Chamberlain's 8-year-old son played integral role in his signing with Tigers

Joba Chamberlain's decision to re-sign with the Detroit Tigers had as much to do with his happiness as it did that of his eight-year-old son. 

"I sat down with Karter and asked him what he was comfortable with," Chamberlain told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. "He's old enough to know. He has been around this game his entire life. I felt I could sit down and talk to him. He understands what's going on and what goes into it.

"We kind of went through all of the options. He was like, 'Dad, I don't know anybody on that team,' or, 'I know this person on this team.' Literally, as we were going through it, he gets on his phone and calls Victor's (Martinez) son to ask how his dad was doing."

Chamberlain agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal with the Tigers late last month, and told Rosenthal he turned down several offers of more than double the money to remain in Detroit. 

"At the end of the day, he was probably that little birdie who sits on your shoulder, doesn’t really say anything, but says a lot," Chamberlain said.

"He said he loves it here. He has friends here. That's the greatest part about it. They get to grow up together and hang out. It's just nice to see the boys on the field playing."

Chamberlain, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the New York Yankees, made 69 appearances for the Tigers in 2014.