What he did: In the late 1970s, when on some nights the Braves barely had 1,000 fans in the seats, shortstop Darrel Chaney said he could hear every word coming out of the mouth of a heckler. "When I was in Cincinnati, there were always big crowds so you couldn't hear much,'' he said. "But in Atlanta, you could hear exactly what they were saying about you and your mother. I never could understand how someone could be so miserable.''
A shortstop and utility infielder, Chaney endured some of the Braves’ tougher seasons, ones that now after a world championship and 14 consecutive division titles seem centuries ago. But despite the losing, Chaney was a fan favorite here and eventually joined the organization’s very talented broadcast team. He also won his own share of titles.
His first one came his senior season at Morton High School in Hammond, Ind., when he quarterbacked the team to a 1965 state championship and was named a Parade All-American. Chaney was a three-sport star, also playing baseball and basketball at Morton, and it appeared he would play football in college. He was offered a scholarship by Michigan State, Iowa and Indiana among others, but wanted to also play baseball and signed with Ball State. He never made it to Muncie, Ind., as in the baseball draft that season he was taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round, the club going with pitcher Gary Nolan in the first round.
Chaney was given a $6,000 bonus, bought his parents a new car and it was off to rookie league ball in Sioux Falls, S.D., in the Northern League. In that first season with the Canaries, his first trip just happened to be to St. Cloud, Minn., where his grandparents lived right behind the ballpark.
In 1967, in his first full season in professional baseball, the switch-hitter started at Double-A Knoxville, but the Vietnam War came calling, and after two weeks he was called up on active duty in the Army Reserves. He never made it to the battlefield, but said he was an awfully good cannoneer on a howitzer.
In ’68, Chaney went back to Double-A, this time the team in Asheville, N.C., and he played for the great Sparky Anderson. With Chaney at short, the team won the Southern League pennant, and the next spring he broke camp with the major league club, playing for Dave Bristol as a 21-year-old and making his major league debut on April 11, 1969 against the Braves.
At that time, Woody Woodward was the Cincinnati shortstop, and Chaney played in 93 games, hitting only .191.
Again the next season he served as a utility player as the Reds promoted Anderson to manager and started rookie Dave Concepcion at short, and that was the beginning of the Big Red Machine, as behind Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, Cincinnati went to the World Series, where they were heavily favored to beat Baltimore. But this was the Series remembered for the incredible performance by Baltimore third baseman Brooks Robinson. Chaney played in three games, but the Reds lost to the Orioles in five.
In 1971, Chaney was sent back to the minors, landing at Triple-A Indianapolis, where the Indians won the American Association pennant. He went back to the major league club the next season, platooning with Concepcion and hitting against right-handers. He played in 83 games, hitting .250 and played in four World Series game against Oakland, but the Reds lost to the A’s in seven games. He was on first base when the Series ended with Rose flying out against Rollie Fingers, the Reds losing 3-2.
The next two seasons it was back to being a utility player, though in 1975 he got his championship ring when the Reds knocked off Boston in one of the great World Series ever. He played in two games in a series that went seven games and will be remembered for Carlton Fisk’s walk-off homer in Game 6 and Morgan’s ninth-inning game-winning hit in Game 7.
While the Reds would repeat as champions in 1976, Chaney was traded to the Braves before that season for first baseman Mike Lum and saw a familiar face in Bristol, who was the manager in Atlanta.
After seven seasons in the majors on a team that won four pennants and went to three Fall Classics, Chaney got his first chance to be a full-time starter. He played in 153 games and went to the plate 564 times and hit .252.
But toward the end of that season, he tried to beat out a slow roller in San Francisco and landed hard on his right foot, hurting his heel. It didn’t get better in the offseason and started ’77 on the disabled list. At that point, the Braves were going with Pat Rockett at shortstop, and Chaney was able to play in only 74 games — though he did play in the game when owner Ted Turner made himself the manager. In that game against the Pirates, Turner brought Chaney in as pinch hitter in the ninth inning, the team down by one. With a runner at first, Chaney doubled, but the ball bounced over the fence in Pittsburgh and the game would end with runners at second and third, the Braves losing their 17th in a row.
The playing time didn’t get much better the next two years under new manager Bobby Cox, and Chaney was released after hitting .162 in 63 games in ’79.
Chaney had a chance to go to spring training with either Pittsburgh or the Mets in 1980, but decided it was time to be a father, so he retired.
Along with his wife, he had gotten his real estate license and worked on corporate transfers before the Braves called him before the next season and asked him if he wanted to join Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren and Ernie Johnson in the broadcast booth. He did that for two seasons before getting fired and going back into real estate and helping build a corporate-transfer company that went from $600,000 in revenue to $60 million. He remained with the company for 24 years.
Where he lives: Along with his wife, Cindy, of 48 years, Chaney now lives in the North Georgia mountains in Sautee Nacoochee. His son, Keith, went to Shiloh High School in Gwinnett County and played in the Braves' minor league organization for a season. Keith is now the principal at Mountain View High School and has three sons.
What he does now: Chaney, who turned 68 on Wednesday, co-wrote a book called "Welcome to the Big Leagues … Every Man's Journey to Significance'' and travels around the country talking about it.
On playing in his first World Series in 1970: "I remember being in the field and on the first play Brooks Robinson hit a routine ball to me. I wanted to make sure I made the play, and I was so nervous. Now you have to understand Brooks may have been the slowest guy in the world, but I was so careful with fielding the ball that he almost beat it out.''
On watching Hank Aaron hit record-tying home run No. 714 off his team in 1974: "I was sitting the dugout when that happened, and the next day they had a photograph made of the homer, and he signed one for every player on both teams. He has a lot of class. I still have that photo.''
On comparing the Braves' run from 1991-2005 to the Big Red Machine: "The Braves had great pitching, and they could catch the ball. In Cincinnati, it was the offense that carried everything, but Sparky really knew how to play the bullpen, and he created the closer's role.''
On being traded to the Braves: "I think how I got down here was because Bristol was managing the team, and I had played for him in Cincinnati. I was the players' rep for the Reds, and the night before the trade I was talking to (front office executive) Dick Wagner about a union issue. I joked with him that they were going to trade me, and he said they were not. Then the next morning I am driving and I hear I got traded on the radio. At first it was like falling off the roof of your house, going from a place where we had been to three World Series to the Braves. But I had a chance to start every day. I hit eighth on what was not a very good team, but I still hit .252 and drove in 50 runs. I did have some errors and wish Willie Montanez over at first would have helped me a little more.''
On joining the Braves broadcast team: "I tell everyone I was so blessed as I was the first fourth man in the booth. Man, talk about fun after the ballgame as we sat there and talked about the game. Those three guys were the best. I don't think you could find three other guys like that in one booth in the (majors).''
On losing his broadcasting job with the Braves: "I really enjoyed doing that, but on Halloween after the '82 season, (Braves VP of operations) Al Thornwell called me into his office. He was one of Ted's buddies, and he said he was going to let me go. I asked him what I did wrong? He said we feel you can make a better living working for someone else. I stood up and said let me shake your hand before I take a swing at you. The thing that hurt me was in the newspaper the next day it said I had resigned to go into real estate. I was fired.''
