Matt Watson #26

Matthew Kyle Watson was originally signed by Montreal Expos scout Matt Anderson...graduated from McCaskey High School in 1996...attended Xavier University.

2005

Had four stints with the A's and batted .188 with no home runs and five RBIs in 19 games...went 0-for-7 off left-handed pitching and hit .220 (9-for-41) against right-handers...collected nine hits for the A's, four of which came against Boston...went 4-for-12 (.333) against the Red Sox and 5-for-36 (.139) against the rest of baseball...made 12 starts with the A's (10 in left field, two in right field)...recalled for the first time on May 14 and went 4-for-21 (.190) with three RBIs in eight games before being optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on May 25...returned on June 9 and went 1-for-12 (.083) in four games before being sent back to Sacramento on June 14...brought up for a third time from Aug. 15-19 when Nick Swisher was on the bereavement list and was 0-for-3 in one game...then returned when rosters expanded on Sept. 1 and went 4-for-12 (.333) over his final six games...had his first career multihit and multiple-RBI game on May 16 against Boston when he went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs...had a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning of that game to break a 4-4 tie and give the A's a 6-4 victory...finished the year by collecting a career-high three hits and a career high-tying two RBIs in the final game of the season on Oct. 2 at Seattle...spent the balance of the season at Sacramento, where he batted .315 with 17 home runs and 81 RBIs in 113 games...had Minor League career highs in runs (82) and walks (67)...led Sacramento in batting, slugging (.516) and on-base percentage (.404) and was second in runs, hits (132), RBIs and walks...had 10 sacrifice flies, which tied for third most in all of Minor League baseball...hit .349 (37-for-106) with seven home runs against left-handed pitching and .304 (95-for-313) with 10 home runs against right-handers...hit .300 (33-for-110) with runners in scoring position, including .352 (19-for-54) with RISP and two outs...was 5-for-15 (.333) with a grand slam with the bases loaded...appeared in 98 games in right field and one in left field and also hit .353 (18-for-51) in 13 games as designated hitter...hit in every spot in the order except first and eighth...saw most of his action hitting third, where he batted .298 (70-for-235) in 63 games...hit .271 (26-for-96) over his first 25 games before collecting a season-high four hits and four runs scored on May 3 at Tucson...that started a 13-game hitting streak from May 3-29 where he batted .491 (27-for-55) with 10 multihit games, including a second four-hit game on May 5 at Tucson...scored at least one run in 10 consecutive games from May 3-13 (18 total), including a second four-run game on May 9 at Las Vegas...had at least one RBI in seven consecutive games from May 6-13 (14 total)...ended up batting .391 (27-for-69) in 17 games in May...was hitting .338 at the end of May but then hit .263 (20-for-76) in June, his lowest average in any month in 2005...had his first of four two-homer games on June 2 against Tacoma...also homered twice in the first game of a doubleheader on June 7 at Salt Lake and drove in a season-high six RBIs...his third two-homer game came on June 22 at Las Vegas, when he drove in five runs...his final two-homer game came on July 22 against Tucson...finished the season by hitting .305 (29-for-95) in July and .330 (30-for-91) in August...reached base safely via hit or walk in 21 consecutive games from July 28 to Aug. 23...fell a single short of the cycle on July 29 at Memphis...had three doubles in his final Triple-A game on Aug. 31 against Fresno.

2004

Hit .305 with 19 home runs and 96 RBI in 125 games at Triple-A Sacramento in his first season in the A's organization...the home runs and RBI were career highs...also had career highs in at bats (476), runs (79), doubles (37) and strikeouts (75)...added 54 walks for a .377 on-base percentage and slugged .515...finished second on Sacramento in batting, doubles, RBI and total bases (245)...ranked fourth in the A's farm system in RBI and eighth in batting...ranked tied for sixth in the Pacific Coast League in RBI and was tied for eighth in doubles...batted .318 (108 for 340) with 18 of his 19 home runs against right handed pitching compared to .272 (37 for 136) against left-handers...hit .351 (81 for 231) at home compared to .261 (64 for 245) on the road...batted .328 (21 for 64) with runners in scoring position and two outs...committed a career high 11 errors but had 10 assists in the outfield...appeared in 106 games in right field and 19 in left field...hit in every spot in the order except first and fourth and had his most at bats hitting seventh (51 for 168, .304)...put together his best batting average in the month of June when he hit .336 (39 for 116) along with 14 doubles, six home runs and 24 RBI in 27 games...hit .275 or better every month...also hit over .300 in August (.318)...had just three home runs and 28 RBI over his first 37 games through June 2 but then hit 16 home runs and drove in 68 runs over his final 88 games...had a season high four hits on June 11 at Salt Lake...had a season high 15-game hitting streak from June 23 to July 8 where he batted .344 (22 for 64) with four home runs and 21 RBI...had his lone two-homer game of the season on June 25 at Portland and also had a season high six RBI in that game...had five RBI and was a double short of the cycle on August 5 at Albuquerque...hit .360 (9 for 25) with two doubles, five RBI, five walks and six runs scored in seven postseason games for the PCL Champion River Cats...played for Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific Winter League and hit .208 (21 for 101) with four home runs and 15 RBI in 27 games.

2003

Played for five different teams in 2003, including a September call-up with the New York Mets for his major league debut...appeared in 15 games with the Mets and hit .174 (4 for 23) with two RBI...was selected by New York on September 12 and made his major league debut that day at Montreal, grounding out as a pinch hitter...collected his first major league hit the next day against the Expos with a pinch hit double in the seventh inning off Javier Vasquez...was 1 for 11 (.091) as a pinch hitter...made his first start on September 17 at Chicago in left field and was 1 for 4...made two starts in left field (2 for 8)...batted a combined .297 (90 for 303) with 58 RBI and a career high 12 home runs at his four minor league stops...the batting average was fifth best in the Mets farm system...spent most of the season at Triple-A Norfolk, but two stints on the disabled list led to appearances at Double-A Binghamton, Single- A St. Lucie and Short Season Single-A Brooklyn...combined to appear in 63 games in left field and nine in right field and also hit .260 (13 for 50) in 15 games as a designated hitter...hit .295 in 74 games at Norfolk and that broke down to .141 (9 for 64) against left handers and .347 (66 for 190) against right handers...averaged improved to .367 (29 for 79) with runners in scoring position...hit in every spot in the order except fourth and saw most of his action hitting third (36 for 110, .327)...appeared in just three games, going 3 for 12 (.250) before a left oblique strain had him on the disabled list from April 10 to May 6...sent to St. Lucie on May 6 and went 2 for 7 (.286) with two RBI in two games before he was transferred to Binghamton on May 9...hit safely in all eight games at Double-A, going 11 for 28 (.393) with a home run before returning to Norfolk on May 23...went 7 for 29 (.241) in his first nine games through the end of May but then hit .309 in June, .301 with six home runs and 20 RBI in 28 games in July and .310 in nine games in August...had the game winning RBI single in the bottom of the 16th inning in a 3-2 win over Louisville on July 1...homered in three consecutive games, July 9-11...had a season best 10-game hitting streak from July 24 to August 1 (14 for 39, .359)...went back on the disabled list on August 11 with a right oblique strain and was sent to Brooklyn on rehab on August 31...went 2 for 14 (.143) in four regular season games and 5 for 21 (.238) in five post season games with the Cyclones before he was activated from the D.L. on September 12 and selected by the Mets.

2002

Appeared in just one game at Double-A Harrisburg before he was traded with pitchers Scott Strickland and Phil Seibel to the New York Mets for pitchers Bruce Chen and Dicky Gonzalez, infielder Luis Figueroa and a player to be named later (pitcher Saul Rivera on July 14) on April 5...spent the remainder of the season at Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League where he batted .279 with 10 home runs and 67 RBI in 127 games...finished second on the club in RBI...ranked fifth in the EL in fewest strikeouts per plate appearance (1 per 9.42)...his 128 games played were a career high...his average improved to .358 with runners in scoring position and he was 4 for 11 (.364) with the bases loaded, including a grand slam...appeared in 74 games in left field and 31 in right field...also hit .215 (14 for 65) in 18 games at designated hitter and was 4 for 9 with four doubles as a pinch-hitter...was batting .233 with five home runs and 39 RBI in 98 games through August 4 but then hit .421 (45 for 107) with five home runs and 28 RBI over his final 29 games starting on August 5.

2001

Hit .330 for Single-A Jupiter which led the Expos farm system and the Florida State League, tied for fifth among all Single-A batters and tied for eighth among all full season minor league outfielders...also ranked second in the FSL in hits (147) and on-base percentage (.417), third in fewest strikeouts per plate appearance (1 per 11.51 pa) and fourth in doubles (33)...had career highs in hits, triples (4) and walks (63) and tied his best in stolen bases (17)...was third in the Montreal farm system in RBI...tied for ninth among all Single-A batters in on-base percentage...batted .238 against left handed pitching compared to .375 against right-handers...his average improved to .380 with runners in scoring position and he was 5 for 11 (.455) with the bases loaded...was on the disabled list from June 8 to 20 with a left hamstring strain...reached base safely via hit or walk in 49 consecutive games from June 27 to August 18 which was the second longest streak in the minors in 2001...ranked third among all minor leaguers with a .432 batting average in July...had a 16-game hitting streak from July 2 to 18 and a 14- game streak from July 26 to August 10...appeared in 107 games in left field and was 17 for 63 (.270) in 17 games as the designated hitter.

2000

Spent the entire season at Jupiter in the Florida State League but missed three months of the season with a right shoulder strain...appeared in just 40 games and hit .175...was hitting .211 (4 for 19) over his first six games before going on the disabled list on April 14...activated on July 14 and went 20 for 118 (.169) over his final 34 games...saw most of his action at designated hitter where he batted .225 (18 for 80) in 21 games...also appeared in 10 games in left field, seven in right field and two in center field.

1999

Was named to the New York-Penn League Post Season All-Star team after leading the league in batting (.380), hits (108) and fewest strikeouts per plate appearance (1 per 11.96 pa)...tied for second in on-base percentage (.439) and was fourth in runs scored (55) and total bases (147)...led the Expos farm system in batting... led Vermont in batting and hits and tied for the team lead with 17 stolen bases...had career highs in batting, slugging (.518), on-base percentage and stolen bases...batted .487 in the month of July which was the second best average in the month in all of minor league baseball...appeared in 39 games in center field, 16 in left field and 11 in right field.