Biscuits' fan there for every pitch in 1,300 games

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Prior to the 2004 season, when Montgomery's new Minor League Baseball team announced they would be named the Biscuits, Richard Chamberlain was the first in line to buy team merchandise. When season tickets went on sale, he was, again, the first in line.

"I tend to overdo stuff," said Chamberlain, with a wry smile.

He was talking during -- you guessed it -- a Montgomery Biscuits game at the team's home of Riverwalk Stadium. Nineteen years after that inaugural campaign, his passion for and commitment to Tampa Bay's Double-A affiliate remains unwavering. As for how unwavering, consider this: In all that time, Chamberlain has missed just two games. (That was in 2005, due to a medical issue.) Excepting that doctor-ordered absence, he has not only seen every single game -- he's seen every single pitch. He arrives at the ballpark when the gates open, without exception, and doesn't leave until the final out has been recorded in his scorebook.

When this writer spoke with Chamberlain in June, he was sitting in his familiar seat in front of the first-base dugout, just to the right of where the netting ends. (Who wants to watch a game through a net? Chamberlain doesn't.) The top of his scorebook entry for the game in progress was marked with the numbers 1,295 and 1,163, denoting the number of total Biscuits games he has attended as well as the number of consecutive games. His right hand held a pen, while his left slipped in and out of a baseball glove balanced on his knee, because one always has to be ready for a foul ball. "Just happy to be here" read the text on his t-shirt, which, of course, also featured a Biscuits logo.

Chamberlain was in his element, and the conditions were ideal. It was Game 1 of a hastily scheduled 4 p.m. doubleheader, and most fans didn't arrive until closer to the initially scheduled 6:35 start time. Though he, of course, wants the team to succeed, he enjoys when attendance is sparse, as it enables him to spread out and watch the action with minimal distraction. Chamberlain's not the sort of "superfan" who draws attention to himself with ostentatious clothing, a rotating array of signs, unrelenting chants or a specifically placed coterie of ritualistic good-luck charms. If baseball's happening on the field, what more do you need?

Well, for one thing, you need an understanding employer.

"It's been worked out with my boss. He knows if there's a tossup between whether I come to work or go to the baseball game, I'm going to a baseball game," said Chamberlain. "Today I had to get off at 3 so I could be down here [at Riverwalk Stadium] when the gates open."

Chamberlain grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, rooting for the Red Sox because Colorado didn't yet have Major League Baseball. Occasionally his family made the drive to Denver to see the Triple-A Bears or Zephyrs, but opportunities for live professional baseball action were few and far between. He arrived in Montgomery in 1991 because his now-ex-wife had family in the area, but until the Biscuits arrived he had to make the drive to Birmingham or Columbus, Georgia, to get a Southern League baseball fix.

"It was something that I was really excited about," he said, although excited is perhaps an understatement. "Those first couple years -- 2004, 2005 -- we were horrible, but we won a championship in '06 and '07."

Those back-to-back Southern League titles rank among Chamberlain's favorite Biscuits memories, especially since they have not won a championship since. But even during the down years, he finds joy in getting to know the players and following their careers after they move onward and upward.

"In 20 years, the players I've seen come through here, between [the Biscuits] and the visitors, it's basically a third of the people in Major League Baseball," he said. "And I can talk to them. Get autographs."

Of these players, he singles out David Price as the best pitcher, Evan Longoria as the best offensive player and Kevin Kiermaier as the best defender. They are three stars within a cast of thousands, one that expands with each passing season. Chamberlain, now at over 1,300 Biscuits games (approaching 1,200 consecutively) and counting, plans to remain a ballpark fixture for years to come. Why would anyone expect anything different?

"You know, everybody's got a thing, and this just happens to be my thing," he said. "There are worse places to spend your time and hang out. I've got the best seat in the house. All the action is right here in front of me."