Xavier University Athletics
Former Musketeer Matt Watson Reaches Major Leagues
09.12.03 | Baseball
NEW YORK – Former Xavier University baseball player Matt Watson was transferred from Norfolk of the AAA International League to the New York Mets on Friday.
Watson becomes the first Musketeer to reach the major leagues who played for current XU Head Coach John Morrey.
Watson played for Xavier from 1997-99 and in three seasons he hit .363, good for fifth best in school history. He belted 27 home runs and drove in 117 RBI in his career. During his final season as a Musketeer in 1999, Watson had a school record 23 doubles.
“Matt is as good of a hitter as I have ever coached,” Morrey said. “His bat has gotten him to the big leagues. Hopefully, he can continue to hit at this level.”
Watson was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1999 and assigned to the Vermont Expos of the New York-Penn League where he hit .380 with 47 RBI and 22 extra base hits in 70 games played. He had a total of 108 hits, a New York-Penn League record.
After a successful season in Vermont, Watson moved to the Florida State League for two seasons to play for the Jupiter Hammerheads. His best year with Jupiter came in 2001 when he hit .330 with 147 hits, including 33 doubles and 74 RBI. At the conclusion of the 2001 season, Watson was named the Montreal Expos Organizational Player of the Year.
After playing just one game for AA Harrisburg at the beginning of the 2002 season, Watson was traded to the Mets as part of a trade that sent Bruce Chen to Montreal and assigned to the AA Binghamton Mets. Watson went on to collect 122 hits, including 26 doubles and 10 home runs and 67 RBI for Binghamton.
Watson began this season on the disabled list, but has after being reinstated from the DL on May 6, he played two games for A St. Lucie and eight games for AA Binghamton before transferring to AAA Norfolk where he has been one of the team’s hottest hitters.
In 74 games played for the Tides, Watson hit .295 with 55 RBI, 18 doubles and 11 home runs while scoring 40 runs.
“No one is going to outwork Matt,” Morrey said. “He has the same dream many others have and now his dream will come true.”
Watson’s first opportunity to see Major League action will ironically come at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Mets begin a three-game series against the Expos on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
