Welsh was born in Wilmington, Delaware. His family later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, near Moeller High School, where he grew up with three sisters. Welsh graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1973. He began his collegiate baseball career at the University of South Florida under coach Jack Butterfield, and later played a role in selecting former Major League Baseball pitcher Robin Roberts as the South Florida Bulls baseball coach. Welsh played his final collegiate baseball season under Roberts.\n', '

Chris Welsh was first drafted by the New York Yankees 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 former Yankees Class AAA organization, the Columbus Clippers. On March 31, 1981, Welsh was involved in a six-player 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 pitched four complete games—two 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 he was released by the team at the conclusion of the season on November 12.\n', '

Welsh was known for an unusual pitching delivery in which he would "straight-arm" the ball; he extended his left arm and pitched the ball sidearm with the arm almost completely straight and little to no bending of his elbow.\n', '

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