View source for Bob Welch (baseball)

{{short description|American baseball player (1956–2014)}}
{{Other people|Bob Welch}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Bob Welch
|image=Bob Welch Los Angeles Dodgers.jpg
|caption=
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date=November 3, 1956
|birth_place=[[Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2014|6|9|1956|11|3}}
|death_place=[[Seal Beach, California]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=June 20
|debutyear=1978
|debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=August 11
|finalyear=1994
|finalteam=Oakland Athletics
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=211–146
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.47
|stat3label=[[Strikeouts]]
|stat3value=1,969
|teams=
* [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{mlby|1978}}–{{mlby|1987}})
* [[Oakland Athletics]] ({{mlby|1988}}–{{mlby|1994}})
|highlights=
* 2× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1980]], [[1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1990]])
* 3× [[World Series]] champion ({{wsy|1981}}, {{wsy|1989}}, {{wsy|2001}})
* [[AL Cy Young Award]] (1990)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|MLB wins leader]] (1990)
}}
'''Robert Lynn Welch''' (November 3, 1956&nbsp;– June 9, 2014) was an American [[professional baseball]] [[starting pitcher]]. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1978–87) and [[Oakland Athletics]] (1988–94). Prior to his professional career, he attended [[Eastern Michigan University]], where he played [[college baseball]] for the [[Eastern Michigan Hurons]] baseball team.<ref name="Post">Schudel, Matt (June 11, 2014) "Pitcher won Cy Young Award in '90" ''The Washington Post'', page B5. Retrieved July 6, 2014 [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/bob-welch-cy-young-winning-pitcher-who-overcame-struggles-with-alcohol-dies-at-57/2014/06/10/ba9f92a6-f0d2-11e3-9ebc-2ee6f81ed217_story.html]</ref> He helped lead the Hurons, coached by Ron Oestrike, to the [[1976 College World Series]], losing to Arizona in the Championship Game.

Welch was a two-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|MLB All-Star]], and he won the [[American League]] [[Cy Young Award]] as the league's best pitcher in 1990. He was a three-time [[World Series]] champion – twice as a player and once as a coach. 

He is the most recent major league pitcher to win at least 25 games in a single season, 27 in 1990,<ref name="Post"/> which is the highest single-season win total since 1968.

==Playing career==
In a 17-year career, Welch compiled a 211–146 record with 1,969 [[strikeout]]s and a 3.47 [[earned run average|ERA]] in 3,092 [[innings pitched|innings]]. His 137 wins during the 1980s ranked third among major league pitchers during that decade, following [[Jack Morris]] and [[Dave Stieb]]. Welch won the American League Cy Young Award in 1990 while pitching for the Oakland Athletics. He threw two complete games in 1990, both of them shutouts. Welch finished in the top 10 voting for the National League Cy Young Award twice (1983 and 1987).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/welchbo01.shtml|title=Bob Welch Stats - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

===Los Angeles Dodgers===
Welch gained national fame with the Dodgers during their [[1978 Los Angeles Dodgers season|1978 season]], when as a 21-year-old rookie he struck out [[Reggie Jackson]] of the [[New York Yankees]] with two men on base and two out in the top of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the [[1978 World Series]].

On May 29, 1980, Welch pitched a 3–0 one-hitter against the [[Atlanta Braves]], facing the minimum 27 batters. The only Atlanta base runner was [[Larvell Blanks]], who [[Single (baseball)|singled]] in the fourth inning and was retired on a [[double play]].

Welch won the [[1981 World Series]], his first, as the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in six games.

In 1983, Welch became the sixth pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout and hit a solo home run for his team's only run. This was not accomplished again until [[Noah Syndergaard]] did so in 2019.<ref name="rarest">{{cite web |last1=Armstrong |first1=Kevin |title='One of the Rarest Things in Baseball': Noah Syndergaard Does It All |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/sports/noah-syndergaard-mets-reds.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=August 26, 2023 |date=May 2, 2019}}</ref>

===Oakland Athletics===
[[File:OAKR35WELCH.jpg|thumb|left|200px|1990 Oakland Athletics #35 Bob Welch All-Star Game road jersey]] Welch was the third starting pitcher in the rotation for the [[1989 World Series]] champion [[1989 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland A's]], compiling a regular-season record of 17-8 and recording a win in his only start in the [[1989 American League Championship Series|American League Championship Series]] against the [[1989 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays]]. In an odd twist of fate, however, Welch did not throw a single pitch against the [[1989 San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants]] 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 [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake|Loma Prieta earthquake]], 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 La Russa]] opted to re-use his Game 1 starter, [[Dave Stewart (baseball)|Dave Stewart]], for Game 3 in place of Welch, and his Game 2 starter, [[Mike Moore (baseball)|Mike Moore]], for Game 4 in place of originally scheduled starter [[Storm Davis]]. The strategy worked, as the A's swept the Series in four games, giving Welch his second World Series title.

A two-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1980]] and [[1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1990]]), Welch won 14 or more games in eight years, with a career-high 27 in [[1990 Oakland Athletics season|1990]]. He received the [[Cy Young Award]] that season, and was considered in the [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|MVP]] vote. His 27 wins were the most by any pitcher since [[Steve Carlton]] also won 27 in {{mlby|1972}}, and as of 2023 stands as the last time a pitcher has won 25 or more games in a season (the closest anyone has come to that mark since is 24, accomplished by [[John Smoltz]] in 1996, [[Randy Johnson]] in 2002, and [[Justin Verlander]] in 2011).  The last pitcher to win more games in a season was [[Denny McLain]], with 31 wins in {{mlby|1968}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former pitcher Bob Welch dies at 57 |date=June 10, 2014 |work=ESPN.com |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/11062293/bob-welch-former-oakland-athletics-los-angeles-dodgers-pitcher-dies-57 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610221908/http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11062293/bob-welch-former-oakland-athletics-los-angeles-dodgers-pitcher-dies-57 |archive-date=June 10, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nineteen of his wins were saved by [[Dennis Eckersley]], which remains a record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20150921|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925115542/http://espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20150921|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 25, 2015|title=Elias Says|website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

Welch was the starting pitcher of Game 2 of the [[1990 World Series]] against the [[1990 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]]. Welch's personal catcher throughout much of his Oakland Athletics career was [[Ron Hassey]], as opposed to [[Terry Steinbach]], who caught the majority of the Oakland pitching staff.

===Autobiography and alcoholism===
In 1981, Welch and ''[[The New York Times]]'' sports columnist [[George Vecsey]] co-wrote ''Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Cy Young Award-Winner Recounts His Greatest Victory'', which chronicled Welch's battle with [[alcoholism]] that he said started at the age of sixteen: "I would get a buzz on and I would stop being afraid of girls.  I was shy, but with a couple of beers in me, it was all right."<ref name="Post"/>

The book "...marked one of the first times an active professional athlete openly discussed a drinking addiction."<ref name="Post"/> An updated version was published after Welch's retirement, and the book was re-released digitally the year after Welch's death, on November 10, 2015.

==Retirement==
Welch was the [[coach (baseball)|pitching coach]] for the [[2001 Arizona Diamondbacks season|Arizona Diamondbacks]] when they won the World Series in [[2001 World Series|2001]].<ref name="Post"/> During the [[2006 World Baseball Classic]], Welch served as the pitching coach for [[Netherlands national baseball team|The Netherlands]]. Welch was a pitching coach in the Oakland Athletics organization at the time of his death.<ref name="almond" />

His son Riley Welch was a 34th round selection by the Oakland A's in the [[2008 MLB draft]] out of Desert Mountain high school in Scottsdale, Arizona but did not sign and went on to play college baseball at the [[University of Hawaii]]. Riley then signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dodgers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=welch-001ril|title=Riley Welch minor league statistics and history|work=Baseball Reference}}</ref> He became a pitching coach at [[Presentation College, South Dakota|Presentation College]], an [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] school in [[Aberdeen, South Dakota]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pcsaints.com/coaches.aspx?rc%3D145%26path%3Dbaseball |title=Presentation College Saints Athletics - 2014 Baseball Coaching Staff |access-date=2014-01-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225609/http://pcsaints.com/coaches.aspx?rc=145&path=baseball |archive-date=2014-02-01 }}</ref>

==Death==
Welch died of a broken neck resulting from an accidental fall in the bathroom of his [[Seal Beach, California]], home on June 9, 2014, at the age of 57.<ref name="almond">{{cite news|last1=Hickey|first1=John|last2=Almond|first2=Elliott|title=Bob Welch's death ruled accidental fall, authorities say|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_26466855/bob-welchs-death-ruled-accidental-fall-authorities-say|access-date=28 July 2016|work=[[Mercury News]]|date=September 4, 2014}}</ref> The [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] Coroner's Office ruled that Welch suffered a cervical spine fracture "with [[epidural hemorrhage]] due to hyperextension of neck" suffered in the fall, negating earlier reports that he had died from a heart attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/bob-welchrsquos-death-ruled-accidental-fall-at-home/|title=Bob Welch's death ruled accidental fall at home|date=4 September 2014}}</ref>

==Highlights==
*American League Cy Young Award (1990)
*Two-time All-Star (1980, 1990)
*Led league in wins (27, 1990)
*Led league in [[shutouts in baseball|shutout]]s (4, 1987)
*Led league in [[games started]] (35, 1991)
*Tied at #84 on the [[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders|all-time wins leaderboard]]
*Third most wins in MLB in the 1980s

==Publications==
*{{cite book|last1=Welch|first1=Bob|last2=Vecsey|first2=George|title=Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Cy Young Award-Winner Recounts His Greatest Victory|publisher=Fireside|year=1991|isbn= 978-0671745608}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=124064|espn=665|br=w/welchbo01|fangraphs=1013750|brm=welch-003rob}}
*[https://baseballbiography.com/bob-welch Bob Welch] ''Baseball Biography''

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Dave Stewart (baseball)|Dave Stewart]] 
| title = [[American League]] [[All-Star Game]] Starting Pitcher
| years = [[1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1990]] 
| after = [[Jack Morris]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{1977 MLB Draft}}
{{Los Angeles Dodgers first-round draft picks}}
{{1981 Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{1989 Oakland Athletics}}
{{Oakland Athletics Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{2001 Arizona Diamondbacks}}
{{AL Cy Young}}
{{AL wins champions}}
{{Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Bob}}
[[Category:Cy Young Award winners]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League wins champions]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Oakland Athletics players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Detroit]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Eastern Michigan Eagles baseball players]]
[[Category:San Antonio Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Albuquerque Dukes players]]
[[Category:Vero Beach Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Arizona Diamondbacks coaches]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths from falls]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in California]]