Dean Chance (#340)

Here is Dean Chance’s last card as a member of the California Angels, complete with wax or gum residue at no extra charge.

Dean’s best season was 1964, when he won the Cy Young award (back then there was only 1 award, not 1 per league) and led the AL in wins (20), ERA (1.65), shutouts (11), complete games (15), and innings pitched (278). He also had 207 strikeouts.

Chance was also an all-star in 1964 and in 1967, his first season with the Twins. In ’67 he won 20 games and was the league leader in starts (39), complete games (18) and innings pitched (283).

Chance was signed by the Orioles (I did not know that) in 1959, then after 2 seasons in their low minors, he was selected by the expansion Washington Senators in the December 1960 draft. That same day he was flipped to the expansion Angels for reserve outfielder Joe Hicks. Dean pitched for the Angels’ AAA team in Dallas-Fort Worth in 1961, and made his major-league debut on 9/11/61.

In 1962, the 21-year-old rookie led the 2nd-year Angels with 14 wins, remarkable since he spent most of May and all of July in the bullpen. Chance finished 3rd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind the Yankees’ Tom Tresh and Angels’ teammate Bob Rodgers.

Dean won 13 games in 1963, then had his monster season in 1964, as described above. After 2 more seasons at the top of the Angels’ rotation (15 and 12 wins), Chance was traded to the Twins after the 1966 season for 1st baseman Don Mincher, pitcher Pete Cimino, and outfielder Jimmie Hall. (The Angels later sent shortstop Jackie Hernandez to the Twins to complete the trade.)

After his big season in 1967, he leveled off at 16-16 in 1968. In 1969 Chance missed all of June and July with a back injury, and finished with a 5-4 record in only 88 innings (20 games) in his final season with the Twins.

In December 1969 he was traded to the Indians (with 3rd baseman Graig Nettles, pitcher Bob Miller, and outfielder Ted Uhlaender) for pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Dean was 9-8 for Cleveland while starting 19 of his 45 games, then was sold to the Mets in mid-September.

The Mets traded him to the Tigers during spring training 1971, and his spent his final season as a swing man for Detroit, compiling a 4-6 record in 31 games (14 starts) in only 89 innings.

After his retirement, he formed a company that operated games of chance (!) booths at carnivals and state fairs in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, he started a boxing association and managed several fighters.