Watkins had planned on playing football at Duke after graduating from Garner Magnet High School, and had even talked to their coach, Steve Spurrier, about playing under him. However, when Spurrier left to coach at the University of Florida and the coach who replaced him was not interested, Watkins had to change his plan. He went to East Carolina University to play baseball after his high school coach recommended him to the baseball coach there. At East Carolina, Watkins was an All-American and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1st round (32nd pick) of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft.[1]
Major league career
Watkins made his major league debut on September 9, 1997 against the Chicago Cubs. Watkins played parts of two more seasons in the majors, 1998 with the Reds and 1999 with the Rockies.
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