Chamberlain surprises Lincoln family with Disney trip

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By MARGARET REIST / Lincoln Journal Star

Belmont Elementary Principal Deb Dabbert still can’t quite get her head around the whole thing.

How, out of the blue, Joba Chamberlain — the Lincoln native son who rocketed to the Major League Baseball spotlight last year as a Yankees pitcher — called his old high school coach in November with a proposition.

How the pitcher wanted to pay for a Lincoln family’s trip to Disney World and thought of Belmont Elementary where his former coach, Jerome Ehrlich, and his wife, Bobbie, both teach.

View Slideshow

Kristan Martin, left, was selected to visit Disney World with his brother Payton Mort, right, sister Saige Mort, center, and parents. New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is sending Martin and his family as a way to give back to Belmont Elementary School.

How they didn’t hear anything more from Chamberlain until the end of January and then suddenly there was a whirl of planning, of big news and a New York Times reporter and camera flashes and a family of five on their way to Florida.

Dabbert remained in Lincoln, wondering what just happened.

“Nothing like this has happened to me before. I still can’t wrap my brain around it,” said Dabbert, who’s been an educator for more than three decades. “That it happened so fast, and they’re there. It’s just beyond my comprehension.”

Ehrlich said the whole thing’s amazing, but not so surprising, if you know Chamberlain.

“It’s just typical Joba,” he said. “He’s just that giving.”

When Dabbert and Ehrlich realized the trip was going to happen, they had to pick a student to be a recipient.

“It was very tough,” Dabbert said.

But they decided to go with a fifth-grader, who was old enough to appreciate what was happening.

They picked a student they felt exemplified the work ethic Chamberlain used to hone his skills enough to become one of the youngest pitchers in Major League Baseball.

Eventually they landed on 11-year-old Kristan Martin, an athletic boy, a quiet leader, a good student and a hard worker.

Kristan is the kid teachers see on the playground complimenting another student on a good pass during a pickup game of football, or helping another student up after a fall.

“He’s a kid of great character,” Dabbert said.

Kristan’s family was speechless.

“I can’t even describe the joy and shock they had in receiving this,” Dabbert said. “They’re huge Joba fans.”

On Wednesday, Dabbert got a call from a New York Times reporter who wanted to ask some questions. Then a photographer came to shoot pictures.

Thursday morning, Kristan, his younger siblings — third-grader Payton Mort, 9, and kindergartner Saige Mort, 5 — and their parents — Jeremy and Jennifer Mort — jumped on a plane.  

Jeremy is a general manager at Kabredlo’s; Jennifer works nights at Lancaster Manor and goes to school during the day.

Saige has already informed the family that Chamberlain, who will spend the day with the family on Sunday, is riding with her on the teacups.  

And back in Lincoln, Ehrlich can’t say enough about his former student, who wanted to do something for a family who probably couldn’t afford to pay all the bills and take a vacation like this.

When Chamberlain was at Lincoln Northeast, Ehrlich would take the players to Belmont Elementary to read with the kids. Chamberlain was a natural at that, too, Ehrlich said.

But if you really want to know about Chamberlain’s work ethic, Ehrlich will take you back to the summer after Chamberlain’s first year at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Ehrlich was coaching Legion ball that summer and Chamberlain was home, after a season of “so-so” numbers.

Ehrlich watched Chamberlain practice that summer. Every day. Running, working on mechanics, lifting weights.

“That summer was critical. He lost weight, he got in shape. He just transformed his body,” Ehrlich said. “I’ll never forget all that work he put in.”

Nor will he forget the phone call he got from his former player last summer, when Chamberlain got called up to the Yankees.

Hey, Coach, guess where I am?

“If you’re getting called to the bigs, that’s like the greatest call a baseball player can get,” Ehrlich said.

So, no, when Ehrlich got another call from Chamberlain in November, he wasn’t really surprised.

Because, he said, that’s Joba.

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.