Bob Welch

Robert Lynn “Bob” Welch (November 3, 1956 - June 9, 2014) was a Cy Young Award-winning Major League Baseball starting pitcher, and the last pitcher to win more than 25 games in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Welch in the 1st round (20th overall) of the 1977 amateur draft. Making his big league debut the following season, Welch gained recognition in his 1978 rookie campaign when – with two men on base and two out – he struck out future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the 9th inning of Game 2 of that year’s World Series. He went on to become one of the Dodgers’ best fastball pitchers, going 14-9 with a 3.29 ERA in 1980 and being named to his first of two All-Star Game rosters (1980, 1990). In 1981, he posted a 9-5 record, and despite a horrendous outing in Game 4 of the 1981 World Series, ultimately took home his first World Series ring. In a decade of service to the Dodgers (1978-1987), Welch compiled a 115-86 record, and in 1987 led the league in shutouts (4). He continued to be a dominant force following a trade to the Oakland Athletics (1988-1994), and in 1989 compiled a 17-8 record and a win versus the Toronto Blue Jays (in his only start in the American League Championship Series) to help the A’s reach the World Series and another Fall Classic trophy. Going an astonishing 27-6 in 1990, he was named the American League Cy Young Award winner. Welch compiled a 211-146 record with 1,969 strikeouts and a 3.47 ERA in 3,092 innings pitched during his 17-year career. His 137 wins during the 1980s ranked third among all MLB pitchers during that decade. He later worked as a pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.