David Roger Watkins (born March 15, 1944) is an American retired

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. The native of

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

, attended

Owensboro High School Owensboro High School is a public high school located at 1800 Frederica Street in Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. The school's digital newspaper is ''The Digital Devil''. Owensboro High School is one of only 33 high schools in Kentucky to be l ...

and was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in . After his seven-year professional baseball career, Watkins matriculated from

Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in biology in 1972, then earned his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1976. Based in Louisville, Watkins is a former medical director of the Prauer Rehabilitation and Neuroscience Institute, partner with Rehab Associates PSC, and physician advisor at Jewish Hospital. He was a board member of the U.S. Marine Hospital Foundation, the Greater Louisville Medical Society, and the trustees of the Kentucky Medical Association Political Action Committee. In 2009, he received the Greater Louisville Medical Society's Excellence in Citizenship Award.Kentucky Wesleyan College
/ref> Watkins' baseball career began in 1963 when he was signed by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. The catcher threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . He was selected by the Phillies in December 1963 in the annual first-year player draft then in force, and worked his way through the club's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for the next five seasons. In , he made the MLB Phillies' roster and spent the season as the team's backup catcher to regular Mike Ryan. In 69 games, including 33 as starting catcher, Watkins had 26

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 148

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .176 batting average. He collected two doubles, a triple and four

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. The 1969 campaign was Watkins' last in baseball before he began his education and career in medicine.

References

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1944 births Living people American physicians Bakersfield Bears players Baseball players from Kentucky Chattanooga Lookouts players Jamestown Tigers players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Phillies players Physicians from Louisville, Kentucky Reading Phillies players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky {{US-baseball-catcher-1940s-stub