Mark Bradford Watson (born January 23, 1974) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. He 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), ...
for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
(),
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
(), and
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
(), and also played in Japan for the
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...
().
Amateur career
A native of
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Watson attended the
Marist School in
Brookhaven, Georgia
Brookhaven is a city in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta that is located in western DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, directly northeast of Atlanta. On July 31, 2012, Brookhaven was approved in ...
. He was selected out of high school by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in the 21st round of the
1993 MLB Draft
The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Rolen, ...
but opted to attend
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...
and the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. In 1994, he played
collegiate summer baseball
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
in the
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
for the
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox where he tossed a no-hitter and was named a league all-star.
He was selected by the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
in the 8th round of the
1995 MLB Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Background
Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...
, but did not sign.
Professional career
In 1996, Watson signed with the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
as an amateur free agent. In 1998, the Brewers traded him to Cleveland, and Watson made his major league debut with the Indians in 2000, appearing in six games for the big league club. Over the next three years, he made five more big league appearances, three with Seattle and two with Cincinnati. Over 12.1 career major league innings, Watson posted a 10.95 ERA with seven strikeouts and seven walks.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mark
1974 births
Living people
Major League Baseball pitchers
Cleveland Indians players
Seattle Mariners players
Cincinnati Reds players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Akron Aeros players
Clemson Tigers baseball players
Georgia Bulldogs baseball players
Kinston Indians players
Louisville Bats players
Baseball players from Atlanta
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
Hiroshima Toyo Carp players
Tacoma Rainiers players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Iowa Cubs players
Sacramento River Cats players
Long Island Ducks players
Marist School (Georgia) alumni
Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players