Joba Chamberlain

Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain (né Heath; ; born September 23, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians.

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.

Chamberlain played American Legion Baseball over the summer of 2004 for Coach Steve Eckman, going 4–4 with a 1.36 earned run average (ERA), as he struck out 137 hitters and walked only 21 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.

He also hit .505 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and 37 RBI as a two-way performer.

At Lincoln Northeast High School for coaches Bill Fagler and Doug Kaltenberger 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.

Chamberlain started his college career playing for the University of Nebraska at Kearney Lopers under coach Damon Day, leading the team in ERA (5.23), opponents' batting average (.250), strikeouts (49), and complete games (4) in just eight starts as a freshman, before transferring to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

During the 2004–2005 college off-season Chamberlain pitched for the Nebraska Bruins of the National Baseball Congress.

He helped the Cornhuskers reach the 2005 College World Series, and helped lead Nebraska to its first College World Series win.

He had a 10–2 won/loss record with a 2.81 ERA for the year, and his 2005 stats included 5 double-digit strikeout games.

He started six games in 2005, recording a 5–0 record and a 1.59 ERA.

Chamberlain played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before the Yankees selected him in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft.

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.

Chamberlain was drafted 41st overall by the New York Yankees in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft; the Yankees received that draft pick as free agent compensation for Tom Gordon, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Chamberlain did not pitch in the organized minors during the 2006 season, but pitched in the winter league in Hawaii, posting a 2.63 ERA for the West Oahu CaneFires.

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.

Before the 2007 season, Baseball America ranked Chamberlain as the fourth-best prospect in the pitching-rich Yankee organization, and the 75th-best prospect in Major League Baseball, and ranked his fastball as the best in the Yankee farm system.

He spent the first part of his 2007 season on the Single-A Advanced Tampa Yankees in the Florida State League.

He went 4–0 with a 2.03 ERA in seven games, 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 July 8 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, and 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 on July 29, 2007, that Chamberlain would be moved to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre bullpen, and 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.

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.

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 (then Justin) was a little boy, his two-year-old cousin was unable to pronounce her brother (Chamberlain's other cousin) 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.

He returned to MLB later in 2015 with Kansas City and pitched for Cleveland in 2016.