First Baseman, Cleveland Indians
Age: 22
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 195
Prior to 1971:
The son of a
Navy chaplain, Chambliss was born in Dayton, Ohio, but frequent relocations had
him going to high school in Oceanside, California, where he played shortstop
and first base on the baseball team. Drafted by Cincinnati in both 1967 and ’68
he declined to sign and instead enrolled at UCLA where, in 1969, he produced 15
home runs and 45 RBIs. In the summer he played for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots
team that won the National Baseball Congress championship. The Indians selected
Chambliss in the first round of the 1970 amateur draft and this time he signed
and was assigned to the Wichita Aeros of the Class AAA American Association
where he hit a league-leading .342 with 17 doubles, 8 triples, 7 home runs, and
52 RBIs in 105 games. He was not given a late call-up to the Indians due to a
military reserve commitment. He started the 1971 season back with Wichita in
order to learn to play in the outfield although he was hindered by a leg
injury. Called up to the Indians in May, he took over at first base for
floundering veteran Ken Harrelson, who retired.
1971 Season Summary
Appeared in 111
games
1B – 108, PH – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 458
At Bats – 415
Runs – 49
Hits – 114
Doubles – 20
Triples – 4 [18,
tied with fourteen others]
Home Runs – 9
RBI – 48
Bases on Balls
– 40
Int. BB – 1
Strikeouts – 83
[17, tied with Dick Green]
Stolen Bases – 2
Caught Stealing
– 0
Average - .275
OBP - .341
Slugging Pct. -
.407
Total Bases – 169
GDP – 9
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 0
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 4, RBI - 28, AVG - .305, OBP - .383
---
Most hits, game
– 3 (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 6/17, (in 3 AB) vs. Detroit 6/20, (in 4 AB) vs.
Minnesota 8/29, (in 4 AB) vs. Detroit 9/28
Longest hitting
streak – 8 games
Most HR, game –
1 on nine occasions
HR at home – 5
HR on road – 4
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. Detroit 6/18
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 3 (.000) with 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 1006
Put Outs – 943
Assists – 55
Errors – 8
DP – 85
Pct. - .992
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
AL ROY Voting:
Chris
Chambliss, Clev.: 11 of 24 votes, 46% share
Bill Parsons,
Mil.: 5 votes, 21% share
Angel Mangual,
Oak.: 4 votes, 17% share
Doug Griffin,
Bos.: 3 votes, 13% share
Paul
Splittorff, KC: 1 vote, 4% share
---
Indians went 60-102
to finish sixth in the AL Eastern Division, 43 games behind the
division-winning Baltimore Orioles.
Aftermath of ‘71:
Chambliss
pulled a hamstring early in the 1972 season and missed a month before coming
back and a strong second half finish allowed him to produce a .292 average with
27 doubles, 6 home runs, and 44 RBIs. In 1973 he overcame an early slump to bat
.273 with 30 doubles, 11 home runs, and 53 RBIs. Early in the 1974 season
Chambliss was traded to the New York Yankees as part of a seven-player deal
that most notably sent four pitchers, including LHP Fritz Peterson, to
Cleveland. For the year Chambliss hit .255 with 20 doubles, 6 home runs, and 50
RBIs. In 1975 he batted .304 with 38 doubles, 4 triples, 9 home runs, and 72
RBIs. He also performed ably at first base. In 1976 the Yankees won the AL East
and Chambliss contributed 32 doubles, 6 triples, 17 home runs, 96 RBIs, and a
.293 batting average. He was also an All-Star and finished fifth in AL MVP
voting, tied with Minnesota’s Rod Carew. In the postseason, his walk-off home
run in the ninth inning of the decisive fifth game of the ALCS vs. the Kansas
City Royals sent the Yanks to the World Series for the first time in 12 years,
where they were swept by Cincinnati. A classy player and disciplined hitter,
Chambliss hit .287 in 1977 with 17 home runs and 90 RBIs as the Yankees
repeated as AL champions and went on to defeat the Dodgers in the World Series.
1978 was a more tumultuous season for the team, which required a
season-extending one-game playoff to surpass the Red Sox for the AL East title,
before going on to win another league pennant and the ensuing World Series. The
steady Chambliss hit .274 with 12 home runs and 90 RBIs and was even awarded a
Gold Glove for his play in the field, but a broken hand cost him three World
Series games. He spent one more season with the Yankees in 1979, batting .280
with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs. In the offseason he was traded to Toronto with
two other plays, primarily to obtain catcher Rick Cerone and LHP Tom Underwood.
A month later the Blue Jays sent him to the Atlanta Braves as part of a
four-player deal. The perennially losing Braves rose to fourth place in the NL
West and Chambliss contributed 37 doubles, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .282
batting average. He re-signed with the Braves for another five years and hit
.272 in the strike-interrupted 1981 season, while committing only four errors
at first base. Atlanta topped the NL West in 1982 and Chambliss contributed a
career-high 20 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .270 average. The Braves contended
again in 1983 until they collapsed down the stretch, a period in which
Chambliss was disabled by a rib cage injury. He still hit 20 home runs again, with
78 RBIs and a .280 average. Chambliss spent three more seasons with Atlanta and
faced competition from Gerald Perry at first base. He retired following the
1986 season. After having gone into coaching, Chambliss was briefly activated
by the Yankees in 1988 but struck out in his lone at bat. Overall for his major
league career he batted .279 with 2109 hits that included 392 doubles, 42
triples, and 185 home runs. He also drove in 972 runs. With Cleveland he batted
.282 with 428 hits that included 81 doubles, 8 triples, and 26 home runs and he
also compiled 152 RBIs. Playing in 30 postseason games he hit .281 with 3 home
runs and 15 RBIs. Chambliss was a one-time All-Star and also received one Gold
Glove. Following his playing career he went on to become a long-time coach with
several teams and also a minor league manager. In 1991 he was named Minor
League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News for his work with the
Greenville Braves of the Class AA Southern League.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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