Bob Watson

Robert José Watson (April 10, 1946 – May 14, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, coach and general manager. He 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. Watson had a .295 batting average over a career that also saw him play for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the Atlanta Braves. After retiring as a player, Watson was a coach for the Oakland Athletics for four years, before he joined the Astros’ front office. In 1993, he became the second African-American general manager in major league baseball history with the Astros. He then served as the Yankees general manager from October 23, 1995 until February 2, 1998, during which time the team won the 1996 World Series. Watson became the first African-American general manager to operate a team which would win the World Series. He later served as MLB's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations, from 2002 to 2010. In 2020, Watson was inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame.