Craig Phillip Chamberlain (born February 2, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player. A pitcher, he appeared in 15

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, including ten starts, in Major League Baseball for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in and . As a rookie with the 1979 Royals, Chamberlain threw three

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victories The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

in his first three Major League appearances. Chamberlain was drafted in the first round of the secondary phase of the

1978 Major League Baseball draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland High School pitche ...

after attending Long Beach City College and the University of Arizona. The , right-hander made his professional debut in 1979 at the Double-A level and won 12 of 21 decisions, with 11 complete games and a sparkling 2.59 earned run average. In August 1979, the Royals summoned him to the Major Leagues and he made his first start on August 12.

Three straight complete game wins kicked off MLB career

The Royals were then locked in a race for the

American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

championship, in third place and five games behind the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. In a game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

at Royals Stadium,

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 wit ...

, the Kansas City

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, handed the ball to the 22-year-old Chamberlain and gave him the starting assignment in his MLB debut. Chamberlain proceeded to allow only six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, five of them

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, in a 7–1 triumph, walking two and striking out six. Five days later, at Memorial Stadium in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

against the Orioles, Chamberlain again got the starting nod and again notched a complete game, 7–1 win. This time, he allowed only three hits (including a home run by

Ken Singleton Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member ...

) and two walks to the eventual American League champions, defeating

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

pitcher Jim Palmer. In his third start, on August 24 at home against the Boston Red Sox, Chamberlain was not as effective, allowing ten hits and two earned runs, but he defeated Boston 4–2 and, in the process, bested another future Hall of Famer, Dennis Eckersley, who was then a starting pitcher.

Starting pitcher during Royals' 1979 stretch run

His winning streak ended four days later, on August 28 against the visiting

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. He went only five

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s, allowing seven hits (including two home runs) and four earned runs, and took the loss in an 11–6 Milwaukee victory. After a no-decision in his fifth start, against

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

at Yankee Stadium, Chamberlain notched his fourth complete game win in his sixth start September 7 at the

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

in an eight-hit, 6–2 win over the Seattle Mariners. It would be his last MLB victory and complete game. Chamberlain continued to take a turn in the Kansas City rotation during September 1979 but lost his last three decisions, to finish 4–4 with a 3.75 earned run average in ten starts and 69

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

during his rookie campaign. The Royals finished three games behind the Angels in second place in the AL West. In 1980, the Royals would break through to recapture the division title and win their first American League pennant, but Chamberlain spent the season at Triple-A, winning 11 games but compiling an ineffective 4.76 earned run average with the Omaha Royals. He was recalled in September and made five appearances in relief, but lost his only decision and allowed ten hits and five walks in 9

. It was his last MLB trial. His professional career, however, continued over the next 15 seasons, in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

(1981–1983; 1987–1988; 1991) and

independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

(1995). As a Major Leaguer, he pitched in 15 games and 79 innings, allowing 78 hits and 23 walks, with 33 strikeouts.

External links

Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Craig 1957 births Living people Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball players from Orange County, California Canton-Akron Indians players Charlotte Knights players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Long Beach Barracudas players Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players Phoenix Giants players People from Hollywood, Los Angeles San Bernardino Spirit players Shreveport Captains players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Long Beach City Vikings baseball players Los Alamitos High School alumni Sportspeople from Los Alamitos, California Basketball players from Orange County, California