Joba Chamberlain
Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians.
Chamberlain played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before the Yankees selected him in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft. He ascended through the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2007 as a relief pitcher during the Yankees' pursuit of a berth in the MLB postseason. The Yankees adhered to what became known as the "Joba Rules", where they carefully monitored and limited his appearances. During the 2008 season, the Yankees transitioned Chamberlain to the starting rotation, and he suffered a shoulder injury later in the season. Chamberlain struggled as a starter in 2009, and was shifted back to a relief role. He signed as a free agent with the Tigers before the 2014 season, and re-signed with the Tigers for 2015, but was released during the season. He returned to MLB later in 2015 with Kansas City and pitched for Cleveland in 2016.
Early life
Chamberlain was born Justin Louis Heath on September 23, 1985. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chamberlain's parents, Harlan Chamberlain and Jackie Standley, were never married and split up when Joba was 18 months old. Some sources say that Harlan Chamberlain obtained full custody of Joba when he was three years old, but Standley claims that Joba lived with her most of the time until he was 10 when she had his surname legally changed from Heath, her maiden name, to Chamberlain. Standley began abusing drugs when Joba was 4 or 5 and says that she and Joba speak to each other only rarely.Chamberlain's father was born on the Winnebago Indian Reservation, but had to leave to be treated for polio. Chamberlain still has family living on Native American reservations. As of 2014, he was one of only three active non-Hispanic Native American players in Major League Baseball, with the others being Kyle Lohse of the Milwaukee Brewers and Jacoby Ellsbury of the New York Yankees.
When Chamberlain was a little boy, his two-year-old cousin was unable to pronounce her brother Joshua's name correctly, pronouncing it as Joba instead, which became Chamberlain's nickname over time.
Chamberlain served as a ball boy and bat boy for Lincoln Northeast High School's state championship baseball team, and eventually graduated from Northeast. He did not jump straight to college; to help pay the bills, Joba briefly worked for the city of Lincoln's maintenance department.
Amateur baseball career
High school
At Lincoln Northeast High School, he garnered second-team Super State honors from the Lincoln Journal Star, going 3–2 with a 3.35 ERA, as he struck out 29 in 31.1 innings as a senior.He played American Legion Baseball over the summer of 2004, going 4–4 with a 1.36 earned run average, 137 strikeouts, and 21 walks en route to all-state honors. He recorded 21 strikeouts over 12 shutout innings in a matchup against future fellow Nebraska star Johnny Dorn's team, a 15-inning game won by Grand Island, 1–0. Chamberlain also hit.505 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and 37 RBI.
College
Chamberlain started his college career playing for the University of Nebraska at Kearney Lopers under coach Damon Day, leading the team in ERA, opponents' batting average, strikeouts, and complete games in just eight starts as a freshman. He was named a 2004 honorable mention All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.He transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for his sophomore season, undergoing knee surgery and losing 25 pounds. Chamberlain helped the Cornhuskers reach the 2005 College World Series and their first College World Series win. That year, he finished with a 10–2 record, 2.81 ERA, and 130 strikeouts, including five double-digit strikeout games, over 118.2 innings. In 2005, he was named a first-team All-Big 12 pick and was also the league’s newcomer of the year.
During the 2004–2005 college off-season Chamberlain pitched for the Nebraska Bruins of the National Baseball Congress. He started six games in 2005, recording a 5–0 record and a 1.59 ERA.
Triceps tendinitis limited his 2006 season but he still pitched in 14 games, posting a 6–5 record with a 3.93 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 89.1 innings. A two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, Chamberlain finished third with 102 strikeouts and averaged 10.28 strikeouts per nine innings.
Professional baseball career
New York Yankees
2006–2009
Chamberlain was drafted 41st overall by the New York Yankees in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft as a supplemental pick as free agent compensation for Tom Gordon, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Chamberlain didn't pitch in the minors during the 2006 season, but made his professional debut in the Hawaii Winter Baseball league, posting a 2.63 ERA in nine games for the West Oahu CaneFires.Before the 2007 season, Baseball America ranked Chamberlain as the fifth-best prospect in the pitching-rich Yankees organization and the 75th-best prospect in Major League Baseball. His fastball was also ranked as the best in the Yankees farm system. Baseball Prospectus ranked him 56th overall.
He started the 2007 season in Single-A Advanced, playing for the Tampa Yankees in the Florida State League. He went 4–0 with a 2.03 ERA in seven starts, and had 51 strikeouts and 11 walks. He was then promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League, where he was 4–2 in seven games with a 3.43 ERA and 64 strikeouts. He was named to the U.S. Team in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game at AT&T Park. Chamberlain pitched the third inning, striking out one, walking one, and allowing a hit and an earned run.
On July 24, 2007, Chamberlain was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He made his first start the next day, striking out 10 in five innings and earning his first Triple-A victory. While the Yankees still saw him as a starter in the future, the team announced that Chamberlain would be moved to the Scranton bullpen. He made his first appearance the next day, striking out the side in one inning pitched and hitting 100 on the radar gun three times. On August 1, Chamberlain went back to Trenton to make a relief appearance, striking out two batters in a 1–2–3 eighth inning. He then came back to Scranton, pitching two innings and striking out five batters.
On August 7, 2007, the Yankees purchased Chamberlain's contract, elevating him to the major leagues for the first time in his career. In his debut that day, Chamberlain struck out the first batter he faced and went on to pitch two scoreless innings, striking out two in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Chamberlain's usage in games was initially restricted by what were referred to as the "Joba Rules", which prevented him from pitching on consecutive days and gave him an additional day of rest for each inning pitched in an outing. On August 30, 2007, during a game against the Boston Red Sox, Chamberlain threw two pitches over the head of Kevin Youkilis. Chamberlain was subsequently ejected for the first time in his Major League career. The next day, Chamberlain was suspended for two games and fined $1,000. He pitched 16 innings without allowing an earned runs to begin his career. Chamberlain allowed his first run, a solo home run by Mike Lowell of the Red Sox, on September 16.
In Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, Chamberlain was pitching in the bottom of the eighth with the Yankees leading 1–0. Suddenly, a host of small midges swarmed the field. He was repeatedly sprayed down with insect repellent, which had no apparent deterrent effect on the midges. Chamberlain threw two wild pitches, yielding the tying run. The Indians went on to win the game 2–1. The Yankees would then lose the Division Series against the Indians in four games in the best-of-five series.
Image:Joba Chamberlain 2008.jpg|upright|right|thumb|Chamberlain during 2008 spring training
Before the 2008 season, Baseball America called him the third best prospect in baseball, while Baseball Prospectus ranked him fourth overall. He went into spring training that year as a starting pitcher. However, on March 20, 2008, the Yankees announced that Chamberlain would start the season in the bullpen. Manager Joe Girardi stated that Chamberlain would be used 'without restrictions' but that the team's use of Chamberlain would be guided by common sense.
Chamberlain was granted a leave of absence on April 13, when he received news that his father was in the hospital after collapsing at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska. At the time of his leave, Joba had a record of 1–0, with a 0.00 ERA, six strikeouts, and three holds in four games and 5 innings pitched. Chamberlain returned from the bereavement in time for the second game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 19. On April 20, Hank Steinbrenner announced that he wanted Chamberlain to be moved into the rotation.
On May 6, Chamberlain allowed a go-ahead three-run home run to David Dellucci of the Cleveland Indians, allowing his first run at Yankee Stadium. At the end of the month, the team acknowledged it would be transitioning him into the starting rotation. On June 3, Chamberlain made his first MLB start against Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays lasting only 2 innings while allowing two runs, a hit and four walks. On June 25, Chamberlain earned his first career win as a starter, throwing 6 scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, en route to a 10–0 Yankees victory.
On July 25, Chamberlain threw seven shutout innings against the Red Sox, outdueling Red Sox ace Josh Beckett, allowing only three hits and striking out nine batters. The Yankees won the game 1–0.
On August 4, Chamberlain injured his shoulder in a game against the Texas Rangers and was placed on the 15-day disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman later acknowledged that this injury had a lasting effect.
Chamberlain ended the season with a 3–1 record and eight no-decisions.
Following the 2008 season, Hank Steinbrenner told the press that Chamberlain was expected to be in the starting rotation for the 2009 season. He noted that knowing about the team's plans for him changed his mental approach to prepare for the season, and makes things easier on him. On June 1, Chamberlain pitched a career-high eight innings in a 5–2 victory over the Indians.
During the All-Star break, Chamberlain went back home to Lincoln, Nebraska to get his mind off things by playing with his son so he could "be himself" and get more confidence on the mound. On July 19, he allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out eight in 6.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers to win his first game at Yankee Stadium.
Through August 12, Chamberlain maintained a 3.85 ERA before the Yankees decided to limit his innings for the year. The team would start him every seventh day and used Chad Gaudin in the rotation. Chamberlain pitched to a 8.19 ERA in his final eight starts that season. During this time, the Yankees considered demoting him to the minor leagues and even threatened to leave him off of the postseason roster. However, he ultimately remained on the roster in a set-up role as the Yankees went with a three-man starting rotation. He was used extensively out of the bullpen en route to the Yankees winning the 2009 World Series.