Chamberlain was drafted in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft after attending Long Beach City College and the University of Arizona. The 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 190 lb (86 kg) right-hander made his professional debut in 1979 at the Double-A level and won 12 of 21 decisions, with 11 complete games and a sparkling 2.59 earned run average. In August 1979, the Royals summoned him to the Major Leagues and he made his first start on August 12.\n', '

The Royals were then locked in a race for the American League West Division championship, in third place and five games behind the California Angels. In a game against the Detroit Tigers at Royals Stadium, Whitey Herzog, the Kansas City manager, handed the ball to the 22-year-old Chamberlain and gave him the starting assignment in his MLB debut. Chamberlain proceeded to allow only six hits, five of them singles, in a 7–1 triumph, walking two and striking out six.\n', '

Five days later, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore against the Orioles, Chamberlain again got the starting nod and again notched a complete game, 7–1 win. This time, he allowed only three hits (including a home run by Ken Singleton) and two walks to the eventual American League champions, defeating Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer.\n', '

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