Chamberlain gets standing ovation

The first ovation came on Tuesday when Joba Chamberlain climbed out of the Yankee Stadium dugout and jogged to right field. First pitch was some two hours away, but word had spread that Chamberlain was active, off the disabled list for the first time in more than a year. The fans cheered as he played catch.

The second ovation came on Wednesday afternoon, when the bullpen door opened and Chamberlain emerged. He hadn’t been on a big league mound since June 5, 2011. He’d been through elbow surgery, ankle surgery and three different minor league rehab stops. The crowd stood as he ran out to pitch the seventh inning.

The final ovation came nine batters later, and Chamberlain had couldn’t hide his disappointment. His second pitch had been a home run. He’d retired four of the nine batters he’d faced. He’d coughed up two runs in an inning and two-thirds.

Yet the crowd cheered as he walked off the mound, and he seemed to tip his cap as he entered the dugout. Or maybe he was just wiping sweat.

“I was just taking my hat off, really,” Chamberlain said. “There’s no thanks and no words I can say for everybody that’s hung with me and done all that.

“Obviously not the result I wanted for my first one, but we won the game, and that’s all that matters.”

Chamberlain is back, and for now, that matters as much as anything. He’s been through the Joba Rules. He’s been assigned to the bullpen, moved into the rotation, then bumped back to the bullpen. He’s been away for nearly 14 months of rehabilitation.

But for a Yankees team that’s lost a series of superstars and everyday player, Chamberlain’s return is a shift in the other direction. The Yankees have been waiting for this moment, counting on this moment, and they believe he can be a difference maker down the stretch.

“It certainly gives us another power arm out of the pen, if he’s the Joba of the past,” Brian Cashman said.

Reports from Chamberlain’s eight minor league rehab appearances were overwhelmingly positive. He had a 0.96 ERA with 10 strikeouts and one walk through 9.1 innings. He was consistently reaching the upper 90s with his fastball.