Former Yankees and Royals pitcher Joba Chamberlain attends ALDS Game 4
Joba Chamberlain attends Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Kansas City Credit: Newsday/Anthony Rieber
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A stir was building around a man in the stands behind the Yankees' dugout during batting practice before ALDS Game 4 on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.
It was Joba Chamberlain.
The former Yankees phenom, now 39, looked thinner than in his playing days and sported a dark beard speckled with white. He signed autographs and reconnected with the few Yankees coaches and staffers he knew from his time in the Bronx from 2007-13.
“It brings back a lot of memories,” said Chamberlain, who drove from his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, to take in the game. “Some of the people are still here. Some aren’t. But it was such a weird emotion coming in because it’s like I’ve never experienced this and this is new. Just seeing everybody made my heart happy.”
Chamberlain wore a T-shirt that said “retired” and had a World Series ring on each hand — one from the 2009 Yankees and one from the 2015 Royals.
Joba Chamberlain shows off his World Series rings earned with the 2009 Yankees and 2015 Royals. Credit: Newsday/Anthony Rieber
Chamberlain appeared in only six regular-season games with the Royals but was an important part of the postseason bullpen for the 2009 Yankees. He appeared in all three series during the Yankees’ championship run and was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the World Series against the Phillies.
“I think about it, and I have no idea where the time went,” Chamberlain said. “I thought about it as I dropped my son off at college [in Kansas] . . . He’s 18 years old and he’s in college. It’s like, ‘Where did it go?’ ”
As he spoke to a small group of reporters in the stands, Chamberlain twisted his Yankees World Series ring around his finger. Asked which one meant the most to him, Chamberlain held up his Yankees ring and said, “This.” He referred to the Yankees as "we" more than once.
Chamberlain was a phenomenon when he debuted with the Yankees as a flamethrowing reliever in 2007. Many pitchers throw 100 mph nowadays, but when Chamberlain came out of the bullpen and lit up the old Yankee Stadium radar gun with triple-digit heat, the crowd oohed and aahed.
Eventually, the Yankees' front office instituted the “Joba Rules” to keep then-manager Joe Torre from overusing Chamberlain. In 2008, Chamberlain was converted into a starter, and while he had his moments, his best work was during the 2009 postseason out of the pen.
He's remembered for the famous midges game, when Chamberlain was swarmed by insects while pitching for the Yankees in Cleveland in Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS.
Chamberlain also pitched for Detroit and Cleveland before retiring in 2016. His final numbers: 25-21 with a 3.81 ERA and seven saves in 385 games (43 starts).
Chamberlain remarked that the four teams he pitched for were the final teams alive in the AL playoffs as of Thursday afternoon. He was looking forward to watching two of them battle it out, with the Yankees having a chance to advance to the ALCS and the Royals trying to extend the series to Game 5.
“I’m going to be a fan,” Chamberlain said. “Probably going to get ice cream or something. I’m not sitting on my couch and watching it on TV. I’m actually here getting to watch it, [having been] a part of, obviously, the Yankees' organization and Kansas City a little bit.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
