Former right-handed Cy Young winner, Bob Welch, died at age 57. He pitched in the major leagues for 17 seasons – ten with the Los Angeles Dodgers and seven with the Oakland A’s.
As a 21-year-old rookie he struck out the famous Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series. He also won the Cy Young award in 1990 with an astonishing 27 wins.
Unconfirmed reports are stating that he died due to a heart attack via Yahoo. Welch was an alcoholic – between him and co-writer George Vecsey, Five O'clock Comes Early: A Young Man's Battle With Alcoholism was written to chronicle his disease.
He retired from baseball in 1994 and switched to coaching. He mainly worked during spring training with the young pitchers in A’s organization.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Bob Welch,” A's President Michael Crowley said in a statement according to CBSSports. “He was a legendary pitcher who enjoyed many of his best seasons with the Oakland A's. He will always be a significant part of our franchise's history, and we mourn his loss. We send our greatest sympathies to his family and friends.”
Over the course of his career he went 211-146 with a 3.47 ERA and 1,969 strikeouts in 3,092 innings with 61 complete games and 28 shutouts.
His pitched in October eight different times and played in four World Series, winning it twice with the 1981 Dodgers and 1989 A's.
He was also a pitching coach on the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks who went on to win the World Series.