Chris Welsh

Chris Welsh
Pitcher
Born: April 14, 1955 (1955-04-14) (age 56) Wilmington, Delaware
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 12, 1981 for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1986 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
Record	22-31
ERA	4.45
Strikeouts	192
Teams
San Diego Padres (1981-1983) Montreal Expos (1983) Texas Rangers (1985-1986) Cincinnati Reds (1986)

Christopher Charles Welsh (born April 14, 1955 in Wilmington, Delaware) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and a current sportscaster for the Cincinnati Reds. He was a left-hander with a career ERA of 4.45 and career win/loss record of 22-31. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1973,^[1] and later graduated from the University of South Florida where he played baseball under coach Robin Roberts, whom he often mentions in his commentary.

Playing career

Chris Welsh was first drafted by the New York Yankees in their worst statistical year, looking for a pitcher to drive them to the World Series,in the 24th round of the 1976 amateur draft; however, he did not sign. In 1977 he was drafted again by the Yankees in the 21st round. He then went on to play for the former Yankees Class AAA organization, the Columbus Clippers. On March 31, 1981 Welsh was involved in a six-man trade with Ruppert Jones, Joe Lefebvre, and Tim Lollar to the San Diego Padres for Jerry Mumphrey and John Pacella. In his rookie season with the Padres in 1981, 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, he was purchased by the Montreal Expos. He was then traded on November 7, 1984 to the Texas Rangers for Dave Hostetler. 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, and it is with the Reds he ended his Major League playing career.

Welsh was known for an unusual pitching delivery in which he would "straight-arm" the ball; i.e., 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 moniker that Reds' TV play-by-play announcer Thom Brenneman uses to refer to Welsh from time to time.

Broadcasting career

Welsh has been the TV color analyst for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds since 1993 for Fox Sports Net Ohio, teaming with long-time sportscaster George Grande until Grande's retirement in 2009 to form the longest-running TV broadcasting partnership in team history. He commonly jokes about his playing career being nothing more than mediocre during broadcasts. He is also known as "The Crafty Left-hander" due to his unconventional throwing motion.

References

1. ^ "FSN Ohio On-Air Talent". Fox Sports. 2007. http://www.foxsportsohio.com/pages/landing_clevelandst?Chris-Welsh-Analyst-Cincinnati-Reds=1&blockID=93082&feedID=3642. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 

External links

• http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/welshch01.shtml

Persondata
Name	Welsh, Chris
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 14, 1955
Place of birth	Wilmington, Delaware
Date of death
Place of death