Bob Watson Speaks... So Does Lance Berkman

BOB WATSON HAS GREAT MEMORIES




Perhaps no person ever affiliated with the Houston Astros has done more in baseball on and off that field than Bob Watson. He was featured guest at the local Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)meeting on Tuesday night and enthralled those on hand with some of his many stories. Bob was signed by the Astros out of Los Angeles when that city was the hub for amateur baseball. He played on a team that featured future major leaguers at every position. Many would be surprised to know that Bob was the catcher.



In fact, when signed by the Astros he was a catcher. He did play behind the plate for a number of games during his major league career, but mostly he was an outfielder or first baseman. To be totally correct Bob Watson was really a hitter. In nineteen seasons he hit .295 with 184 HR and 989 RBIs. He hit over .300 four times. He drove in more than 100 runs twice.



Perhaps best noted for being the first player to hit for the cycle in both leagues—Houston in the NL and Boston in the AL—and scoring baseball’s 1-millionth run, Bob’s biggest acheievements really came after his playing days.



Hired by Dr. John McMullen to be GM of the Astros he was in the transition between McMullen and Drayton McLane, Jr. Along with his manager Art Howe one of his big jobs was try to teach baseball to McLane. The frustrations were great and neither Howe nor Watson lasted long.



But baseball life was hardly over for Bob. George Steinbrenner hired him to run the New York Yankees. During his stint at Yankee GM the club won the World Series in 1996. Bob proudly wears that 1996 World Series ring on his left hand. He admits working for Steinbrenner was rough, but the man wanted to win and would do what it took to reach that goal.



But he also wears a ring on note on his left hand. He was in charge of the team U.S.A. Olympic team as GM that brought home the gold in the final year of Olympic baseball participation. Watson says that may rank as high or higher to him than the Yankee World Series victory because it was for the whole country.



Watson has served as “dean of discipline” for the Commissioner’s office and has been involved in other areas of baseball administration for years. Houston has been home since his Astro playing days. But his reach has been far greater since leaving the Astros.



BERKMAN JOINS ANTI AL CRUSADE



The most prominent baseball name heard so far calls the possible move of the Astros to the AL a bad idea. Lance Berkman of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals who played 12 years for the Astros made his thoughts known during a short news get together on Tuesday. He was announcing an exclusive memorabilia agreement with Houston based Tri-Star. When asked about the continuing speculation that a move to the AL may essentially be the key for acceptance of Jim Crane as the club’s new owner by MLB, Lance called it a “travesty.” He added that from a personal standpoint when he retires and is living full time back in Houston he does not want to go watch American League baseball.



While the anti-move fans are being heard from more and more, most of them don’t seem to think baseball is listening and that commissioner Bud Selig is determined to move the club to the AL. Just as determined is Jim Crane to own a club and a large number of fans look at any rebate or payoff to him to accommodate the league switch as a sell out.



In a perfect world (for most fans) the Crane deal would be approved with no stipulations. Major League Baseball would table any realignment talk and it would be business in the NL Central as usual. Unfortunately we rarely have a perfect world in any aspect of life.



A few members of the local SABR meeting Tuesday emphasized another point. If the Astros went to the AL the whole National League would disappear from this part of the country. The nearest NL franchise would be in St. Louis. Fans who lived in Central Texas who liked the option of catching AL action in Arlington and NL play in Houston would no longer have an option. The great stars of the National League present and future would be only flickering images on televisions.



By the way, the SABR members in respecting Bob Watson’s continuing connection with Bud Selig and the MLB office did not try to play “reporter” and pry inside info from him or ask for opinions on the Astros future. They kept the conversation to Bob’s career. That was an entertaining evening on its own.