MATT WATSON

Height:	5'11"		DOB:	5-Nov-78
Weight:	200 lbs		2005 Age:	26
Bats:	Left		Birthplace:	Lancaster, PA
Throws:	Right		ML Service:	17 Days
Obtained:	Claimed on waivers, October 9, 2003 from the NY Mets

Here's more of the interview with Matt Watson. We get a little insight to Matt as a person and some of his background as a player.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What kind of music do you like?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I listen to all kinds of music. I have a lot of Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, mostly alternative style music. Lately, I have gotten more into Tim McGraw, maybe it has to do with growing up and having a family now. I'm a little more mellow.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What are your favorite food(s) and/or place to eat?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

My favorite food is probably like most people. I love pizza, subs, but I can't eat them all the time. My favorite place to eat is a little steak shop I used to work at called the Steak Out in Lancaster.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What do you end up doing after a night game in Sacramento?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

After games in Sacramento I would usually go back to the apartment and hang out with my family. Pretty uninteresting to most people, but I enjoy the down time. My wife and I have a 14 month old so we would usually high tail it after the game and go home to put him to bed. Some nights we would hang out with the Blanton's or the Johnson's and Swisher.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What's your favorite movie?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

My favorite movie of all time is the Natural with Robert Redford. I think that is probably pretty common with any American kid who loves baseball.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What do you watch on TV - or is everything Tivo'd?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

My wife is into reality shows so I end up watching a lot of them. The Bachelorette, etc. I like Friends, Lost, but I usually only get to see them in the winter.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Okay, those were lame cop-out questions. So let's flip the question:
What can't you stand of the above; music, food, movies, TV?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I'm not really hard to please. I eat just about anything so I don't really have any food I detest. Whatever my wife cooks is good to me. Not a big fan of classical music. The only thing I won't watch on TV is the surgery channel. My wife for some reason likes to watch TLC where they do surgeries on people, I hate it.

Ladies, and gentleman; Matt Watson, 'the Cheap Date'. Hey, THAT should be a reality show.


ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

You're from Lancaster, PA. Ken Macha is from Export, PA. Have you thought about offering to shovel his driveway or washing his car this off-season?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Ken is a PA guy but on the other side of the state. If I thought it would help I'd have my brother shovel his driveway. He lives in Aspenwall and is much closer than I am.

MINOR LEAGUE LIFE - WINTER LEAGUES
ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What does a minor league player do in the off season?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Most minor leaguers probably work out and get ready for the next season. I watch a lot of football. Steelers 15 and 1 baby (ED NOTE: After the AFC Championship on Sunday - Matt apparently has passed from denial and has entered the stage of grapling with acceptance). I usually work out and work 40-hour weeks at my buddy's steak shop. This off season I played winter ball for a little and then came home, rested for a couple weeks to give my body a break and have been working out with Mike Edwards up in Mechanicsburg.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

You headed South of the Border for Winter Ball in the Mexican League. How did you get hooked up with that particular league and Hermosillo?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Dan Johnson hooked me up with winter ball. He had been down there in the past and said it was a good place to go. I wanted to come home and go down in January but I didn't want to wait and risk not being able to get in later, so I went down early.

I've been home since the beginning of December. The season got a little to long for me, it was the first time I played winter ball and I wanted to come home and be 100 percent for the spring training instead of tiring myself out and not coming into camp in shape.

Winter ball was good for me because I got to see live pitching and a lot of off speed stuff. Mainly I got to play all three outfield positions and felt comfortable out there.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Dan Johnson was on the Orange Growers squad. Aren't you sick of looking at him by now?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

No. Dan and I are good friends. It was nice to have a teammate that you know well especially in another country.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Chris Mabeus was briefly with Hermosillo. What is his status?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Chris was only there for a week or so while I was there so I don't know his status.

TRAINING and INJURIES
ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Let's talk about injuries. I've seen that you have missed some time due to a right shoulder injury and an oblique strain. How did the shoulder injury occur and is it still a bother?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

My first spring training I had a sore shoulder the whole camp. I got an MRI and the doctor told me it was a torn rotator cuff. I had surgery and found out it wasn't torn. I Should have had a second opinion, but I ended up losing a whole year cause of it. Knock on wood it hasn't bothered me since.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What about the oblique? Some people have never experienced an oblique strain and aren't familiar with how important the trunk is to, well, everything in sports; throwing, swinging, reaching...has the oblique come back to haunt you?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

In 2003 I tore both obliques. Freaky thing that I had never had, before or since. I was really into heavy weight training then so I think that had something to do with a muscle imbalance in my abs.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:
Let's talk about your weight training and running programs.

What is your routine like in the off-season?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I go to the gym six days a week. I'm still into lifting but more maintenance lifts now. Not so much heavy lifting but stretching, running and light weight, high reps. I do a lot of abs and rotator cuff exercises. I do cardio like running on the treadmill and bike in November, December, and January.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What do you specifically do as far as running?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Now I'm starting to incorporate some sprinting to get ready for spring.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What about stretching and plyometrics, yoga, etc.?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Yes, plyometrics, med ball and stretching are all part of my workout routine. I think chasing the kid around the house and running away from him when he's screaming will be a great benefit to my overall endurance training.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What do you do during the season for lifting and running? Does the team keep you on a routine?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

The team never gave me any workout routine. I've developed my own with my agent's help. It's geared more for me and not a generic one that fits everybody.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

How much sleep/rest do you get versus how much you think you really need?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I think rest is important especially when you play a long season. I sleep usually eight hours a night, but if the kid gets up screaming - I play the baseball card on my wife. "Honey get him please, you know I have to sleep so I can be ready for workouts tomorrow. We're trying to make it to Oakland next year".

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What about diet and nutrition? I think the question is; can you cook?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Diet and nutrition are very important in getting ready to play a full season. Earlier in my career and even up until recently my diet consisted of subs at the shop I work in the winter and pizza. In the minors you don't have many options on what to eat after the game. Pizza places are usually the ones open that late. My wife is pretty fanatical about cooking lately so the last year I've started to pay more attention to what I eat.

I just started today working out with a dietician/and trainer to help me get on a 4 week program heading into spring. We are going to focus on stretching, plyo's, and core training. Hopefully this year I'll be able to maintain my weight throughout the year instead of losing 10 lbs. Like I did last year.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

What sports did you play growing up?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

Growing up I played football and baseball mainly. I liked basketball but mostly only played pick up games in the driveway.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

As far as baseball, what position did you play and what jersey number did you wear?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I wore number 20 in high school and played everywhere on the field. My best friend, John Parrish, plays for the Orioles so the two of us had a lot of fun and friendly competitions. He lived with my family during his senior year so that was my most memorable year for me.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

Were you drafted out of high school?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I was drafted by the White Sox out of high school, but my parents and I thought it would be better for me to go to college.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

At what point did you realize that being a major league baseball player was going to trump anyone else's 'success' story at your 10 year high school reunion?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I haven't reached my 10 year reunion, yet, so hopefully I will be in the big leagues when that comes around in 2006. But like I said, my best friend has three years service time already so hopefully when or if we go, we can both share stories about the last couple years touring the American League.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

And how did you end up at Xavier?

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

I was recruited by a few schools and chose Xavier because I liked the campus and coach there. My older brother was at Pitt, my mom went to Penn State, and my dad played football at Temple, so I figured I'd take the scholarship and branch out to Ohio. My cousin played football at Miami of Ohio so it was nice having someone else out there with me.

In college I played left field all three years and wore number 20. That was my dad's high school football number so I was fond of it.

My major was criminal justice and I have 27 credits left to get my degree. I hope to go back and get it someday soon but winter ball and instructional leagues have always kept me from going back so far.

ELEPHANTS in OAKLAND:

You were drafted in the 16th round of the 1999 MLB Amateur Draft by the Montreal Expos (460th pick overall). At the time was it a good news/bad news/good news/bad news situation? Great you got drafted, not so great by the Expos. But, great it was the Expos and you could move up the ladder relatively quickly...etc. Oddly, you got to play relatively close to home for a few months in the minors. That had to be a little easier than last season being three time zones away.

Matt Watson (Oakland A's):

When I got drafted by the Expos, I was just excited to finally play pro ball. I didn't care who it was with and I actually ended up getting over to the Mets before all the contraction business started. I enjoyed my three years with them. There was room to move through the organization and they gave me the opportunity to do so.

I got to play close to home which was nice because my wife still worked in our hometown, so she could drive up to see me on the weekends. I was really looking forward to playing in Harrisburg cause it was only 40 minutes from home. Unfortunately, I got traded one game into the 2003 season and didn't get to stay that year with the Senators. It was a blessing in disguise getting over to the Mets.