Had a small taste of the show, in fact, with the New York Mets in 2003 and the Oakland A’s in ’04. His 71 at-bats there are in the books forever.


But by last year Watson was 27, with a wife and two kids. The minors, even a relatively cushy berth at Class AAA Sacramento, were getting old.


Guy’s got to make a living, feed a family, finance some upward mobility. So Watson went to Japan last summer, signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.


He’s glad he did.


“The money’s great, not that money’s all you play for,’’ Watson said Thursday from his home in Lancaster.


Watson, a McCaskey High and Xavier University grad, signed with the Montreal Expos out of college. Through six pro seasons, he’d always hit, but, as he put it, “I’d been stuck in Triple-A for four, five years ... .’’


Watson liked Japan enough that he’s going back, having signed a one-year contract with the Marines Jan. 5.


(Or, as the Google translation of the Marines’ Japanese Web site put it: “This day 5th, the mat Watson player and contract of this season were tied.’’)


“I was hoping to stay over there,’’ Watson said. “I’m glad I got invited back. In AAA, I pretty much knew [what kind of offensive numbers he’d put up]. This was more of a competitive challenge. I enjoyed it.’’


Watson was there for about half the ’06 season, playing mostly every day as a corner outfielder. He hit .274 with a .419 slugging percentage and .362 on-base.


It’s a pitching-and-defense league, at least relative to the majors. No one on the Marines hit more than .282, and Watson’s on-base average tied for the team lead.


“The one and two pitchers are major-league caliber,’’ Watson said. “Maybe not the fours and fives. They don’t throw as hard but they throw all day.


“I’ve seen guys throw 180, 190 pitches, and they never seem to get hurt.’’


One Japanese ace will get a chance to prove it, of course. The Boston Red and Sox broke the bank last month for Daisuke Matsuzaka.


“He’s nasty,’’ Watson said.


He’s faced Matsuzaka, Watson guessed, 15-16 times. The first time Watson didn’t know who he was, and ended a 1-0 game with an RBI double.


“Then I found out who he was, and the next time I went 0-for-3 with a couple Ks,’’ Watson said.


The Marines are managed by former big-league manager and ESPN commentator Bobby Valentine.


Julio Franco and Pete Incaviglia are alums, but the only recognizable big-league name the last couple years has been the former Cub, Met and Brave Matt Franco.


The Marines went 65-70 last year, but in 2005 they won the Pacific League title and swept the Japanese Series.


“It’s as good a team as I’ve ever managed,’’ Valentine said then. “I’d put them up against the winner of the World Series, and I know we’d win at least a couple of games.’’


Watson wasn’t quite willing to go that far.


“I’ll have to be in the league for a full season at least before I could compare,’’ he said.


“Fundamentally, they’re stronger than we are. Their superstars are equivalent to the major-league players, but the overall talent ... .


“In Japan, you’ll still see a starting second baseman hit .220 with five homers.’’


Most Japanese teams are named for towns and corporations. Witness the Hiroshima (the town) Toyo (the company) Carp. Yes, the Carp.


Or, famously, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The name seems to suggests violent conflict with meat, but they’re just Fighters, not Ham Fighters. Nippon Ham is the team’s corporate parent.


Chiba is a medium-large Japanese town about 45 minutes from Tokyo. Lotte is a huge multinational known mostly as a candy and gum manufacturer.


Later this month, Watson leaves for spring training in Australia. During the season, he lives in an apartment in Chiba’s Baytown section.


“There’s a park on every street corner,’’ Watson said. “You can get everywhere on your bike. It’s a different lifestyle.’’


Watson’s wife and two sons, age 3 and 16 months, live there with him during the season. By sheer luck he found an apartment next door to a woman who had kids ages 4 and 2 and speaks fluent English.


“My wife did a great job of meeting up with some English-speaking families,’’ Watson said. “If we have to get to a doctor or something, there’s a support system there.’’


Can’t go on like this for very long, of course. Soon the boys will be starting school. The family is finishing building a home in Lancaster.


Watson doesn’t know what comes next.


The Marines work for now, though.

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