1985 bob watson

after 19 years in the big leagues, bob watson retired from baseball as a player prior to the 1985 season.  here is his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

retirement treated watson well, as he became the general manager of the astros in 1983 and then the gm for the yankees in the mid '90's.  watson was their gm when they won the world series in 1996 but left the club after the 1997 season.  i am among those who feel that watson does not get enough credit while brian cashman gets too much.  watson was the one who hired joe torre, after all.

anyway, after leaving the bronx, watson moved on to the offices of mlb where he served as the 'punishment czar' until he retired - again - in november of last year.

voici à vous, 1985 bob watson!

1980 bob watson

bob watson spent half a season in boston before signing as a free agent with the yankees in november of 1979.  here's his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

watson took over at first for the departed chris chambliss and helped the yankees get back to the postseason in 1980.  he hit .500 with an ops of 1.417 in their alcs loss to the royals that year.  in 1981, he hit .438 in the alds against the brewers and then .318 with 2 home runs and 7 rbi in the world series against the dodgers.

voici à vous, 1980 bob watson!