Chambliss came to the New York Yankees on April 26th of 1974 along with Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw for four pitchers: Fred Beene, Tom Buskey, Steve Kline and Fritz Peterson.
From Cleveland’s standpoint it seemed like a solid trade, with four arms coming their way for the former AL Rookie of the Year in Chambliss and a young Tidrow and veteran Upshaw.
But it turned out to be a golden trade for the Yankees, not only getting what turned out to be their first baseman for the rest of the decade in Chambliss, but a rock-solid pitcher in Tidrow who was valuable not only out of the bullpen but also as a spot starter when needed.
Throw in the veteran Upshaw for a brief tenure, and the Yankees really did come out on top with this one, especially with Chambliss who provided the organization with one of the all-time greatest team moments in 1976 with his Pennant clinching home run in Game 5 against the upstart Kansas City Royals.
Chambliss would play with the Yankees through the decade, before moving on to the Atlanta Braves in 1980 where he’d play until 1986 before one last trip back to the Bronx when he appeared in one game with the Yankees before retiring in 1988.
The man put in a solid career, topping 2000 hits while driving in 972 runs while scoring 912 himself, with a nice .279 batting average over 2175 games and 7571 at-bats between 1971 and 1988, with that Rookie of the Year Award in 1971 and a Gold Glove thrown in (1978).
Great memories of him in the Bronx when I was still in grade school!