(Originally published by the Daily News on Feb. 4, 1998.)
Bob Watson claims he had seen everything he needed to see at the expansion draft in Phoenix last November to know his time to leave the Yankees, to leave baseball, was upon him.
And he wasn't talking about George Steinbrenner's latest flip job, this one concerning the team's inability to land Pedro Martinez, as the deciding factor in question.
"Nine years ago, when I walked into those meetings, there were only two faces in the room that were of color. Myself and Frank Robinson," Watson said at the Stadium yesterday, moments before introducing his 30-year-old ex-assistant, Brian Cashman, as his successor as Steinbrenner's 17th and youngest GM.