Udell Chambers, the Atlanta Braves star that never was…

Upon graduating from Kirkwood High School, Udell Chambers was scooped up in the 1966 draft by none other than our beloved Braves in their inaugural year in Atlanta where he spent 39 games in the Gulf Coast League. It was apparent that Udell had to make a few adjustments to professional baseball as his batting average of .204 would have been frowned upon in the age of baseball card stats. However, he sported a very healthy .396 OBP, collecting 34 walks in 39 games. It was not until the next year, when he was 19 years of age when Udell really showed out!

The Braves Single-A affiliate was located  in Lexington, Kentucky at that time, the only year they’d be located there. Lexington wasn’t the only change that year as Udell moved from Centerfield to Shortstop, a change that is often made the opposite way, but seldom toward the infield. There wasn’t much of an adjustment period for Udell as it was reported that he played superb defense at shortstop with quick feet and a strong arm.  But the defense was just the beginning of Udell’s successes that season as he was, by far, the cream of the crop at that level. In 100 games played, Udell…

• Posted a .325 batting average, complimented with an insane .450 OBP
• Found power in that little frame, hitting 12 home runs, complimented by 27 doubles and 1 triple.
• Stole 28 bases and was only caught stealing twice
• Had an OPS of .952

Needless to say this was a breakout year and the Braves were giddy. During that time, it was uncommon, but not necessarily out of the question, for a player to make the jump from Single-A to the big leagues in one year. However the Braves were considering it with Udell Chambers.  Unfortunately, they never got the chance to make that decision.

Next: Drafted...a 2nd Time