Mickey Welch (1973)


Date of Birth: 7/4/1859
Date of Death: 7/30/1941
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York

Mickey Welch started his professional baseball career with the Troy Trojans of the National League, a team that played from 1879-1882. Welch played with them from 1880 until they folded after the 1882 season. In his first season with them, he pitched a career high 574.0 innings in 65 games, with a 34-30 win-loss record, 123 strikeouts to 80 walks, and a 2.54 ERA.

Welch had a 2.67 ERA in 40 games in 1881. He had 21 wins and 18 losses and 104 strikeouts to 78 walks in 368.0 innings. He pitched in just 33 games in 1882, and he finished the season with 14 wins and 16 losses and a 3.46 ERA in 281.0 innings.

New York Gothams/Giants

After the Trojans folded, Welch signed with the New York Gothams/Giants in 1883. He pitched 426.0 innings in 54 games in his first season with the Giants. He had 25 wins and 33 losses, 144 strikeouts to 66 walks, and a 2.73 ERA.

Welch pitched in a career high 65 games in 1884. He had 39 wins and 21 losses, a career high 345 strikeouts to 146 walks, and a 2.50 ERA in 557.1 innings.

Welch had a career low ERA of 1.66 in 1885. He had a career high 44 wins to 11 losses and 258 strikeouts to 131 walks in 492.0 innings in 56 games.

Welch's ERA went up to 2.99 in 1886, and to 3.36 in 1887. He had 33 wins and 22 losses and 272 strikeouts to 163 walks in 500.0 innings in 1886. The next year, he had 22 wins and 15 losses and 115 strikeouts to 91 walks in 346.0 innings.

Welch had a strong season in 1888, when his ERA dropped down to 1.93. He had a 26-19 record and 167 strikeouts to 108 walks in 425.1 innings in 47 games. The following year, he had a 3.02 ERA with 27 wins and 12 losses in 375.0 innings in 45 games.

In 1891, Welch pitched in just 22 games and he had a 4.28 ERA. The following season, his last one in the major leagues, he pitched in just one game.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Welch in 12 seasons (1880-1891) in the major leagues include:

  • 9 seasons with over 20 wins, with a high of 44 in 1885
  • 4 seasons with over 150 strikeouts, with a high of 345 in 1884
  • 8 seasons with an ERA under 3.00, with a low of 1.66 in 1885

Career pitching statistics for Welch include:

  • 564 games played
  • 4,802.0 innings pitched
  • 307-210 win-loss record
  • 1,850 strikeouts to 1,297 walks
  • 2.71 ERA

Post Playing Career

Welch retired as a major league player in 1892. He owned several non-baseball related businesses after retiring. In the summers, he sometimes worked as an attendant at the Polo Grounds.

Welch died of congestive heart failure on July 30, 1941.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Mickey Welch
ESPN - Mickey Welch
Baseball Reference - Mickey Welch

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