SAN DIEGO MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK : Chambliss, Mitchell Are Keys to Success of Greenville Braves

One of the hottest teams in baseball this spring has been the Greenville (S.C.) Braves of the Double-A Southern League.

Despite a recent “slump,” Greenville (38-19, .667) is in first by 5 1/2 games with 12 to play in the first half, and the Braves need only to play .500 to tie the club record for victories in a half.

The manager: Oceanside High graduate Chris Chambliss.

Top offensive player: Lincoln High’s Keith Mitchell.

Chambliss, in his first year coaching in the Atlanta Braves’ organization, is working wonders with a team that finished 57-87 last season and is establishing himself as one of the top minor league managers.

In 1989, after a 16-year major league career with the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Braves, Chambliss, 42, began managing for the Detroit Tigers’ Double-A team in London (Ontario, Canada). After finishing last in the London Tigers’ inaugural season, the Tigers won the Eastern League in 1990, and Chambliss was voted the league’s manager of the year.

Chambliss, whose brother, Frank, is the baseball coach at Torrey Pines, attended MiraCosta College before moving on to UCLA. In the majors, Chambliss was the 1971 American League Rookie of the Year, a 1976 All-Star and a 1978 Gold Glove winner. His dramatic ninth-inning home run in the 1976 American League Championship Series beat Kansas City and put the Yankees in the World Series for the first time since 1964.

Mitchell, a fourth-round draft choice by the Braves in 1987, has progressed steadily through minors but his numbers this season already are approaching career highs.

In 54 games, Mitchell is batting .330 with 44 runs, 63 hits, 10 home runs, 42 runs batted in and a .411 on-base percentage. All are team highs and among the top three in the league. His runs and RBIs are nearly 20% of the team’s totals in those categories. He is also second on the team in doubles (14), triples (two), walks (28) and stolen bases (12).

Before this season, Mitchell’s career bests included: .294 average, 10 homers and 49 RBIs.

At Lincoln, Mitchell was known more for his football heroics, leading the Hornets to back-to-back 2-A championships in 1985 and ’86.

Trivia: Mitchell’s second cousin is Kevin Mitchell of the San Francisco Giants. Chambliss also has a famous sports cousin. Name him.

Milestone? Former Padre and Dodger Jerry Royster, now managing the Dodgers’ single-A team in Vero Beach, Fla., was ejected during his 100th victory as a minor league manager.

All-Star skippers: San Diegan Bob Skinner, a former Padre coach now with the Houston Astros’ triple-A team in Tucson, Ariz., has been chosen to manage the National League in the fourth annual triple-A all-star game on July 10 in Louisville, Ky.

Former Padre catcher Steve Swisher, now managing the Tidewater (Va.) Mets, has been selected as one of the two National League coaches. Rosters will be announced later this month.

Trivia answer: Chambliss’ cousin is former NBA great JoJo White.

Promoted: Kevin Tahan, a former Patrick Henry standout and the single-season record holder for home runs at U.S. International, was called up to the St. Louis Cardinals’ top single-A team in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tahan, a first baseman/outfielder, was named the Cardinals’ minor league player of the month for May, hitting .360 with 10 doubles and 14 RBIs for Springfield (Ill.).

Soon to be promoted? Santana High graduate Jim Tatum, the San Diego Section player of the year in 1984, has 59 RBIs in 53 games, a .364 batting average and nine home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers’ double-A club in El Paso, Tex.