Mickey Welch

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1880-1892)

Mickey Welch was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1880 to 1892 for the Troy Trojans and the New York Giants, a span of 13 seasons. Across 565 career appearances, he went 307-210 with a 2.71 ERA and 1,850 strikeouts. He also batted .224 with 12 home runs. Mickey Welch was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1973
W–L 307–210
ERA 2.71
WHIP 1.23
SO 1,850
Pitcher PIV -9339.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'8" / 160 lb
Born
7/4/1859 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
Died
7/30/1941 in Concord, NH, USA
MLB Debut
1880-05-01
Last Game
1892-05-17
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1973 (Veterans)

Full name: Michael Francis Welch

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Career Pitching Statistics

Mickey Welch — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
307 210 565 549 525 41 4 4802.0 4,588 1,447 106 1,297 1,850 2.71 -9339.2

Career ERA 2.71 vs. league average 3.39 across their career seasons — 19.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mickey 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
1880 TRN NL 34 30 65 64 64 4 0 574.0 575 162 80 123 2.54 2.37 (-7%) -4397.2
1881 TRN NL 21 18 40 40 40 4 0 368.0 371 109 78 104 2.67 2.77 (+4%) -2113.8
1882 TRN NL 14 16 33 33 30 5 0 281.0 334 108 62 53 3.46 2.80 (-23%) -3998.8
1883 NY1 NL 25 23 54 52 46 4 0 426.0 431 129 66 144 2.73 3.22 (+15%) -1714.1
1884 NY1 NL 39 21 65 65 62 4 0 557.1 528 155 146 345 2.50 3.11 (+19%) 106.2
1885 NY1 NL 44 11 56 55 55 7 1 492.0 372 91 131 258 1.66 3.03 (+45%) 4060.6
1886 NY1 NL 33 22 59 59 56 1 0 500.0 514 166 163 272 2.99 3.37 (+11%) 572.1
1887 NY1 NL 22 15 41 40 39 2 0 346.0 339 129 91 115 3.36 4.17 (+20%) 4354.2
1888 NY1 NL 26 19 47 47 47 5 0 425.1 328 91 108 167 1.93 2.95 (+35%) -850.6
1889 NY1 NL 27 12 45 41 39 3 2 375.0 340 126 149 125 3.02 3.93 (+23%) -1534.8
1890 NY1 NL 17 14 37 37 33 2 0 292.1 268 97 122 97 2.99 3.88 (+23%) 261.4
1891 NY1 NL 5 9 22 15 14 0 1 160.0 177 76 97 46 4.28 3.52 (-21%) -4084.3
1892 NY1 NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 11 8 4 1 14.40 — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 307 210 565 549 525 41 4 4,802.0 4,588 1,447 1,297 1,850 2.71 — -9,339

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

Mickey Welch — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
607 2,201 268 492 93 16 12 202 10 82 329 .224 .252 .297 .549 -4,145

Career AVG .224 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.

Career OBP .252 vs. league average .308 across their career seasons — 18.0% below league average.

Career SLG .297 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — 12.6% below league average.

Career OPS .549 vs. league average .647 across their career seasons — 15.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mickey Welch Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1880 TRN NL 66 251 25 72 20 3 0 27 0 5 24 .287 .244 (+17%) .267 (+13%) .319 (+22%) .586 (+18%) 610.1
1881 TRN NL 40 148 12 30 10 0 0 11 0 1 16 .203 .260 (-22%) .290 (-28%) .338 (-20%) .628 (-24%) -510.1
1882 TRN NL 38 151 26 37 6 0 1 17 0 5 16 .245 .248 (-1%) .275 (-2%) .329 (-8%) .605 (-5%) -91.1
1883 NY1 NL 84 320 42 75 13 5 2 30 0 10 38 .234 .257 (-9%) .285 (-10%) .345 (-6%) .631 (-8%) -362.7
1884 NY1 NL 71 249 47 60 14 3 3 29 0 16 49 .241 .243 (-1%) .278 (+3%) .327 (+9%) .606 (+6%) 238.3
1885 NY1 NL 56 199 28 41 8 0 2 19 0 14 39 .206 .244 (-16%) .287 (-10%) .325 (-15%) .613 (-13%) -324.2
1886 NY1 NL 59 213 17 46 4 2 0 18 3 7 47 .216 .246 (-12%) .302 (-20%) .331 (-24%) .634 (-22%) -682.3
1887 NY1 NL 41 148 16 36 4 2 2 15 2 6 1 .243 .270 (-10%) .331 (-16%) .373 (-10%) .705 (-13%) -318.7
1888 NY1 NL 47 169 16 32 5 0 2 10 4 1 33 .189 .238 (-21%) .290 (-32%) .319 (-20%) .610 (-26%) -625.5
1889 NY1 NL 45 156 20 30 5 1 0 12 0 5 27 .192 .263 (-27%) .334 (-35%) .357 (-34%) .691 (-34%) -855.7
1890 NY1 NL 37 123 15 22 4 0 0 10 1 9 25 .179 .260 (-31%) .336 (-29%) .351 (-40%) .687 (-34%) -651.7
1891 NY1 NL 22 71 4 10 0 0 0 4 0 3 13 .141 .254 (-45%) .331 (-47%) .343 (-59%) .675 (-53%) -571.9
1892 NY1 NL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 607 2,201 268 492 93 16 12 202 10 82 329 .224 — — — — -4,145

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

Mickey Welch — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 10 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .300

Playoff Batting by Year

Mickey Welch — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1889 WS NY1 1 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333
1888 WS NY1 2 7 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .286

Playoff Career Pitching

Mickey Welch — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 2 3 3 0 22.0 21 10 12 3 4.09

Playoff Pitching by Year

Mickey Welch — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1889 WS NY1 0 1 1 1 0 5.0 11 5 3 1 9.00
1888 WS NY1 1 1 2 2 0 17.0 10 5 9 2 2.65

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mickey Welch — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 59 0 48 9 20 2
P 565 0 217 705 133 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mickey Welch — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1880 TRN OF 2 0 1 0 2 0
1880 TRN P 65 0 35 86 21 4
1881 TRN P 40 0 20 39 7 3
1882 TRN OF 8 0 5 0 1 0
1882 TRN P 33 0 10 46 10 4
1883 NY1 OF 38 0 42 9 17 2
1883 NY1 P 54 0 29 54 21 2
1884 NY1 OF 7 0 0 0 0 0
1884 NY1 P 65 0 25 78 14 6
1885 NY1 P 56 0 16 70 14 0
1886 NY1 OF 3 0 0 0 0 0
1886 NY1 P 59 0 19 82 5 0
1887 NY1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1887 NY1 P 41 0 17 51 12 0
1888 NY1 P 47 0 16 75 17 1
1889 NY1 P 45 0 13 59 4 2
1890 NY1 P 37 0 10 43 4 1
1891 NY1 P 22 0 7 21 4 0
1892 NY1 P 1 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mickey Welch Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 565
Left Field 5
Center Field 34
Right Field 21

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    John Clarkson HOF
    328-178, 2.81 ERA
  2. 96
    Tony Mullane
    284-220, 3.05 ERA
  3. 89
    Kid Nichols HOF
    362-208, 2.96 ERA
  4. 73
    Old Hoss Radbourn HOF
    310-194, 2.68 ERA
  5. 59
    Tim Keefe HOF
    342-225, 2.63 ERA
  6. 48
    Jim McCormick
    265-214, 2.43 ERA

Mickey Welch: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 1, 1880 and the final game on May 17, 1892, Mickey Welch built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Troy Trojans (1880 through 1882), the New York Gothams (1883 through 1884), and the New York Giants (1885 to 1892). Welch, born on July 4, 1859, in Brooklyn, NY, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Welch's listed size is 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. Welch died on July 30, 1941, in Concord, NH, USA. The given name on file is Michael Francis Welch.

Welch pitched in 565 games, starting 549, and finished with a 307-210 record and 2.71 ERA. Welch had 1,850 strikeouts, 525 complete games, and 41 shutouts. That 2.71 ERA compares with a 3.39 league average across the same seasons, 19.9% better. No season topped the 44 wins of 1885. The strikeout high was 345 in 1884. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 1.66 in 1885, when the league's was 3.03.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mickey Welch

What years did Mickey Welch play?
Mickey Welch played in Major League Baseball from 1880 to 1892.
Was Mickey Welch a pitcher?
Yes. Mickey Welch pitched in the major leagues, recording 307 wins and 1850 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mickey Welch hit?
Mickey Welch hit 12 career home runs with 492 hits.
Is Mickey Welch in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Mickey Welch was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
What was Mickey Welch's career batting average?
Mickey Welch batted .224 over his career, with 492 hits in 2,201 at bats.
How many RBI did Mickey Welch have?
Mickey Welch drove in 202 runs in his career.