On August 7, 2007, New York Yankee Joba Chamberlain made his much anticipated debut against the Toronto Blue Jays. It wasn’t a perfect start for Joba, he went 2.3 innings, gave up one earned run, walked four, and struck out three. But, there was something about this young man from Nebraska that gave hope to fans that they could be witnessing the next Yankee great.
Earlier in the 2007 season, Yankee fans began to lose hope when it looked as if the pitching staff was being held together by a piece of tape. Mike Mussina was on a down slide, Kei Igawa became the next Hideki Irabu, and Phil Hughes showed signs of being NOT major league ready. Joba, the Yankees top prospect, breezed through the farm system, wowing everyone with his electric fastball, a pitch that has been known to hit the radar gun at 101. Media and fans went crazy over the idea of Joba. He looked major league ready, but brass still wanted to handle him with kid gloves. Joba’s usage in games was limited, creating the media friendly phrase “Joba Rules” that prevented him from pitching on consecutive days and restricted his pitch count.
On August 30, 2007 Joba helped along the Yanks-Sox rivalry by throwing two pitches over the head of Kevin Youkilis. He was suspended for two games and fined $1,000 for the incident, but it won even more adoration in the heart of Yankee fans.
Joba’s raw passion, energy, and talent made him an instant fan favorite. During the 2007 ALDS against Cleveland, Joba was swarmed by hundreds of small insects, insects that didn’t seem to go anywhere near the Indians. He struggled with his control and threw two wild pitches, giving up the tying run. The Yanks never rebounded. The Indians went on to win the series 3-1. Even though Joba ended the season with a dominant 0.38 ERA, his confidence was shaken during that fateful game in October.
A young man that showed so much promise never quite followed the heroics from the 2007 season. The Steinbrenner’s messed with Chamberlain moving him from starter to reliever and back over and over again. Joba left the team briefly in 2008 to tend to his sick father. Not too long after he came back, Joba injured his shoulder and was placed on the 15 day DL, but this injury would turn out to be a lingerer. 2009 and 2010 became a wash with Chamberlain struggling throughout. Then in June of 2011, Chamberlain was placed on the disabled list and had Tommy John surgery.
Fast forward present day, spring training 2012, Joba dislocated his right ankle jumping on a trampoline with his son. Cashman has called this injury “massive” and will most likely cause Chamberlain the entire 2012 season.
Joba Chamberlain went from being the next big thing to the next Carl Pavano. Did I imagine 2007?
What happened to Joba Chamberlain? Did the bug fiasco bring out the inner head case and affect his confidence? Did the uncertainty of his role affect his performance? Is he just injury prone? Or was 2007 just a fluke? Or all of the above?
I admit, it would be unrealistic to expect the 2007 performance to be repeated every year. In 24 innings, Joba struck out 34 batters, walking only 6, and gave up one home run. His fastball was devastating, breaking into triple digits six times that season. His slider was by far his second best pitch, clocking in at an average of 86.6 MPH. He was polarizing on the mound. Would it be too much to ask for him to show up? Is it too much to ask for him to show a glimpse of the passion he once had? Or would it be too much to ask for him to stay off trampolines?
I guess only time will tell. But, right now it is appearing that the legend of Joba Chamberlain will be frozen in time during the 2007 season. Hopefully for his sake he won’t be known as “the pitcher who showed so much promise, but just couldn’t live up to the hype”. See you next year Joba!
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