Oct. 23, 2008

By Samantha Franz
Athletics Media Relations

ROCHESTER, Mich. - It's not everyday that one can turn on the TV and see their father. It's even rarer when their father is standing behind home plate as crew chief of the 104th running of the Major League World Series.

But for sophomore Greg Welke, a right-handed pitcher for the Oakland University baseball team, this is a reality.

Welke's father, Tim Welke, is in his 25th year as a major league umpire and is working his fourth World Series, this time as crew chief. He also called the Fall Classic in 1996, 2000 and 2003, as well as six league division series and six league championship series throughout his career.

"It's pretty cool to sit in my dorm room and watch my dad on TV," said Welke, a native of Kalamazoo, Mich. "I'm used to it, because he's been doing it ever since I was born, but it's still pretty cool being able to see him."

Welke's father began his baseball career by calling high school games, then after attending community college for two years, attended umpire school in Florida. He worked in the minor league system for five years before moving up to the bigs.

Between having a father working at the major league level and an older brother, Ben, who played for the University of South Florida, it's no wonder that Welke picked up on America's pastime.

"My dad and older brother both played, so I was always around baseball growing up," said Welke.

Having a father working in the big leagues can also lead to some colorful discussions about the game.

"I'm a pitcher, so we're always talking about different pitchers in the majors and the movement of the pitches," said Welke. "It's fun to get different information about different players."

Welke and the rest of the Golden Grizzlies will pick up season play on Saturday, Feb. 21 with a three game series against Eastern Kentucky. The conference portion of the season will kick off at home Friday, April 3 against Western Illinois.