| Chris Chambliss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1948-12-26)December 26, 1948 (age 76) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 28, 1971, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 8, 1988, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .279 |
| Hits | 2,109 |
| Home runs | 185 |
| Runs batted in | 972 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is an American former professionalbaseball player andcoach. He played inMajor League Baseball from1971 to1988 for theCleveland Indians,New York Yankees andAtlanta Braves. He served as a coach for the Yankees,St. Louis Cardinals,New York Mets,Cincinnati Reds, andSeattle Mariners.
Chambliss won theAmerican League Rookie of the Year Award with the Indians in 1971. He was anAll-Star with the Yankees in 1976, the same year he hit the series-winninghome run in the1976 American League Championship Series. He was a member of the Yankees' 1977 and 1978World Series championship teams, both against theLos Angeles Dodgers, and won theGold Glove Award in 1978. Chambliss went on to win four more World Series championships as the hitting coach for the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Chambliss was born inDayton, Ohio, on December 26, 1948. He was the third of four sons born to Carroll and Christene Chambliss. His father was achaplain in theUnited States Navy, leading the family to relocate many times during Chris' childhood. They settled inOceanside, California, where Chris attended high school.[1] Chris and his brothers all played baseball on theOceanside High School baseball team.[2]
Chambliss enrolled atMiraCosta College, ajunior college in Oceanside, where he playedcollege baseball. Despite being selected in theMajor League Baseball (MLB) drafts of1967 and1968 by theCincinnati Reds, he opted not to sign with the Reds on either occasion. He transferred to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he continued his college baseball career in1969. That season, he led theBruins with 15home runs and 45runs batted in. During the summer, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theAnchorage Glacier Pilots of theAlaska Baseball League, which won theNational Baseball Congress (NBC) championship. Chambliss had a .583batting average in the NBC tournament and was named the tournament'sMost Valuable Player.[1]
TheCleveland Indians selected Chambliss with the first overall pick in the January1970Major League Baseball draft,[1][3] and assigned him to theWichita Aeros of theClass AAAAmerican Association, their most advancedminor league baseball affiliate. With the Aeros, Chambliss batted .342, which led the league.[1]
WithKen Harrelson serving as the Indians'first baseman, the Indians had Chambliss play in theoutfield for Wichita in 1971, in order to have both players in their lineup at the same time.[1] He debuted in the majors in 1971, and was named AL Rookie of the Year. Chambliss playedfirst base and was known as a great clutch hitter throughout his career.
Chambliss was traded along withDick Tidrow andCecil Upshaw from the Indians to theNew York Yankees forFritz Peterson,Steve Kline,Fred Beene, andTom Buskey on April 26, 1974. The Yankees were criticized for giving away four pitchers as opposed to the two it got in return and a failure to land a starting second baseman.[4]
Chris Chambliss was once quoted as saying, "If you're not having fun [in baseball], you miss the point of everything."[5]
During the 1976 season, Chambliss appeared in theAll-Star Game.[6]
In the deciding Game 5 of theAmerican League Championship Series against theKansas City Royals, Chambliss hitMark Littell's first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning over the right field wall for a game-winning home run, giving the Yankees their first pennant since1964.[7]
Chambliss was the hitting star of the 1976 ALCS, as he also hit a two-run homer in Game 3 to help the Yankees win that game 5–3. He hit an ALCS record .524 (11-for-21) with 2 home runs and eight RBIs. In the four-gameWorld Series against theCincinnati Reds, Chambliss hit .313 (5-for-16) with one RBI.
Chambliss played three more seasons with the Yankees, helping lead them to theWorld Series title in1977–their firstin fifteen years–and winning a Gold Glove for his fielding prowess in1978.
Immediately after that 1976 walk-off home run, thousands of fans stormed theYankee Stadium field to celebrate. Chambliss was mobbed on the basepaths and did not make an attempt to touch home plate. Instead, he ran straight toward the dugout and the safety of the Yankee clubhouse. Chambliss was then asked byGraig Nettles if he had touched home, and responded that he had not because too many people were in the way. Nettles then told him that home plate umpireArt Frantz was waiting for him to touch home so that the home run could be ruled official. He was then escorted back out onto the field to touch home, but the plate had been stolen, so he touched the area where the plate had been.
Said Chambliss:
"I just kind of reacted like I always did. I wasn't trying to hit a home run. Sometimes when you react to a high fastball it works out that way. Then, when I was running around the bases, fans were coming at me from everywhere, grabbing me, pounding me on the back. I was just trying to get around the bases and into the dugout---I ran at least one guy over---but I never made it to home plate. Later, after I got to the clubhouse, [Graig] Nettles said I should return to the field and touch home plate, just to make it official. But when we got back out there, home plate and all the other bases were gone, stripped from their moorings and confiscated by the delirious Yankee fans."[8]
Kansas City managerWhitey Herzog could have appealed the play, as Major League rules state that a player must touch all bases on any hit or when running the bases. However, the mayhem on the field made this task impossible, and given the magnitude of the game, Herzog would have never tried to have it restarted or protested due to a technicality. In any event, the umpires had already decided to let the run count given the circumstances of the situation.[9]
As a result of this incident, Major League Baseball changed the rules to allow the umpire to award any base runner or batter a run when he cannot reach the plate due to fans rushing the field.[10] This had the effect of codifying the decision made by the umpires in Game 5.
After the1979 season, the Yankees traded Chambliss to theToronto Blue Jays withDamaso Garcia andPaul Mirabella forRick Cerone,Tom Underwood, andTed Wilborn. The Yankees hoped that Cerone would replace the lateThurman Munson as their starting catcher.[11] Later that offseason, the Blue Jays traded Chambliss withLuis Gómez to theAtlanta Braves forprospectsBarry Bonnell,Joey McLaughlin, andPat Rockett.[12]
Chambliss played for the Atlanta Braves from1980 through1986. He had one at-bat with the Yankees in1988 and struck out.Lou Piniella claimed this at-bat earned Chambliss about $20,000, since he had to be paid the minimum player salary for the season once he was activated for that at-bat.[13] He retired with a career .279 batting average and 185 home runs.[14]
After his playing days, Chambliss was a hitting instructor for several teams and was talked about as a possible managerial candidate.
In 1989, Chambliss became the manager for the Double-ALondon Tigers of theEastern League, an affiliate of theDetroit Tigers. The London Tigers won the Eastern League title in 1990, playing out ofLabatt Park. That same year Chambliss was named Minor League Manager of the Year byThe Sporting News.
Chambliss was also a hitting coach with the Yankees, and has the distinction of being one of two men who wore a Yankees uniform (player or coach) during each of the Yankees' last six World Series Championship seasons prior to 2009 (1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000)—the other is former New York Mets managerWillie Randolph. Chambliss was also the hitting coach for theSt. Louis Cardinals,[15]New York Mets[16] andCincinnati Reds.[17]
For many years, Chambliss was a leading candidate to manage a major league team.[18] He was considered for manager of theChicago White Sox in 1991,[19] theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1996,[20] the Mets in 1999, the Dodgers andArizona Diamondbacks in 2000,[21] and the Mets again in 2002.[22]
Chambliss was the manager of the Triple ACharlotte Knights prior to joining the Seattle Mariners in November 2010 as hitting coach.[23] At the conclusion of the 2012 season, the Mariners announced that Chambliss would not be returning as their hitting coach in 2013.[24]
Chambliss' cousin is former NBA playerJo Jo White.[25]
His son Russell is a graduate ofWashington University in St. Louis, and currently hitting coach with thePeoria Chiefs.[26]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Yankees hitting coach 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by first manager | London Tigers Manager 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Greenville Braves Manager 1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Richmond Braves Manager 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Yankees hitting coach 1996–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Calgary Cannons Manager 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Mets hitting coach 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cincinnati Reds hitting coach 2004–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Charlotte Knights Manager 2009–2010 | Succeeded by Joe McEwing |
