C-OF, he didn't catch any games in 1968 and only 1 in 1969. (He did catch 74 games during a mid-season trip to the minors in 1969).
Watson played for the Astros until June 1979, when he was traded to the Red Sox for 2 minor-leaguers (wow!)
The following season he began a 2-year stint as the Yankees' 1st baseman. He appeared in the post-season both years, and hit 2 homers and 7 RBI in the '81 World Series.
He finished up his career with 3 seasons (1982-84) in Atlanta, backing up Chris Chambliss (the player he replaced in New York).
Later, he was the general manager for the Astros and Yankees from 1993-1998, and was a MLB executive from 2002-2010.
1 comment:
He really was the architect of those great Yankee teams at the turn of the century. It was inexplicable to me that he didn't get offered a new GM job after that. I have to think that racism played a role in that.
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