Indians sign Joba Chamberlain, apologize for famous bug attack in 2007
When baseball players sign with clubs, it’s not unusual for certain stipulations to be written into their contracts. Some players want a private box for their families, others want bonuses once they reach certain statistical milestones.
The Cleveland Indians signed reliever Joba Chamberlain to a minor-league deal Tuesday. Instead of making the normal contractual assurances to Chamberlain, the Indians made a weird promise. They guaranteed he would never be attacked by bugs while on the mound again.
In Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS, Chamberlain, a rookie with the New York Yankees, was called upon to pitch in the eighth inning. Almost immediately after he took the mound, Chamberlain was swarmed by a group of midges. The game was briefly delayed as Chamberlain, the umpires and Yankees players applied bug spray in order to chase the midges away.
Ultimately, the midges got the better of Chamberlain. The Indians had trailed by one run coming into the inning, but managed to tie the game on a wild pitch by Chamberlain. Cleveland would go on to win the contest in the 11th inning on a Travis Hafner single.
The Yankees were on the losing side of that battle, and they definitely haven’t forgotten about it:
The infamous bug attack took place eight years ago now. Chamberlain is no longer a rookie, he’s a 30-year-old veteran. He’s been around the league a few times and he’s seen some crazy stuff. Surely, he’s moved past this traumatizing memory.
There’s only one way to find out. If Chamberlain makes the team and takes that mound in Cleveland, will he be haunted by the painful recollection of midges swarming his head? Or will he trudge on ahead triumphant?
Are we allowed to fast forward to April yet?
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
