Joba Chamberlain Reflects On Time In Detroit: 'At The End Of The Day This Isn't Life, It's A Game'
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) -- Joba Chamberlain had a very eventful year and a half pitching for the Detroit Tigers.
He was brought in as a "low risk, high reward" player at the beginning of the 2014 season as an addition to a struggling bullpen.
Chamberlain's tenure started off smoothly when he posted a 2.63 ERA before the 2014 All-Star break, but quickly went downhill. He collapsed down the stretch -- with a 4.97 ERA -- but was eventually brought back for 2015 on a one-year contract.
His return didn't last long, as he was designated for assignment on July 3 and later released.
During his rocky time in Detroit, Chamberlain was no stranger to being booed. He blew six saves and recorded seven losses in 99 games with the Tigers.
The home crowd let him know about every single one of them.
"At the end of the day this isn't life, it's a game," Chamberlain told reporters on Friday, as he returned to Comerica Park as a member of the first-place Kansas City Royals.
"I don't suck. I've had bad days, but you have bad days too. I don't come to your work and throw staplers at you and say, 'you suck.' I can't go and sit in your office and just be in your face and not get kicked out, and just leave," he said. "You can sit here and do whatever you want -- unless you're cussing or talking about me family I'm not going to say anything, or if it's funny I'm going to say, 'that was a good one.'"
Chamberlain said that he grew thick skin while pitching for the New York Yankees and that he didn't think fans in Detroit were too harsh on him for some of his less-than-stellar performances, rather, they just don't understand the lifestyle of a major league baseball player.
"You win four or five divisions in a row, you feel like you're going to win every year, and if you don't then you're disappointed as well," Chamberlain said about the expectations while pitching for a four-time defending division champion.
"People feel like they get let down from a game -- at the end of the day we're the ones playing that didn't get it done -- if it sucks for you then it sucks really bad for us. It's hard for people to relate to that."
Chamberlain said that while living in metro Detroit he was confronted by a neighbor for setting off fireworks late after a game on the Fourth of July in 2014. The person recognized him and the conversation quickly changed to a criticism of the night's loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The worst part about the job, Chamberlain said, is that his family has to listen to all of the vulgarity and backlash while sitting in the crowd, an environment he sometimes worries isn't the best for his young son.
"My son has heard people call me names that I would never want my son to hear, but people don't understand that -- they don't relate to that," Chamberlain said.
Some of the problem can stem from people not being to relate to athletes as "real people" and that they can sometimes just seem like figures on television.
"People just can't grasp the concept that we are still human beings. Just because you see it on T.V. doesn't mean we're not real," Chamberlain said. "For four hours you can just turn on a T.V. and see what my day is like. At the end of the day, there's a lot of other things that I did. It's hard for people to grasp that concept."
Despite harsh criticism from fans, Chamberlain had no hard feelings returning to Detroit on Friday.
"At the end of the day, my check clears and I'm having a good time doing what I do."
