| Dean Chance |
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Chance, a righthander, signed with the Baltimore Orioles out of high school and spent two seasons (1959-60) in their lower Minor League system before his selection by the Angels in the December 1960 AL expansion draft. After spending most of 1961 at the AAA level, Chance became a major leaguer late that season. Chance had an outstanding rookie campaign in 1962, winning 14 games with an ERA of 2.96, but he lost 18 games in 1963, immediately prior to his Cy Young season. He won 15 games in 1965, but when he compiled only a 12-17 record in 1966, the Angels shipped him to the Minnesota Twins in a major off-season trade. Chance responded by winning 20 games for the Twins in 1967 , leading the AL in games started (39), Complete Games (18) and innings pitched (283 2/3). On August 6 of that year, he pitched a rain-shortened, five-inning Perfect Game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park . He also pitched a 2-1 No-hitter against the Cleveland Indians on August 25 , the Indians scoring the run in the first inning on two walks, an error and a Wild Pitch . The Twins nearly won the '67 pennant, but Chance was outdueled in the season's final game, at Fenway, by Boston's Jim Lonborg and the Red Sox emerged as surprise league champions - with Lonborg winning the '67 AL Cy Young trophy in the process. After a 16-16 mark in 1968, Chance's career rapidly declined. He won a total of only 18 games from 1969-71, bouncing from the Twins to the Cleveland Indians , New York Mets and Detroit Tigers . His career record over 11 seasons (1961-71) and 406 games pitched was 128 wins, 115 losses and an ERA of 2.92. He was a notoriously weak batsman in those days prior to the Designated Hitter , garnering only 44 Hits in 662 At-bats , for a Batting Average of .067. TRIVIA Chance's Cy Young Award in 1964 was the third in a string of five consecutive Cy Young Awards won by a pitcher from a Los Angeles team. The others were won by in 1962 and Sandy Koufax in 1963 , 1965 and 1966 . |
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