Adron Chambers
Adron Lamar Chambers is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2011 to 2013.
Early life
Prior to playing professionally, Chambers attended Pensacola High School where he was the star quarterback for his team. He went on to attend Mississippi State University on a football scholarship before resuming his baseball career at Pensacola Junior College. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 38th round of the 2007 amateur draft.Baseball career
St. Louis Cardinals
Minor leagues
Chambers began his professional career in 2007, playing for the Johnson City Cardinals, hitting.279 in 36 games. In 2008, he played for the Quad Cities River Bandits, hitting.238 with 13 stolen bases in 95 games. He played for the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2009, hitting.283 with 21 stolen bases and 16 triples in 122 games. He split 2010 between the Springfield Cardinals and Memphis Redbirds, hitting a combined.283 with 14 stolen bases in 112 games.Major leagues
On September 6, 2011, Chambers was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On September 16, during his second major league at-bat, Chambers recorded his first major league hit, which brought in the go-ahead runs for the Cardinals to beat the Philadelphia Phillies. Chambers, who had been brought in as a defensive sub for Lance Berkman attempted an inside-the-park home run, but was tagged out at the plate. Nevertheless, he was credited with a triple off of Michael Schwimer who had walked Albert Pujols in order to get to Chambers.“I got a hit, an RBI, and a win all at the same time,” Chambers said. “I’m just trying to take it all in. These guys are congratulating me and making me feel good. Hopefully, if the situation comes up again, I can produce again.”
Chambers was also noted for his contributions off the field to help spur the Cardinals on during their quest to win the Wild Card playoff berth. With the Cardinals' playoff hopes looking much in doubt prior to the bottom of the ninth inning during their game on September 24, 2011, against arch-rival Chicago Cubs, Chambers was shown on the WGN television broadcast of the game taking it upon himself to encourage and excite the hometown fans to join him in cheering for the team prior to the start of the inning. Incredibly, the Cardinals began to rally, and Chambers himself was then inserted into the game as a pinch-runner, where he proceeded to score the winning run during a wild pitch. That down-to-the wire win was one of many
that month that helped the Cardinals earn their playoff berth. On October 28, Chambers was added to the Cardinals' World Series roster as an emergency replacement for the injured Matt Holliday before Game 7 of the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers.
Chambers made 41 appearances for St. Louis during the 2012 campaign, batting.222/.300/.296 with four RBI and two stolen bases. He appeared in 25 games for the Cardinals in the 2013 season, batting.154/.241/.192 with one RBI.
Chambers was kept on the Cardinals' active roster through the 2013 National League Divisional Series and the 2013 National League Championship Series. On November 5, 2013, Chambers was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Memphis; he subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency.