Posted 1/26/06
Jason Watson led the UW-Platteville baseball team to its best-ever season in 2005, as the Pioneers advanced to the WIAC playoffs for the first time and beat UW-Oshkosh for third place. Watson, a senior from Boscobel, tied the conference record for stolen bases for a season with 38. UWP is sponsoring its First Pitch Banquet Saturday at 7 p.m. Call Coach Jamie Sailors at 342-1843 for more information.
Have you had time to really reflect the accomplishments of last season?
"Yes and no. I kind of like to look back at what we did and how we did it, but this year is my senior year, and I want us to go farther."
I don't know how you can top last year in terms of stolen bases. Was that something you were aware of as the season went on?
"I looked at the record books and saw the record at Platteville was 19. That just seemed that I could easily break, but I didn't know I could double it. I like to steal bases. I like to run and use the small game to my advantage."
You are very fast, but how much do you have to work on technique and what to look for in a pitcher? Did that take a while to perfect?
"Yes, it has. The first two years, I had 18 stolen bases, but I didn't really know what to look for. Now even in the dugout, I watch the pitcher and see what he does and try and pick up his rhythm and tendencies that he has. I've really learned the pitch-counts. I'm much more likely to make it if he throws an off-speed pitch."
Your team came back last week, even before practices started. Are you that anxious to get the new season going?
"We decided to do this as seniors. Coaches aren't around, and they can't be (until practices start). We figured if we can get the little things done now, coach doesn't have to go through things and spend time explaining them. We've been here for four years, and we know what is expected out of us."
This season will be different in a number of ways. We have the earliest game in conference history (Feb. 17 in Arkansas) and because of construction of the new field, we will play all our games on the road. Have you talked about that as a team?
"In the past years, we have had six weeks of indoor practice, and that was just way too long. In the long run, it may have been bad for us because we just wanted to get outside and may have lost focus. With the shorter time, we can focus and hit everything well. We'll deal with the field issue. There's nothing we can do about it, so we'll use that as motivation."
Saturday is the First Pitch Banquet. Obviously it's a major fund-raiser for all these trips, but do you get more out of it than that?
"We get to know the new guys coming in and meet their parents. We also get to keep in touch with the parents of all the players who have been around, especially the seniors. They get to know each other and sit by each other at games. We want to make it like a family."
Interview by SID Paul Erickson