What years did Bob Welch play?

Bob Welch played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1994.

Was Bob Welch a pitcher?

Yes. Bob Welch pitched in the major leagues, recording 211 wins and 1969 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bob Welch hit?

Bob Welch hit 2 career home runs with 88 hits.

What was Bob Welch's career batting average?

Bob Welch batted .151 over his career, with 88 hits in 582 at bats.

How many RBI did Bob Welch have?

Bob Welch drove in 30 runs in his career.

What was Bob Welch's career ERA?

Bob Welch finished with a 3.47 career ERA, going 211-146 with 1,969 strikeouts.

Bob Welch

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1994)

Bob Welch was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1994 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Athletics, a span of 17 seasons. Across 506 career appearances, he went 211-146 with a 3.47 ERA and 1,969 strikeouts. He also batted .151 with 2 home runs. Bob Welch was a 2-time All-Star and a Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15931.9.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

W–L 211–146

ERA 3.47

WHIP 1.27

SO 1,969

Pitcher PIV 15931.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 190 lb
Born: 11/3/1956 in Detroit, MI, USA
Died: 6/9/2014 in Seal Beach, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1978-06-20
Last Game: 1994-08-11
Awards: 2× All-Star · Cy Young

Full name: Robert Lynn Welch

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Welch — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
211	146	506	462	61	28	8	3092.0	2,894	1,191	267	1,034	1,969	3.47	15931.9

Career ERA 3.47 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — 11.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Welch Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1978	LAN	NL	7	4	23	13	4	3	3	111.1	92	25	26	66	2.02	3.69 (+45%)	2447.4
1979	LAN	NL	5	6	25	12	1	0	5	81.1	82	36	32	64	3.98	4.00 (avg)	896.8
1980	LAN	NL	14	9	32	32	3	2	0	213.2	190	78	79	141	3.29	3.84 (+14%)	1925.6
1981	LAN	NL	9	5	23	23	2	1	0	141.1	141	54	41	88	3.44	3.58 (+4%)	1028.3
1982	LAN	NL	16	11	36	36	9	3	0	235.2	199	88	81	176	3.36	3.86 (+13%)	3071.0
1983	LAN	NL	15	12	31	31	4	3	0	204.0	164	60	72	156	2.65	3.87 (+32%)	3801.5
1984	LAN	NL	13	13	31	29	3	1	0	178.2	191	75	58	126	3.78	3.81 (+1%)	2988.8
1985	LAN	NL	14	4	23	23	8	3	0	167.1	141	43	35	96	2.31	3.89 (+41%)	1637.8
1986	LAN	NL	7	13	33	33	7	3	0	235.2	227	86	55	183	3.28	3.97 (+17%)	7369.6
1987	LAN	NL	15	9	35	35	6	4	0	251.2	204	90	86	196	3.22	4.29 (+25%)	5442.7
1988	OAK	AL	17	9	36	36	4	2	0	244.2	237	99	81	158	3.64	3.73 (+2%)	-174.6
1989	OAK	AL	17	8	33	33	1	0	0	209.2	191	70	78	137	3.00	3.71 (+19%)	1347.1
1990	OAK	AL	27	6	35	35	2	2	0	238.0	214	78	77	127	2.95	3.86 (+24%)	-1984.7
1991	OAK	AL	12	13	35	35	7	1	0	220.0	220	112	91	101	4.58	3.91 (-17%)	-4919.7
1992	OAK	AL	11	7	20	20	0	0	0	123.2	114	45	43	47	3.27	3.75 (+13%)	-2274.8
1993	OAK	AL	9	11	30	28	0	0	0	166.2	208	98	56	63	5.29	4.19 (-26%)	-4690.6
1994	OAK	AL	3	6	25	8	0	0	0	68.2	79	54	43	44	7.08	4.51 (-57%)	-1979.9
Career · 17 seasons			211	146	506	462	61	28	8	3,092.0	2,894	1,191	1,034	1,969	3.47	—	15,932

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Bob Welch — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
520	582	26	88	7	1	2	30	0	22	171	.151	.186	.177	.363	-3,985

Career AVG .151 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 41.8% below league average.

Career OBP .186 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 43.0% below league average.

Career SLG .177 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 54.6% below league average.

Career OPS .363 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 49.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Welch Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1978	LAN	NL	23	29	3	5	1	0	0	1	0	7	.172	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	LAN	NL	25	19	1	3	0	0	0	3	0	6	.158	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	LAN	NL	34	70	1	17	3	0	0	3	1	13	.243	.264 (-8%)	.326 (-22%)	.387 (-26%)	.714 (-24%)	-274.6
1981	LAN	NL	23	45	3	10	0	1	0	2	1	16	.222	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	LAN	NL	38	85	5	12	1	0	0	3	3	32	.141	.261 (-46%)	.324 (-49%)	.388 (-61%)	.712 (-55%)	-756.4
1983	LAN	NL	31	73	2	7	1	0	1	2	1	22	.096	.260 (-63%)	.324 (-63%)	.389 (-61%)	.714 (-62%)	-717.4
1984	LAN	NL	32	51	0	4	0	0	0	3	2	15	.078	.259 (-70%)	.322 (-65%)	.384 (-80%)	.707 (-73%)	-577.5
1985	LAN	NL	25	50	4	9	1	0	0	4	3	13	.180	.257 (-30%)	.323 (-30%)	.390 (-49%)	.714 (-40%)	-312.2
1986	LAN	NL	35	76	2	8	0	0	1	4	4	23	.105	.257 (-59%)	.325 (-51%)	.395 (-63%)	.720 (-58%)	-694.1
1987	LAN	NL	38	83	5	13	0	0	0	5	7	24	.157	.262 (-40%)	.331 (-33%)	.415 (-62%)	.746 (-49%)	-653.1
1988	OAK	AL	36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	OAK	AL	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	OAK	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	OAK	AL	36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	OAK	AL	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	OAK	AL	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	OAK	AL	26	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 17 seasons			520	582	26	88	7	1	2	30	22	171	.151	—	—	—	—	-3,985

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bob Welch — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
17	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Welch — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1992	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1990	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1990	WS	OAK	1	3	2	.000
1989	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1988	ALCS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1988	WS	OAK	1	0	0	.000
1985	NLCS	LAN	1	1	1	.000
1983	NLCS	LAN	1	0	0	.000
1981	NLCS	LAN	3	0	0	.000
1981	NWDIV	LAN	1	0	0	.000
1981	WS	LAN	1	0	0	.000
1978	NLCS	LAN	1	2	1	.000
1978	WS	LAN	3	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Welch — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
3	3	17	9	2	49.1	58	25	24	41	4.56

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Welch — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1992	ALCS	OAK	0	0	1	1	0	7.0	7	2	1	7	2.57
1990	ALCS	OAK	1	0	1	1	0	7.1	6	1	3	4	1.23
1990	WS	OAK	0	0	1	1	0	7.1	9	4	2	2	4.91
1989	ALCS	OAK	1	0	1	1	0	5.2	8	2	1	4	3.18
1988	ALCS	OAK	0	0	1	1	0	1.2	6	5	2	0	27.00
1988	WS	OAK	0	0	1	1	0	5.0	6	1	3	8	1.80
1985	NLCS	LAN	0	1	1	1	0	2.2	5	2	6	2	6.75
1983	NLCS	LAN	0	1	1	1	0	1.1	0	1	2	0	6.75
1981	NLCS	LAN	0	0	3	0	1	1.2	2	1	0	2	5.40
1981	NWDIV	LAN	0	0	1	0	0	1.0	0	0	1	1	0.00
1981	WS	LAN	0	0	1	1	0	0.0	3	2	1	0	0.00
1978	NLCS	LAN	1	0	1	0	0	4.1	2	1	0	5	2.08
1978	WS	LAN	0	1	3	0	1	4.1	4	3	2	6	6.23

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1026 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Welch — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	258	287	13	40	1	11	.139
Away	262	295	13	48	1	19	.163

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Welch — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	253	1639.0	1464	548	479	1094	3.01
Away	253	1453.0	1430	643	555	875	3.98

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Welch — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1994-08-11	OAK	SEA	—	2.0	3	1	1	1	1	0
1994-08-01	OAK	KCR	—	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	0
1994-07-29	OAK	DET	W	1.2	1	0	0	2	3	0
1994-07-26	OAK	LAA	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1994-07-23	OAK	BAL	—	1.2	2	2	2	1	2	0
1994-07-17	OAK	BOS	—	4.0	7	3	2	1	2	0
1994-07-09	OAK	BAL	L	0.0	1	1	1	0	0	1
1994-07-07	OAK	BAL	—	0.2	2	0	0	0	0	0
1994-07-05	OAK	NYY	W	2.1	1	0	0	2	1	0
1994-06-25	OAK	DET	—	2.1	1	1	1	3	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Welch — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
P	506	462	243	394	26	30

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Welch — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1978	LAN	P	23	13	6	12	1	0
1979	LAN	P	25	12	2	8	3	3
1980	LAN	P	32	32	15	26	1	3
1981	LAN	P	23	23	4	18	0	1
1982	LAN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1982	LAN	P	36	36	19	26	2	0
1983	LAN	P	31	31	14	27	3	1
1984	LAN	P	31	29	20	28	2	5
1985	LAN	P	23	23	15	27	3	1
1986	LAN	P	33	33	21	26	2	2
1987	LAN	P	35	35	25	38	0	3
1988	OAK	P	36	36	16	32	1	2
1989	OAK	P	33	33	26	21	4	3
1990	OAK	P	35	35	20	31	0	2
1991	OAK	P	35	35	15	29	2	1
1992	OAK	P	20	20	5	13	1	1
1993	OAK	P	30	28	16	26	0	2
1994	OAK	P	25	8	4	6	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Welch Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	506
Left Field	1
Right Field	1

Awards & Honors

Bob Welch — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1990	Cy Young Award
1990	TSN All-Star	RHP
1990	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1989	Player of the Week	Week of 1989-08-25
1980	Player of the Week	Week of 1980-05-16

Salary History

Bob Welch — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1994	OAK	AL	$3,450,000
1993	OAK	AL	$3,450,000
1992	OAK	AL	$3,450,000
1991	OAK	AL	$3,450,000
1990	OAK	AL	$1,133,334
1989	OAK	AL	$1,208,333
1988	OAK	AL	$937,500
1987	LAN	NL	$837,500
1986	LAN	NL	$743,750
1985	LAN	NL	$643,750
Total Career Earnings			$19,304,167

College History

Bob Welch — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Eastern Michigan University	Ypsilanti	MI	1975, 1976, 1977

Award Voting History

Bob Welch — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1990	Cy Young Award	AL	1st	107.0	140	15
1990	Most Valuable Player	AL	9th	54.0	392	0
1987	Cy Young Award	NL	8th	3.0	120	0
1983	Cy Young Award	NL	8th	2.0	120	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bob Welch (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Bob Welch

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Bob Welch: the record in brief

Bob Welch's major league career runs from a debut on June 20, 1978 to a final game on August 11, 1994. Club by club, the record runs the Los Angeles Dodgers (1978 through 1987) and the Oakland Athletics (1988 through 1994). At 6 feet, 3 inches and 190 pounds, Welch is listed as a pitcher. Welch both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is November 3, 1956, in Detroit, MI, USA. Welch's death is recorded on June 9, 2014, in Seal Beach, CA, USA. Bob Welch was the playing name; the full given name is Robert Lynn.

Welch went 211-146 with a 3.47 ERA in 506 games, 462 of them starts. Also on Welch's record: 1,969 strikeouts, 61 complete games, and 28 shutouts. The leagues Welch pitched in allowed 3.91 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 11.3% better than average. The best win total was 27, in 1990. 1987 produced Welch's most strikeouts, 196.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Welch

What years did Bob Welch play?: Bob Welch played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1994.
Was Bob Welch a pitcher?: Yes. Bob Welch pitched in the major leagues, recording 211 wins and 1969 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Welch hit?: Bob Welch hit 2 career home runs with 88 hits.
What was Bob Welch's career batting average?: Bob Welch batted .151 over his career, with 88 hits in 582 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Welch have?: Bob Welch drove in 30 runs in his career.
What was Bob Welch's career ERA?: Bob Welch finished with a 3.47 career ERA, going 211-146 with 1,969 strikeouts.