Timothy James Welke (born August 23, 1957) is a former American professional baseball

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

. He worked in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from 1984 to 1999 and has worked throughout

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from 2000 to 2015. He had been a crew chief since 2000. Welke wore number 30 when he joined the American League staff, then switched to 3 after the AL and National League umpiring staffs merged in 2000. His brother Bill is also a major league umpire. Tim has umpired in four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, seven League Championship Series, eight Division Series and three All-Star Games.

Minor league career

A youth baseball umpire since the age of 16, Welke entered minor league umpiring in 1977. He appeared in the Gulf Coast League (1977), Florida State League (1978–79), Eastern League (1980), American Association (1981–83), Florida Instructional League (1977–80) and Dominican Winter League (1981–83) prior to his major league promotion in 1984.

MLB career

Welke umpired in the

in 1996,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2003, and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. He also worked the

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, an ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2011; and the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, 1996, 1999,

, 2003,

, 2010, and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. He served as crew chief for the NLCS in 2004 and 2006, the ALCS in 2011 and the ALDS in 1995 and 2000. He was also the crew chief for the 2008 World Series. He umpired in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, 2005, and 2015. Welke spent 2005 and 2008–2010 on the same umpiring crew as his brother Bill.

Notable games

On April 29, 1986, he was the first base umpire when

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

achieved a record 20 strikeouts against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. Welke ejected

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

manager

Bobby Cox Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...

from game six of the

1996 World Series The 1996 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 Major League Baseball season, 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) ...

. Welke was also the first base umpire for

Roy Halladay's perfect game On May 29, 2010, Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched the twentieth perfect game in Major League Baseball history, against the Florida Marlins in Sun Life Stadium. He retired all 27 batters, striking out 11. This was the first time i ...

on May 29, 2010; coincidentally, his brother Bill worked at third base that same game. In a May 2, 2012 game between the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and Colorado Rockies at

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The ...

, Welke made a controversial out call at first base against Jerry Hairston Jr. though first baseman

Todd Helton Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played his entire 17-year career for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and ...

's foot came well off the bag. Welke later admitted that he had missed the call. Hairston subsequently defended Welke and described him as "a really good umpire for a long time." He served as crew chief for the 2014 Opening Series in Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In a September 16, 2014 game between the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and

at Turner Field, immediately following an Ian Desmond two-run homer,

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Harper played for the Wash ...

came up to bat. On an 0–1 count, an unruly Braves fan shouted profanity-laced insults at Harper. Upon hearing what the fan said, Welke took off his mask and ordered a nearby usher to remove the heckler from the ballpark. Harper struck out during the same at bat, but that did not stop the Nationals from clinching the NL East with a 3–0 win over the Braves. On March 18, 2016, Welke announced his retirement after undergoing knee replacement surgery on one knee and a planned second surgery on the other knee.Walker, Bill
Longtime MLB Umpire Tim Welke calls it a career
" ''ABCNews.com''. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

Personal life

Welke lives in his native state of Michigan. He graduated from Coldwater High School and attended Glen Oaks Community College. He is married with three children.

References

External links