Former Astros Great Bob Watson Dies

The Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and all of Major League Baseball was saddened on Friday, after the loss of a beloved former player, coach, and executive.

Former player, coach, and general manager Bob Watson died on Thursday, after a long battle with Kidney disease.

Watson was 74-years old.

A native of Los Angeles, California, Watson made his Major League debut with the Astros in 1966, before going on to play parts of 13 seasons for the organization, from 1966-1979.

Watson, who broke in as a catcher, before moving to left field and then first base, was named to the National League All-Star team twice while with the Astros (1973 & 1975).

Following his time with Houston, Watson also played for the Boston Red Sox (1979), New York Yankees (1980-1982), and Atlanta Braves (1982-1984).

Watson was credited with scoring the 1,000,000th run in major league history on Sunday, May 4, 1975, against the San Francisco Giants.

In parts of 19 MLB seasons, Watson hit .295 with 184 home runs and 989 runs batted in.

Following his playing days, Watson served as hitting coach for the Oakland A's before serving as general manager of the Astros for three seasons (1993-1995), becoming only the second African American GM in MLB history.

Watson then served as general manager of the Yankees for two seasons (1996-1997) helping the organization to a 1996 World Series title.

After the 1997 season, Watson retired from the Yankees and served as Major League Baseball's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations.