Mickey Welch was born on Monday, July 4, 1859, in Brooklyn, New York. Welch was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 1, 1880, with the Troy Trojans. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Mickey Welch baseball stats page.
"I studied the hitters and I knew how to pitch to all of them. I had a pretty good fastball, but I depended chiefly on a change of pace and an assortment of curve balls." - Welch, Mickey. The Evolution of Pitching in Major League Baseball. McFarland Publishing. 15 March 2006. Page 38.
Mickey Welch |
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| Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mickey WelchMickey Welch Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| 1880 | 21 | Trojans | 65 | 64 | 1 | 34 | 30 | .531 | 2.54 | 64 | 4 | 0 | 574.0 | 2,387 | 575 | 162 | 321 | 7 | 80 | - | 123 | 26 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1881 | 22 | Trojans | 40 | 40 | 0 | 21 | 18 | .538 | 2.67 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 368.0 | 1,534 | 371 | 109 | 186 | 7 | 78 | - | 104 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1882 | 23 | Trojans | 33 | 33 | 0 | 14 | 16 | .467 | 3.46 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 281.0 | 1,256 | 334 | 108 | 221 | 7 | 62 | - | 53 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1883 | 24 | Gothams | 54 | 52 | 2 | 25 | 23 | .521 | 2.73 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 426.0 | 1,829 | 431 | 129 | 271 | 11 | 66 | - | 144 | 27 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1884 | 25 | Gothams | 65 | 65 | 1 | 39 | 21 | .650 | 2.50 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 557.1 | 2,370 | 528 | 155 | 275 | 12 | 146 | - | 345 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1885 | 26 | Giants | 56 | 55 | 1 | 44 | 11 | .800 | 1.66 | 55 | 7 | 1 | 492.0 | 1,963 | 372 | 91 | 170 | 4 | 131 | - | 258 | 39 | 0 | 1 | - |
| 1886 | 27 | Giants | 59 | 59 | 0 | 33 | 22 | .600 | 2.99 | 56 | 1 | 0 | 500.0 | 2,151 | 514 | 166 | 279 | 13 | 163 | - | 272 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1887 | 28 | Giants | 40 | 40 | 0 | 22 | 15 | .595 | 3.36 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 346.0 | 1,438 | 339 | 129 | 191 | 7 | 91 | - | 115 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1888 | 29 | Giants | 47 | 47 | 0 | 26 | 19 | .578 | 1.93 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 425.1 | 1,710 | 328 | 91 | 156 | 12 | 108 | - | 167 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 1889 | 30 | Giants | 45 | 41 | 4 | 27 | 12 | .692 | 3.02 | 39 | 3 | 2 | 375.0 | 1,548 | 340 | 126 | 196 | 14 | 149 | - | 125 | 18 | 10 | 0 | - |
| 1890 | 31 | Giants | 37 | 37 | 0 | 17 | 14 | .548 | 2.99 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 292.1 | 0 | 268 | 97 | 145 | 5 | 122 | - | 97 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1891 | 32 | Giants | 22 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 4.28 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 160.0 | 0 | 176 | 76 | 136 | 7 | 97 | - | 46 | 9 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1892 | 33 | Giants | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 4 | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
| 13 Years | 564 | 549 | 15 | 307 | 210 | .594 | 2.71 | 525 | 41 | 4 | 4,802.0 | 18,186 | 4,587 | 1,447 | 2,556 | 106 | 1,297 | - | 1,850 | 274 | 29 | 1 | 0 | ||
Mickey WelchMickey Welch Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1880 | 21 | Trojans | 66 | 251 | 25 | 72 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 5 | - | 24 | - | - | 0 | - | .287 | .301 | .390 |
| 1881 | 22 | Trojans | 40 | 148 | 12 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | - | 16 | - | - | 0 | - | .203 | .208 | .270 |
| 1882 | 23 | Trojans | 38 | 151 | 26 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | - | 16 | - | - | 0 | - | .245 | .269 | .305 |
| 1883 | 24 | Gothams | 84 | 320 | 42 | 75 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 10 | - | 38 | - | - | 0 | - | .234 | .258 | .325 |
| 1884 | 25 | Gothams | 71 | 249 | 47 | 60 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 16 | - | 49 | - | - | 0 | - | .241 | .287 | .357 |
| 1885 | 26 | Giants | 56 | 199 | 28 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 14 | - | 39 | - | - | 0 | - | .206 | .258 | .276 |
| 1886 | 27 | Giants | 59 | 213 | 17 | 46 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | - | 47 | - | - | 0 | - | .216 | .241 | .254 |
| 1887 | 28 | Giants | 40 | 142 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 6 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | .211 | .248 | .268 |
| 1888 | 29 | Giants | 47 | 169 | 16 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | - | 33 | - | - | 1 | - | .189 | .199 | .254 |
| 1889 | 30 | Giants | 45 | 156 | 20 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | - | 27 | - | - | 0 | - | .192 | .217 | .237 |
| 1890 | 31 | Giants | 37 | 123 | 15 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 9 | - | 25 | - | - | 1 | - | .179 | .241 | .211 |
| 1891 | 32 | Giants | 22 | 71 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | - | 13 | - | - | 0 | - | .141 | .176 | .141 |
| 1892 | 33 | Giants | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | - | .333 | .333 | .333 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 13 Years | 606 | 2,195 | 268 | 486 | 93 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 202 | 82 | 0 | 329 | - | 0 | 3 | - | .221 | .250 | .295 | ||
Mickey WelchMickey Welch Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1880 Trojans | OF | 2 | - | - | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .333 | 0.00 |
| 1880 Trojans | P | 65 | 64 | 1,722 | 142 | 2.2 | 121 | 35 | 86 | 21 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .852 | 1.90 |
| 1881 Trojans | P | 40 | 40 | 1,104 | 66 | 1.7 | 59 | 20 | 39 | 7 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .894 | 1.44 |
| 1882 Trojans | OF | 8 | - | - | 6 | 0.8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .833 | 0.00 |
| 1882 Trojans | P | 33 | 33 | 843 | 66 | 2.0 | 56 | 10 | 46 | 10 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .848 | 1.79 |
| 1883 Gothams | OF | 38 | - | - | 68 | 1.8 | 51 | 42 | 9 | 17 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .750 | 0.00 |
| 1883 Gothams | P | 54 | 52 | 1,278 | 104 | 1.9 | 83 | 29 | 54 | 21 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .798 | 1.75 |
| 1884 Gothams | OF | 7 | - | - | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1884 Gothams | P | 65 | 65 | 1,672 | 117 | 1.8 | 103 | 25 | 78 | 14 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .880 | 1.66 |
| 1885 Giants | P | 56 | 55 | 1,476 | 100 | 1.8 | 86 | 16 | 70 | 14 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .860 | 1.57 |
| 1886 Giants | CF | 3 | - | - | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1886 Giants | P | 59 | 59 | 1,500 | 106 | 1.8 | 101 | 19 | 82 | 5 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 1.82 |
| 1887 Giants | P | 41 | 40 | 1,038 | 80 | 2.0 | 68 | 17 | 51 | 12 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .850 | 1.77 |
| 1887 Giants | RF | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1888 Giants | P | 47 | 47 | 1,276 | 108 | 2.3 | 91 | 16 | 75 | 17 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .843 | 1.93 |
| 1889 Giants | P | 45 | 41 | 1,125 | 76 | 1.7 | 72 | 13 | 59 | 4 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .947 | 1.73 |
| 1890 Giants | P | 37 | 37 | 877 | 57 | 1.5 | 53 | 10 | 43 | 4 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .930 | 1.63 |
| 1891 Giants | P | 22 | 15 | 480 | 32 | 1.5 | 28 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .875 | 1.58 |
| 1892 Giants | P | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.80 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| P Totals | 565 | 549 | 14,406 | 1,055 | 1.9 | 922 | 217 | 705 | 133 | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .874 | 1.73 | |
| OF Totals | 55 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 1.4 | 57 | 48 | 9 | 20 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .740 | 0.00 | |
| CF Totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
| RF Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
| 13 Years | 624 | 549 | 14,406 | 1,132 | 1.8 | 979 | 265 | 714 | 153 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .865 | 1.83 | |
Mickey WelchMickey Welch Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1880 Trojans | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 10.5 | 9.3 | 1.54 | 1.93 | 1.25 |
| 1881 Trojans | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.3 | 13.5 | 1.33 | 2.54 | 1.91 |
| 1882 Trojans | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 151.0 | 9.4 | 8.9 | 0.85 | 1.70 | 1.99 |
| 1883 Gothams | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 160.0 | 8.4 | 10.7 | 2.18 | 3.04 | 1.39 |
| 1884 Gothams | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 83.0 | 5.1 | 8.6 | 2.36 | 5.57 | 2.36 |
| 1885 Giants | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 99.5 | 5.1 | 10.5 | 1.97 | 4.72 | 2.40 |
| 1886 Giants | 3 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.5 | 11.8 | 1.67 | 4.90 | 2.93 |
| 1887 Giants | 2 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 71.0 | 142.0 | 9.5 | 1.26 | 2.99 | 2.37 |
| 1888 Giants | 4 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 84.5 | 5.1 | 16.9 | 1.55 | 3.53 | 2.29 |
| 1889 Giants | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.8 | 13.0 | 0.84 | 3.00 | 3.58 |
| 1890 Giants | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.9 | 12.3 | 0.80 | 2.99 | 3.76 |
| 1891 Giants | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.5 | 17.8 | 0.47 | 2.59 | 5.46 |
| 1892 Giants | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.25 | 1.80 | 7.20 |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 13 Years | 10 | - | - | 0 | 0 | n/a | 182.9 | 6.7 | 10.9 | 1.43 | 3.47 | 2.43 |
Mickey WelchMickey Welch Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1880 Troy Trojans | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1881 Troy Trojans | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1882 Troy Trojans | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1883 New York Gothams | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1884 New York Gothams | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1885 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1886 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1887 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1888 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1889 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1890 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1891 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| 1892 New York Giants | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | n/a |
| Mickey Welch Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

On August 28, 1884, Mickey Welch started the game and struck out the first batter he faced. Not significant in the slightest. But, Smiling Mickey then proceeded to strikeout the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eight, and finally the ninth batter he faced, all consecutively! Mickey's strikeout record stood unmatched in baseball history until 2021! Do you know what Marlins' pitcher tied the record? [Answer]

Mickey Welch 9-Straight Strikeouts | The Brooklyn Union | 29 August 1884
Five years later, on August 10, 1889, Mickey Welch made a little history with his bat — in the bottom of the fifth inning, Smiling Mickey pinch hit for his injured teammate, Hank O'Day, and became the first pinch hitter in Major League Baseball history!

Mickey Welch Baseball Card | 1994 Conlon (#1250) | Baseball Almanac Collection
Mickey Welch wasn't selected by the Veterans Committee in 1973, for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, for either of those historic accomplishments. Smiling Mickey, despite winning "only" 44 games once in 1885, never even led the league in wins during his career! Smiling Mickey, despite having a 1.66 ERA in 1885 and a 1.93 ERA in 1888, never once posted the best earned run average either! But, Welch was the third player in baseball history to enter the 300 Wins Club, doing so in only thirteen seasons!

Mickey Welch | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1973 (HOF)
Did you know that Mickey Welch was the third pitcher (behind Pud Galvin & Tim Keefe) in baseball history to join the 300 Wins Club? On July 28, 1890, Smiling Mickey "proved a stumbling block" in front of only 200 fans, as his Giants defeated the Alleghenies 4-2. The box score:

Mickey Welch 300th Win | The Philadelphia Inquirer | 29 July 1890