'On Baseball [FPC's Mike Chambers]': A diamond dream comes true' - Jun 21, 2006
LOWELL,
Mass. Parents dream of their child going
to Harvard Law School, Dartmouth Medical
School or playing for the Boston Red Sox.Last night Mike Chambers of Londonderry, N.H., wore a Red Sox logo on his baseball jersey and was paid to play for his favorite organization - albeit a minor-league affiliate.
Not only was Chambers in the starting lineup and playing second base for the Lowell Spinners, he batted leadoff and took the first swing of the 2006 season.
What else did you expect from the kid who tripled and homered at Fenway Park during a college all-star game?
Drafted in the 32nd round after a stellar career at Franklin Pierce College, Chambers showed the look of a cool customer with his eyeblack, frosted-blonde hair and supreme confidence at the plate.
He'd already played at LeLacheur Park several times in college - even winning a conference title here - and the distance from the mound to home plate remained 60 feet, 6 inches. Like any good ball player, Chambers had the proper attitude on Opening Night against the Vermont Lake Monsters.
So while the Red Sox faced the Washington Nationals only 26 miles away, the Spinners played the Nationals' short-A affiliate of the New York-Penn League.
"I just want to have a good time and have fun. I've been playing this game for a long time, and I've played for a lot of different teams. Now the circumstances are a little different, but it's the same game," Chambers said.
The past week has been a blur for the 22-year-old. He signed his first contract, settled into a dorm room across the street from the park, attended a media day, saw himself on NESN and even got stopped on the street by Red Sox fans.
"People stop you and say, Hey, you play for the Spinners?' They want to talk. That's something I've never dealt with before, and I like it. It's fun," said Chambers, who batted .346 at Franklin Pierce this season.
The Chambers family, including father Mike and mother Susan sitting on the third-base side, had no trouble finding the park. The elder Mike Chambers graduated from Lowell High in 1974 and used to fish near the bridge beyond right field.
All along, Dad had a hunch his son might someday play pro ball. The young Chambers always could hit, and he finished his amateur career by setting doubles records at Franklin Pierce.
"Even as a small kid, nobody could throw the ball by him, even the older kids. When he was 10 years old, I couldn't throw it by him," Mike Chambers Sr. said.
Following a pregame show in which a helicopter landed on the field, dropping off a veterinarian to help deliver a baby alligator mascot, Lowell's leadoff hitter stepped into the box and faced Vermont starter Aaron Jackson.
Before a sellout crowd of 5,000, Chambers saw four pitches and bounced a grounder to third base for an easy out. In the second inning, he picked up an RBI by reaching on a fielder's choice.
Pretty good work for your first job out of college. And, yes, the paycheck arrives at the end of the month.
"I think that's when it's really going to hit me that I'm a professional," he said.
Fans gave the loudest pregame ovation to Lowell reliever Joshua Papelbon, younger brother of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Earlier, the Spinners took batting practice against former major leaguer Bob Tewksbury, a Red Sox psychology coach and resident of Concord, N.H.
On this night, you could say Tewks was the second-most important Granite Stater employed by the Red Sox. After all, Chambers had his picture on color video board in left-center.
Tewksbury's advice for the rookie?
"He's just got to go through it. There's not a thing you can say at this point. He's got to play. Play and fail. Play and succeed," Tewksbury said. "Check back with me in a couple weeks, and I'll have a better answer."
Chambers was 0-for-3 after grounding out in the fourth inning, and then sat on the bench during a rain-and-lightning delay. All part of the business, kid.
Five Franklin Pierce players were drafted earlier this month, including Elliot Shea of Jaffrey, N.H., selected by the Chicago Cubs. Recently released by the Cubs, Shea hooked on with the Nashua Pride and started in center field last night.
Of course, the evening was a little sweeter for Chambers, whose bedroom at home is wall-to-wall Red Sox.
Said Lowell pitcher Justin Masterson, a righty from San Diego State, "Chambers is the hometown hero."
Staff writer Kevin Gray covers baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is kgray@unionleader.com