Christopher Charles Welsh was born on April 14, 1955 in Wilmington, Delaware. A left-hander, Welsh has a career ERA of 4.45 and career win/loss record of 21-31 with 8 complete games and 3 shutouts in 122 career appearances. Welsh was first drafted by the New York Yankees in the 24th round of the 1976 amateur draft, and ended his career in 1986 with the Cincinnati Reds. He is currently in his 20th season as an analyst for the Reds.
Welsh graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati in 1973, and graduated from the University of South Florida where he played baseball under coach Robin Roberts.
Though he was drafted in the 1976 amateur draft, Welsh did not sign. He did sign the next year when he was drafted again by the Yankees in the 21st round. He spent the next five years working his way through the Yankees’ minor league system before he was traded to the San Diego Padres. He made his major league debut on April 12, 1981. In his rookie season, Welsh pitched 123.7 innings while compiling a 6-7 record and a 3.78 ERA. He had 4 complete games, 2 of which were shutouts.
After two years with the Padres, Welsh was purchased by the Montreal Expos. His time in Montreal did not go well, as Welsh only found 2 wins over 16 starts, and saw his ERA rise from 2.49 to a high of 5.52. He spent the next year in the minors where he did considerably better earning a 13-4 W/L record and a 3.01 ERA. Welsh was traded on November 7, 1984 to the Texas Rangers. With the Rangers he posted a 2-5 record with an ERA of 4.13.
On April 4, 1986 Welsh signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds for what turned out to be his last year in professional baseball. The team record when he appeared in games was 13-11, but Welsh only posted a 6-9 W/L record and a 4.78 ERA.
Welsh is known for an interesting pitching delivery in which he would "straight-arm" the ball. This means he would extend his left arm and pitch the ball sidearm with the arm almost completely straight, with little to no bending of his elbow. During his career, Welsh earned the nickname, "The Crafty Left-Hander", a name that Reds' s announcer Thom Brenneman uses to refer to Welsh from time to time.
Welsh has been the TV color analyst for the Reds since 1993.