Bob Welch (baseball player)
Encyclopedia
Robert Lynn "Bob" Welch (born November 3, 1956) is a former starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 (1978–87) and Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 (1988–94). He played in college for Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...

. Welch was best known for his blazing fastball, and he is the last pitcher to win 27 games in a single season. He also had a well-respected split-fingered pitch that was displayed on a baseball card.

Playing career

In a 17-year career, Welch compiled a 211-146 record with 1,969 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s and a 3.47 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in 3,092 innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

.

Striking out Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series

Welch gained national fame in when as a 21-year-old rookie he struck out Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...

 with two men on base and two out in the top of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 1978 World Series
1978 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...

.

1989: World Series Champion

Welch was the third starting pitcher in the rotation for the 1989 World Series champion Oakland A's, compiling a regular-season record of 17-8 and recording a win in his only start in the American League Championship Series
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...

 against the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

. In an odd twist of fate, however, Welch did not throw a single pitch against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 during the World Series itself. Just minutes before Welch was to take the mound in Game 3, Candlestick Park and the Bay Area were struck by the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...

, which caused extensive damage in the region and forced the postponement of the game. When the Series was resumed 11 days later, A's manager Tony LaRussa opted to re-use his Game 1 starter, Dave Stewart, for Game 3 in place of Welch, and his Game 2 starter, Mike Moore, for Game 4 in place of originally scheduled starter Storm Davis
Storm Davis
George Earl "Storm" Davis , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1982-1994.-World Series experience:...

. The strategy worked, as the A's swept the Series in four games. For obvious reasons, the 1989 World Series was also known as the Earthquake Series.

1990 Cy Young Award winning season

A two-time All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

, Welch won 14 or more games in eight years, with a career-high 27 in . In that season he received the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...

 and was considered in the MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

 vote. The 27 win total was the most by any pitcher since Steve Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...

 also won 27 in , and currently stands as the last time a pitcher has won 25 or more games in a season. The last pitcher to win more games in a season was Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....

, with 31 wins in 1968
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...

.

Welch was the starting and losing pitcher of Games One and Four of the 1990 World Series
1990 World Series
- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 16, 1990 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioUntil , this was the last World Series to be scheduled to begin play on a Tuesday, and the first since . The schedule called for the seven-game series to be held Tue–Wed, Fri–Sat–Sun, Tue–Wed. Games 5, 6, and 7, however...

. The Athletics' other two 1990 World Series starting pitchers were Stewart and Scott Sanderson
Scott Sanderson
Scott Douglas Sanderson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for seven teams from 1978 to 1996.-Baseball career:...

. Sanderson became one of the three starters due to his win-loss record and to Moore having a losing record in 1990. Welch's personal catcher throughout much of his Oakland Athletics career was [Ron Hassey), while Stewart, Moore and Sanderson, among other pitchers, would have Terry Steinbach
Terry Steinbach
Terry Lee Steinbach is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for 14 years from to . He was drafted in 1980 out of New Ulm High School by the Cleveland Indians. He was the starting catcher for Oakland Athletics teams that won three straight American League pennants from 1988 to...

 as their batterymate.

Retirement

His book Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Cy Young Award-Winner Recounts His Greatest Victory
Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Cy Young Award-Winner Recounts His Greatest Victory
Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Cy Young Award-Winner Recounts His Greatest Victory is a book by former Major League Baseball Cy Young Award winning pitcher Bob Welch....

was co-written with New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey
George Vecsey
George Vecsey is an American non-fiction author and sports columnist for The New York Times. Vecsey is best known for his work in sports, but has co-written several autobiographies with non-sports figures.-Career:...

 and chronicles Welch's battle with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

.

Welch was the pitching coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...

 when they won the World Series in 2001
2001 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, ArizonaArizona showed no fear and chased Yankees starter Mike Mussina after just three innings. The Yankees gave up five unearned runs and the Diamondbacks rode Curt Schilling's seven strong innings to a 9–1 rout...

.

During the 2006 World Baseball Classic
2006 World Baseball Classic
---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...

, Welch served as the pitching coach for The Netherlands.

His son Riley Welch was a 34th round selection by the Oakland A's in the 2008 MLB Draft. Riley currently plays baseball for the University of Hawaii.

Highlights

  • American League Cy Young Award (1990)
  • Twice All-Star (1980, 1990)
  • Top 10 American League MVP (9th, 1990)
  • Led league in wins (27, 1990)
  • Led league in shutout
    Shutout
    In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

    s (4, 1987)
  • Led league in games started
    Games started
    In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...

     (35, 1991)
  • Tied at #84 on the all-time wins leaderboard
    Top 100 winning pitchers of all time
    This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball winningest pitchers. In the sport of baseball, a win is a statistic credited to the pitcher for the winning team who was in the game when his team last took the lead...


3rd Most wins in the MLB of the 1980's

Fact

  • On May 29, 1980, Welch pitched a 3–0 one-hitter against the Atlanta Braves
    Atlanta Braves
    The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

    , facing the minimum 27 batters. The only Atlanta base runner was Larvell Blanks
    Larvell Blanks
    Larvell Blanks is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder.Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 3rd round of the 1969 MLB amateur draft, Blanks would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Atlanta Braves on July 19, 1972, and appeared in his final game on August 3, 1980.Blanks'...

    , who singled
    Single (baseball)
    In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...

     in the 4th inning and was retired on a double play
    Double play
    In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....

    .

See also


External links

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