Chris Chambliss
On October 14, 1976, the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees were locked in the winner-take-all fifth game of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium, going into the bottom of the ninth inning. The Royals had won Game Four the night before to force the deciding game. This evening, Royals third baseman George Brett had hit a three-run shot in the top of the eighth inning to tie the score at six, and the Royals seemed to be gaining momentum in their first-ever postseason series since joining the American League in 1969.
As the bottom of the ninth began, Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss waited for Royals relief pitcher Mark Littell to finish his warm-up pitches, before stepping into the batter’s box. As Chambliss waited, Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard was cautioning the crowd of over 58,000 about throwing debris onto the playing field. The game had already been stopped several times for bottles, firecrackers, beer cans, and rolls of toilet paper being thrown from the stands. Behind Chambliss, Sandy Alomar settled into the on-deck circle, telling batboy Joe D’Ambrosio, “He’s gonna hit it out,” indicating Chambliss. “He’s got to hit one out, because if he doesn’t do it, I’m on deck.” Alomar, a steady defensive infielder, batted .239 that year.
“I was a little anxious,” Chambliss said, standing by the bat rack, annoyed by the delay. “It was cold, too. That was a trying little time there.” Littell was annoyed by the delay, too. With an 8-4 record, 16 saves, and a 2.08 ERA, the 23-year-old possessed a live fastball and a wicked slider. The delay prevented Littell from staying loose, and interfered with his rhythm.
Finally, at 11:13 PM, Chambliss stepped into the box, and home-plate umpire Art Frantz yelled “Play ball.” Chambliss was 10-for-20 with 7 RBIs in the playoffs. He narrowed his eyes. “I knew Littell was going to throw a fastball,” he said later.
Littell nodded at catcher Buck Martinez, and delivered a high inside fastball. Chambliss reared back, stepped into the pitch, and smashed it over the right field wall. Chambliss stood momentarily at home plate watching the flight of the ball carry through the autumn air, not sure if it would go.
“Sometimes you’ll see players drop their bats at home plate to admire the ball as it goes out of the park. They know they hit it so well, it’s a home run from the moment it leaves their bats. This wasn’t one of those. The ball I hit was more what you would call a towering drive with a lot of height, but I didn’t know if it had enough distance to make it out. When I hit the ball, it looked as if the Royals right fielder had a bead on it. He moved back as if he was going to catch it. But at the very last second, he backed into the wall and the ball cleared it.”
On the bench, Thurman Munson, in his catcher’s gear, leaped onto the field, tracking the ball into the bleachers. Chambliss then half-leaped to first base, unable to break into the home-run trot, as thousands of fans stormed the field, seemingly right at Chris.
As he rounded first base and headed to second, the base was ripped from its support by Yankee fans eager for some memorabilia. Chris ran by, touched the base with his right hand, and continued to run through the maze of humanity. Chambliss fell in the base path, accidentally knocking a body over, then he tagged third and headed home. “I gave him a pretty good forearm,” he said later, with a laugh. When fans tried to grab his helmet, Chambliss tucked it under his arm, like a football.
Like a fullback looking for a small hole at the line of scrimmage, Chambliss was spun completely around in a circle and powered his way through the throng. He was then escorted to the Yankee clubhouse by two policemen.
“Home plate was completely covered with people,” Chambliss said later. “I wasn’t sure if I tagged it or not. I came in the clubhouse and all the players were talking about whether I got it. I wasn’t sure, so I went back out.” Graig Nettles urged Chambliss to return to home plate to make it official. “I wanted to make sure there was no way we were going to lose it,” said Nettles.
Dressed in a police raincoat to avoid further harassment from the scores of fans still milling the field, Chambliss jogged out to home plate — found it had been dug up and removed, replaced by a hole — touched the hole before Frantz, and returned to the champagne party.
In a most historic and memorable fashion, Chris Chambliss delivered the first American League pennant to New York in the renovated Yankee Stadium, and the first one for the team since 1964, ending a 12-year drought. It was a dramatic victory for the Yankees, won by a player who prided himself on steady professionalism, not drama.
Carroll Christopher Chambliss was born December 26, 1948, in Dayton, Ohio. His father was a Navy Chaplain, so his family was frequently on the move, relocating across the country. Chris lived in Xenia, Ohio, St. Louis, Chicago, and finally in Oceanside, California, where Chris attended high school, playing both shortstop and first base on the varsity baseball team. Chambliss had been drafted in 1967 and 1968 by Cincinnati, but declined both times and enrolled at UCLA.
In the January 1970 draft, the Cleveland Indians picked Chris with the first pick in the first round and assigned him to their affiliate in Wichita of the American Association, Cleveland’s top farm team. Chris earned Rookie of the Year honors while at Wichita, becoming the first freshman to win the batting title, posting a .342 average. Chris also hit seven home runs and collected 52 RBIs. Because of conflicting military reserve commitments, Chambliss was not called up to the big leagues at the end of the season.
During spring training in 1971, the Indians had to make a decision on Chambliss’ future. Veteran Ken Harrelson was the incumbent first baseman, though returning from an injury, and Chambliss suffered a leg injury that was thought to be a pulled right thigh muscle. So the Tribe sent Chris back to Wichita at the start of the 1971 season so that he could get accustomed to playing the outfield. The Cleveland front office believed that Chris would be able to contribute faster by learning a new position, and at the same time keeping both bats in the lineup.
He made his his debut on May 28 in Chicago. Pinch-hitting for shortstop and future fellow Yankee teammate Fred Stanley in the eighth inning, Chambliss grounded out. By this time, however, Harrelson was struggling with the Tribe, hitting .209 at the time of Chambliss’ debut. Hawk would only play three more weeks before calling it quits in favor of a short-lived professional golf career, turning first base over to Chris.
Chambliss never looked back, hitting safely in 14 of his next 15 games, smacking 114 hits in 111 games in 1971, including 20 doubles, nine home runs, 48 RBIs, and a .275 batting average and was named American League Rookie of the Year by both the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and The Sporting News.
The Indians fared better in 1972 and behind Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry and a solid foundation of good, young talent, 1973 was shaping up to be quite a team. But third baseman Graig Nettles was dealt to the Yankees in the off-season, and catcher Ray Fosse was traded to Oakland during spring training.
On Friday, April 26, 1974, the Indians and Yankees completed a seven-player trade with pitchers Dick Tidrow, Cecil Upshaw, and Chambliss going to New York. In return, Cleveland received four pitchers; Fritz Peterson, Tom Buskey, Steve Kline and Fred Beene. Yankee players offered were less then thrilled at giving up four pitchers. “I can’t believe this trade,” said Yankee center fielder Bobby Murcer. “It means they don’t think we have a winning ball club.” Murcer paid a stiff price for his honesty. He was traded at season’s end to San Francisco.
The Yankees finished the 1974 season in second place, two games behind Baltimore, staying in the race until the final series, fans cheering them on to the end. Manager Bill Virdon was named Major League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. These results were quite different for Chambliss and Tidrow, who had been teammates since their minor league days at Wichita, and were used to the Indians’ losing ways and empty stands.
Expectations ran high for the Yankees in 1975 and Chris hit .304 in 1975, as well as fielding at a .991 clip at first base, leading the league’s first basemen in games played (147) and innings (1,299.1), erasing fan doubts about his abilities.
The 1976 season would start a string of three straight American League pennants for the Yankees. Billy Martin inserted Chris into the cleanup position in the batting order. Chambliss responded by having his finest year to date, clubbing 17 home runs and 32 doubles, driving in 96 runs, and hitting .293. The World Series ended New York’s season with a loud thud. The Cincinnati Reds swept the physically and emotionally exhausted Yankees in four games, despite Martin’s promise to “get that Red Machine wheel by wheel, axle by axle, if we have to.”
In some ways, 1977 and 1978 mirrored themselves for the Yankees. For instance: each year they won the American League East with a slim margin, each year they had a Cy Young Award Winner (Sparky Lyle 1977 and Ron Guidry 1978), each year they bested the Royals in the League Championship Series, and toppled the Dodgers in the World Series both seasons, four games to two.
Yet through the incredible turmoil and strife that made the 1977 Yankee season distinctive and memorable, Chambliss was focused and steady. He batted .287, hit 17 home runs, and drove in 90 runs. He also maintained class.
The following season was rougher for the Yankees, though: the team suffered more dissension and injuries, with the Yankees falling to 14 games back of the Boston Red Sox. Chambliss continued to be a steady hitter in 1978, batting .274, with 12 home runs, and 90 RBIs. Chambliss won the Gold Glove Award in 1978 with a league-leading fielding percentage of .997, committing only four errors in 1,481 chances.
During the 1978 World Series, Chris suffered a broken bone in his right hand, causing him to miss three games in the Series. In spring training, he had a cast placed on his right wrist due to a strained tendon. In spite of stories that the Yankees were pursuing Rod Carew to play first base, Chris had his usual productive year (27 doubles, 18 home runs, .280 batting average and a .994 fielding average). But for the Yankees, 1979 would be a year of not only disappointment on the field, but tragedy and loss off the field as well due to the death of Thurman Munson on August 2nd.
During the offseason the Yankees were looking to find a capable catcher to replace Munson. On November 1, Chambliss was traded to Toronto but the Blue Jays already had John Mayberry playing first base, so one month later, on December 6, Chris was dealt with infielder Luis Gomez to the Atlanta Braves.
Neither Chambliss nor the rest of the Atlanta team disappointed manager Bobby Cox, or the Brave fans. After a last-place finish in 1979, the Braves finished 1980 in fourth place and a game over the .500 mark. Chambliss again clubbed 18 home runs, while hitting .282 and led the league with 1,626 putouts.
In 1982 the Braves topped the Dodgers by one game and the Giants by two games, to give the franchise only their second division title since moving to Atlanta in 1966. Chambliss smacked a career-high 20 home runs and drove in 86 runs for the season.
Over the next three years, Chris’ production and playing time decreased. Gerald Perry was a star in the Braves’ minor league system and replaced Chambliss the last month of the 1984 season, a season that saw Chris manage to hit only nine home runs after back-to-back 20-homer years.
“I can do everything I’ve been able to do throughout my career, even better,” said Chambliss in 1985 at spring training. “I’d really like the opportunity to play regularly. That’s the way I can be effective.” But Eddie Haas was the new Brave skipper, and management favored the youngster Gerald Perry, seen as a “can’t-miss” prospect. But Perry missed spectacularly, hitting .214 with three homers and 13 RBIs. Chambliss did little better at .235, three home runs and 21 RBIs. Bob Horner took over at first base, with a .267 average, 27 HRs, and 89 RBIs, but the Braves finished fifth with a 66-96 record.
Eddie Haas was replaced in late August by coach Bobby Wine. Bob Horner was now getting the most at-bats (483) while playing first base. Chambliss had only 170. In 1986, Chambliss played in 20 games at first base, but led the league with 20 pinch-hits.
Chambliss retired with a batting average of .279 and 185 home runs. He is among the career leaders for first baseman in games played (1,962), assists (1,351), putouts (17,771), double plays (1,687) and fielding percentage (.993).
The great Dylan Bradbury comes out with another top-notch schedule. Thank you Dylan! My only complaint? That you are not around here more!
