Dean Chance
Dean Chance was the Major League Cy Young winner in 1964 at the age of 23 when he became the first Angels' pitcher to win 20 games, but arm injuries and an inability to find the strike zone prevented him from winning any games in the majors after his 30th birthday. The Halos first pitching phenom, Chance hurled 11 shutouts in '64, winning six games by the score of 1-0. With the Twins in 1967, he pitched a no-hitter, and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Played For
Los Angeles Angels (1961-1964)
California Angels (1965-1966)
Minnesota Twins (1967-1969)
Cleveland Indians (1970)
New York Mets (1970)
Detroit Tigers (1971)
Best Season: 1964
Helped a bit by Dodger Stadium, but still a very good year. He had a 1.65 ERA and struck out 207 batters in more than 278 innings, for a mediocre Angels' team.
Factoids
After his playing career, Dean Chance briefly worked as a boxing manager. One of his clients was Ernie Shavers, who fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title.
Born
Wilmer Dean Chance was born on June 1, 1941, in Plain Twsp., OH.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: LAA
Major League Debut
September 11, 1961
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1961
Carl Yastrzemski
Lou Brock
Boog Powell
Jim Fregosi
Sam McDowell
Dean Chance
Al Downing
Bill Freehan
Eddie Brinkman
Uniform Numbers
#31 (1961-1966), #32 (1967-1971), #14 (1971)
Similar Players
Andy Messersmith, Sonny Siebert
Related Players
Graig Nettles, Luis Tiant
No-Hitter
8/25/1967: For MIN (A) vs. CLE (A), 2-1 at CLE. 9 innings pitched.
Post-Season Appearances
1969 American League Championship Series
Awards and Honors
1964 ML Cy Young
Transactions
Signed as an amateur free agent by Baltimore Orioles (1959); Selected by Los Angeles Angels from Baltimore Orioles in the expansion draft (December 14, 1960); Traded by California Angels with a player to be named later to Minnesota Twins in exchange for Jimmie Hall, Don Mincher and Pete Cimino (December 2, 1966); Minnesota Twins received Jackie Hernandez (April 10, 1967); Traded by Minnesota Twins with Bob Miller, Ted Uhlaender and Graig Nettles to Cleveland Indians in exchange for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams (December 10, 1969); Sold by Cleveland Indians to New York Mets (September 18, 1970); Traded by New York Mets with Bill Denehy to Detroit Tigers in exchange for Jerry Robertson (March 30, 1971); Released by Detroit Tigers (October 6, 1971).
All-Star Selections
1964 AL
1967 AL
Best Strength as a Player
His fastball.
Largest Weakness as a Player
His strange pitch delivery, in which he turned his back to the plate and lost sight of his target. This helped result in his bouts with control… Chance was one of the worst hitters in baseball history. He retired with a miserable .066 batting average (44-for-662), and struck out 353 times.
Learn More about Dean Chance
The 1967 American League Pennant Race
The '67 season saw four teams, the Red Sox, Twins, White Sox and Tigers, with a shot at the pennant entering the final weekend of play. No team seemed to want to win, as each struggled down the stretch. On October 1, the final Sunday, the Twins needed a win over the Red Sox to win the pennant. Making his third start in eight days, Dean Chance took the mound for Minnesota against Boston's Jim Lonborg. Chance pitched into the sixth inning, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. He failed to protect a 2-0 Twins lead, allowing a lead-off single to Lonborg to start the 6th, followed by singles by Jerry Adair, Dalton Jones and Carl Yastrzemski (who collected four hits in the contest). The Bosox won 5-3 and took the flag.
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