In the 1937 All-Star Game, Earl Averill lined a pitch off Dizzy Dean's toe. The injury seemed minor at the time, but the star hurler rushed back too soon, favored his foot, and hurt his valuable right arm. Ineffective, Dean won less than 20 games the remainder of his career. Nonetheless, he gained Hall of Fame status based on his 120-62 record from 1932-1936. In addition, he was a stud out of the bullpen, saving 29 games in 75 relief appearances over that same stretch, often in crucial games. His 1934 season remains one of the greatest ever by a starting pitcher.
Teams Dizzy Dean Played For
St. Louis Cardinals (1930-1937) Chicago Cubs (1938-1941) St. Louis Browns (1947)
Where does Dizzy Dean rank among baseball greats?
Dizzy Dean ranks #19 among the Top 50 all-time at SP. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1934 In addition to all of the pitching stats he put up, Dean batted .246 with two homers and a .339 slugging percentage. Taking into account his regular season pitching performance, the fact that he pitched almost every big game for the team down the stretch, and his World Series performance, it was one of the best seasons ever by a pitcher.
On the Air In 1950 Dean began working on the Game of The Week, a job in which he proved perfectly suited and extremely popular. He lasted as a television and radio broadcaster for two decades. He was often controversial or downright frank. One story has it that Dean saw a young couple "necking" in the bleachers during a game. He was reported to have said (on air), "that young feller is kissing her on the strikes and she's kissing him on the balls."
Fightin' Diz A New York Times article titled "Medwick Pops Off, Dean the Target," from April 28, 1938, reads:
Joe Medwick was hardly in camp an hour, before he fell into Gas House Gang character yesterday in Cincinnati with a blast at Jerome Herman Dean. It seems that Dizzy, in a chapter of his life story, recently published in a New York paper, said that Medwick was the Cardinal who started that row with Jack Miley and Irv Kupcinet a year ago this spring in a Tampa hotel. In the same story, Dizzy said he wasn't in the fight at all."'He's right in one respect,' Medwick wrote to Chicago newspapers. 'He wasn't in the fight after fists started to fly. He usually does a crawfish act about that time. He starts a fight and then somebody else had to protect him. That's what we did at Tampa, and it's true he was running away. The same thing in the fight with the Giants. He tried to bean somebody and when the Giants rushed him, he ran and let us fight his battles. Dean was about to be taken apart in that Tampa hotel when I entered the lobby and saved his life. That Kupcinet was too much for Dizzy. In fact, any man-sized boy is too much for Dizzy. You notice any time he throws a bean ball it's at some little fellow. If he ever gets into trouble while with the Cubs, watch him hide behind Hartnett. The trouble with Dizzy that he can't take it, and he got to thinking maybe Kupcinet, who lives in Chicago, might look him up and take him apart.'" The Cardinals felt good to hear somebody talk in Gas House Gang terms. Perhaps Medwick was just what they needed in more ways than one.
Description This anecdote is from Leo Durocher's autobiography, Nice Guys Finish Last:
The setting was before the first game of the 1934 World Series, which Dizzy Dean was scheduled to start. The Tigers were on the field taking batting practice when Dean and his teammates arrived on the scene. He (Dean) walked down to the field in his regular street clothes and jumped into the batting cage in front of Hank Greenberg, the big gun for the Tigers. 'I'll show you how to hit the ball, Mo,' he said. There was never anything vicious about Diz, though. Greenberg just laughed at him. Diz hit a couple of good drives, and then Greenberg stepped in and hit one a ton and a half. 'That's the way to hit the ball, Mo,' Dean said. [Dean was] outrageous, but never vicious.
Where He Played Starting pitcher/relief pitcher.
Born Jay Hanna Dean was born on January 16, 1910, in Lucas, AR.
Family Tree Paul Dean and Dizzy are the only brothers to combine for 40 wins as teammates in a single season. In 1934, Dizzy won 30 and Paul "Daffy" Dean won 19 for the World Champion Cardinals.
Similar Players None really, though Don Newcombe scores well on stats alone. Satchel Paige and Pedro Martinez compare to Dean in bravado and showmanship.
Related Players Earl Averill hit the ball off Dean's toe that ended up short-circuiting the pitchers' career... Paul Derringer beat out Dean for the final roster spot on the 1931 Cardinals.
Hall of Fame Voting
Year
Election
Votes
Pct
1936
BBWAA
1
.4%
1945
BBWAA
17
6.9%
1946
BBWAA
45
17.1%
1946
Nominating Vote
40
19.8%
1947
BBWAA
88
54.7%
1948
BBWAA
40
33.1%
1949
BBWAA
88
57.5%
1949
Run Off
81
43.3%
1950
BBWAA
85
50.6%
1951
BBWAA
145
64.2%
1952
BBWAA
152
65.0%
1953
BBWAA
209
79.2%
Post-Season Appearances
1934 World Series
1938 World Series
The Pitches He Threw Fastball, change of pace, curveball
Awards and Honors
1934 NL MVP
Pitching Feats
July 30, 1933: ... Dean set the modern record in striking out seventeen Cubs in the first game of a double header at Sportsmans Park on July 30, 1933. The previous record of sixteen was held by Noodles Hahn, Christy Mathewson, Nap Rucker, and Rube Waddell. (Thanks to SABR researcher Rod Nelson)
Transactions April 16, 1938: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Curt Davis, Clyde Shoun, Tuck Stainback, and $185000 cash.
Replaced Burleigh Grimes, who was traded to the Cubs for Hack Wilson and another player.
Replaced By Injuries ended his stellar career.
Best Strength as a Player His fastball
Largest Weakness as a Player Conditioning. Dean relied on his remarkable raw talent, and on more than one occassion, he let loose a fast one without properly warming up his celebrated right arm.
