MLB Vice President of Rules and On-field Operations
After the 1997 season, Watson retired from the Yankees and now serves as Major League Baseball's vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations. He was under consideration for the Astros General Manager position, but the position was given to Ed Wade, the Philadelphia Phillies' former GM. Watson's chief assistant in his current position is Matt McKendry.
Watson drew criticism late in the 2007 season. Under his watch, Major League Baseball mandated that managers could no longer wear a team issued pullover instead of a uniform jersey top.
| “ | There's going to be, for lack of a better term, a Francona Rule,” Watson said. “You can only wear your uniform top or jacket. You can't wear your nightshirt, or whatever it is. You can wear it before games, or after games, but not during games. You have to have your uniform top at all times. | ” |
This caused particular friction between MLB and Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who prefers to wear a pullover due to circulation problems. During game action of the second inning of a Red Sox-Yankees game on August 28, an MLB representative was sent to verify that Francona was wearing a uniform jersey. The Boston media saw this as frivolous, or even biased, due to the public's indifference towards the issue, the specific use of Francona as an example, and the fact that the representative appeared during an important in-division matchup.
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