"Top Indian batter of regulars at .273. Not bad considering the fact he was under .200 in June, but the average was the lowest of his big league career. He's a good hitter who in his first year of pro ball became the first rookie to lead AAA in batting- .342 at Wichita in 1970.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Chambliss was a much-honored high school football and baseball star in California. He attended UCLA for a year after Mira Costa J.C. and was Cleveland's number one pick in the 1970 winter draft. He was a third-team All-American in 1969 and the 1971 American League Rookie of the Year."
-Peter Gammons, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1974 Edition
"The American League's Rookie of the Year in 1971 was Chris Chambliss, and each season he's made more and more people appreciate the many skills he owns.
Chris has hit as high as .292 already, and the UCLA star did it with only one full season in the minor leagues behind him. That season, 1970, he batted .342 at Wichita to lead the American Association, the first time that a Triple-A batting title had been won by a first-year man.
Adept at playing first base and a good line-drive hitter who hits with occasional power, Chris is a solidly built 6'1". From Dayton, Ohio, he's 25 years old, married, and plays winter ball; he led the Puerto Rican League in hitting last winter, and was hitting .328 when the Yankees pulled the big trade on April 26 which landed Chris in pinstripes."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
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