Bob Watson

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1966-1984)

Bob Watson was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1984 for 4 teams, including the Houston Astros, a span of 19 seasons. In 1,832 career games, he hit .295 with 1,826 hits, 184 home runs, and 989 RBI. Bob Watson was a 2-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 19,589.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .295
HR 184
RBI 989
H 1,826
OPS .811
PIV 19,589
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 201 lb
Born
4/10/1946 in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Died
5/14/2020 in Houston, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1966-09-09
Last Game
1984-09-30
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Robert Jose Watson

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Career Batting Statistics

Bob Watson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,832 6,185 802 1,826 307 41 184 989 27 653 796 .295 .364 .447 .811 19,589

Career AVG .295 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — +15.6% above league average.

Career OBP .364 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — +13.3% above league average.

Career SLG .447 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Career OPS .811 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — +16.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Watson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1966 HOU NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1967 HOU NL 6 14 1 3 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 .214 — — — — 0.0
1968 HOU NL 45 140 13 32 7 0 2 8 1 13 32 .229 .236 (-3%) .298 (-1%) .340 (-6%) .638 (-3%) -54.7
1969 HOU NL 20 40 3 11 3 0 0 3 0 6 5 .275 — — — — 0.0
1970 HOU NL 97 327 48 89 19 2 11 61 1 24 59 .272 .253 (+7%) .325 (-1%) .385 (+15%) .711 (+8%) 363.8
1971 HOU NL 129 468 49 135 17 3 9 67 0 41 56 .288 .249 (+16%) .316 (+10%) .365 (+8%) .682 (+9%) 803.2
1972 HOU NL 147 548 74 171 27 4 16 86 1 53 83 .312 .243 (+28%) .310 (+22%) .353 (+31%) .664 (+27%) 2792.0
1973 HOU NL 158 573 97 179 24 3 16 94 1 85 73 .312 .256 (+22%) .325 (+24%) .378 (+18%) .703 (+21%) 2761.6
1974 HOU NL 150 524 69 156 19 4 11 67 3 60 61 .298 .256 (+16%) .324 (+14%) .369 (+12%) .693 (+13%) 1431.2
1975 HOU NL 132 485 67 157 27 1 18 85 3 40 50 .324 .257 (+26%) .327 (+15%) .374 (+32%) .701 (+24%) 2178.6
1976 HOU NL 157 585 76 183 31 3 16 102 3 62 64 .313 .255 (+22%) .320 (+18%) .360 (+27%) .681 (+23%) 2623.6
1977 HOU NL 151 554 77 160 38 6 22 110 5 57 69 .289 .264 (+9%) .329 (+9%) .401 (+24%) .730 (+18%) 1962.8
1978 HOU NL 139 461 51 133 25 4 14 79 3 51 57 .289 .257 (+12%) .323 (+10%) .378 (+19%) .702 (+15%) 1318.9
1979 HOU NL 49 163 15 39 4 0 3 18 0 16 23 .239 .265 (-10%) .329 (-8%) .397 (-20%) .727 (-14%) -360.9
1979 BOS AL 84 312 48 105 19 4 13 53 3 29 33 .337 .265 (+27%) .329 (+21%) .397 (+38%) .727 (+30%) -360.9
1980 NYA AL 130 469 62 144 25 3 13 68 2 48 56 .307 .264 (+16%) .326 (+13%) .387 (+18%) .714 (+15%) 1438.7
1981 NYA AL 59 156 15 33 3 3 6 12 0 24 17 .212 .255 (-17%) .320 (-1%) .368 (+4%) .688 (+2%) 73.3
1982 NYA AL 7 17 3 4 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 .235 — — — — 0.0
1982 ATL NL 57 114 16 28 3 1 5 22 1 14 20 .246 .261 (-6%) .324 (avg) .388 (+8%) .712 (+4%) 0.0
1983 ATL NL 65 149 14 46 9 0 6 37 0 18 23 .309 .260 (+18%) .324 (+16%) .389 (+26%) .714 (+21%) 567.0
1984 ATL NL 49 85 4 18 4 0 2 12 0 9 12 .212 .259 (-19%) .322 (-11%) .384 (-14%) .707 (-13%) -164.3
Career · 21 seasons 1,832 6,185 802 1,826 307 41 184 989 27 653 796 .295 — — — — 17,374

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bob Watson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 62 4 23 4 1 2 9 4 2 .371

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Watson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 AEDIV NYA 5 16 2 7 0 0 0 1 1 1 .438
1981 ALCS NYA 3 12 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250
1981 WS NYA 6 22 2 7 1 0 2 7 3 0 .318
1980 ALCS NYA 3 12 0 6 3 1 0 0 0 0 .500

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1832 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Watson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home904296135685267440.288
Away9283224446974117549.302

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Watson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1984-09-30 ATLSDPW 100000000
1984-09-06 ATLLADW 100000000
1984-08-29 ATLSTLL 101000000
1984-08-26 ATLCHCL 100000000
1984-08-22 ATLPITL 000000010
1984-08-19 ATLSTLL 100000000
1984-08-16 ATLPITL 400000002
1984-08-14 ATLPITW 301000001
1984-08-11 ATLSDPL 400000000
1984-08-10 ATLSDPW 301000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Watson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1088 1002 8930 653 83 771
C 10 2 28 2 1 0
OF 570 564 890 24 26 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Watson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1967 HOU 1B 3 3 21 2 1 0
1968 HOU OF 40 38 46 0 6 0
1969 HOU 1B 5 5 34 3 0 4
1969 HOU C 1 0 5 0 0 0
1969 HOU OF 6 5 7 0 0 0
1970 HOU 1B 83 82 695 39 6 54
1970 HOU C 6 0 11 1 0 0
1970 HOU OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1971 HOU 1B 45 37 339 16 5 28
1971 HOU OF 87 88 131 2 2 0
1972 HOU 1B 2 1 13 1 0 3
1972 HOU OF 143 143 218 6 5 0
1973 HOU 1B 26 12 150 2 2 7
1973 HOU C 3 2 12 1 1 0
1973 HOU OF 142 142 271 8 9 0
1974 HOU 1B 35 2 96 5 0 7
1974 HOU OF 140 139 202 7 4 2
1975 HOU 1B 118 116 1077 69 8 106
1975 HOU OF 9 8 12 1 0 0
1976 HOU 1B 155 154 1395 96 15 126
1977 HOU 1B 146 146 1331 118 9 100
1978 HOU 1B 128 127 974 95 9 63
1979 HOU 1B 44 44 371 33 3 23
1979 BOS 1B 58 57 525 47 7 58
1980 NYA 1B 104 91 851 63 9 87
1981 NYA 1B 50 43 367 25 1 42
1982 NYA 1B 6 4 40 0 0 5
1982 ATL 1B 27 25 206 8 0 18
1982 ATL OF 2 1 2 0 0 0
1983 ATL 1B 34 34 280 19 5 23
1984 ATL 1B 19 19 165 12 3 17

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Watson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 10
First Base 1086
Left Field 569
Right Field 2
Designated Hitter 54

Awards & Honors

Bob Watson — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-07-30
1975 Player of the Month May
1973 Player of the Week Week of 1973-05-04

College History

Bob Watson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Los Angeles Harbor College Wilmington CA 1964

Award Voting History

Bob Watson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1976 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 38.0 336 0
1975 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 8.0 336 0
1973 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 7.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bob Watson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Pinky Higgins
    .292 avg, 140 HR
  2. 96
    Vern Stephens
    .286 avg, 247 HR
  3. 95
    Wally Joyner
    .289 avg, 204 HR
  4. 95
    Bill White
    .286 avg, 202 HR
  5. 94
    Justin Turner
    .283 avg, 201 HR
  6. 92
    Richie Hebner
    .276 avg, 203 HR

Compare Bob Watson

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Watson's closest peers by position and era.

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vs Jim Wynn
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Bob Watson: the record in brief

September 9, 1966 and September 30, 1984 bracket Bob Watson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, Watson's seasons break down as the Houston Astros (1966 to 1979), the Boston Red Sox (1979), the New York Yankees (1980 through 1982), and the Atlanta Braves (1982 to 1984). The bio lists Watson as a first baseman who both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-0 and 201 pounds. Watson was born on April 10, 1946, in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Watson died on May 14, 2020, in Houston, TX, USA. Bob Watson was the playing name; the full given name is Robert Jose.

Across 1,832 games at the plate, Watson's career line reads 1,826 hits in 6,185 at bats for a .295 average, along with 184 home runs, 989 runs batted in, and 27 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .364 and the slugging percentage .447, for an OPS of .811.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Watson

What years did Bob Watson play?
Bob Watson played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1984.
Was Bob Watson a pitcher?
No. Bob Watson was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Bob Watson hit?
Bob Watson hit 184 career home runs with 1826 hits.
What was Bob Watson's career batting average?
Bob Watson batted .295 over his career, with 1,826 hits in 6,185 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Watson have?
Bob Watson drove in 989 runs in his career.
Is Bob Watson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Watson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.