Dean Chance
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1971)
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 200 lb
- Died
- 10/11/2015 in Wooster, OH, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1961-09-11
- Last Game
- 1971-08-09
- Awards
- 2× All-Star · Cy Young
Full name: Wilmer Dean Chance
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128 | 115 | 406 | 294 | 83 | 33 | 23 | 2147.3 | 1,864 | 697 | 122 | 739 | 1,534 | 2.92 | 30038.3 |
Career ERA 2.92 vs. league average 3.57 across their career seasons — 18.2% better than league average.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | LAA | AL | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 | 33 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 6.87 | 4.03 (-71%) | 768.6 |
| 1962 | LAA | AL | 14 | 10 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 206.7 | 195 | 68 | 66 | 127 | 2.96 | 3.96 (+25%) | 3532.5 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 13 | 18 | 45 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 248.0 | 229 | 88 | 90 | 168 | 3.19 | 3.46 (+8%) | 3915.6 |
| 1964 | LAA | AL | 20 | 9 | 46 | 35 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 278.3 | 194 | 51 | 86 | 207 | 1.65 | 3.58 (+54%) | 8736.7 |
| 1965 | CAL | AL | 15 | 10 | 36 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 225.7 | 197 | 79 | 101 | 164 | 3.15 | 3.50 (+10%) | 1661.7 |
| 1966 | CAL | AL | 12 | 17 | 41 | 37 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 259.7 | 206 | 89 | 114 | 180 | 3.08 | 3.52 (+12%) | 364.3 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 20 | 14 | 41 | 39 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 283.7 | 244 | 86 | 68 | 220 | 2.73 | 3.30 (+17%) | 5578.6 |
| 1968 | MIN | AL | 16 | 16 | 43 | 39 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 292.0 | 224 | 82 | 63 | 234 | 2.53 | 2.98 (+15%) | 6050.6 |
| 1969 | MIN | AL | 5 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 88.3 | 76 | 29 | 35 | 50 | 2.95 | 3.61 (+18%) | 64.7 |
| 1970 | CLE | AL | 9 | 8 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 155.0 | 172 | 73 | 59 | 109 | 4.24 | 3.89 (-9%) | -441.1 |
| 1970 | NYN | NL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13.50 | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | DET | AL | 4 | 6 | 31 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89.7 | 91 | 35 | 50 | 64 | 3.51 | 3.47 (-1%) | -193.9 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 128 | 115 | 406 | 294 | 83 | 33 | 23 | 2,147.1 | 1,864 | 697 | 739 | 1,534 | 2.92 | — | 30,038 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 406 | 662 | 17 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 30 | 420 | .066 | .113 | .069 | .183 | -6,117 |
Career AVG .066 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 73.3% below league average.
Career OBP .113 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 64.1% below league average.
Career SLG .069 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 81.4% below league average.
Career OPS .183 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — 73.5% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | LAA | AL | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | LAA | AL | 50 | 65 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 29 | .062 | .257 (-76%) | .326 (-68%) | .393 (-84%) | .719 (-77%) | -793.9 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 45 | 80 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 38 | .150 | .246 (-39%) | .308 (-45%) | .371 (-56%) | .680 (-51%) | -612.3 |
| 1964 | LAA | AL | 46 | 89 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 53 | .079 | .250 (-69%) | .312 (-65%) | .377 (-79%) | .690 (-73%) | -983.6 |
| 1965 | CAL | AL | 36 | 75 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 56 | .093 | .245 (-62%) | .310 (-52%) | .371 (-71%) | .682 (-62%) | -703.3 |
| 1966 | CAL | AL | 41 | 76 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54 | .026 | .248 (-89%) | .309 (-76%) | .376 (-93%) | .685 (-85%) | -977.1 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 41 | 92 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 58 | .033 | .242 (-87%) | .306 (-61%) | .357 (-91%) | .663 (-77%) | -1034.1 |
| 1968 | MIN | AL | 43 | 93 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 63 | .054 | .236 (-77%) | .298 (-69%) | .340 (-84%) | .638 (-77%) | -1013.0 |
| 1969 | MIN | AL | 20 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .042 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | CLE | AL | 45 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 32 | .071 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | NYN | NL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | DET | AL | 31 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 406 | 662 | 17 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 30 | 420 | .066 | — | — | — | — | -6,117 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
Playoff Career Pitching
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (812 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 196 | 327 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 14 | .061 |
| Away | 210 | 335 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 2 | .072 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 196 | 1113.1 | 954 | 333 | 340 | 796 | 2.69 |
| Away | 210 | 1034.0 | 910 | 364 | 399 | 737 | 3.17 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-08-09 | DET | BOS | — | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-08-05 | DET | BOS | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971-08-03 | DET | TEX | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971-08-01 | DET | LAA | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-07-29 | DET | KCR | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-07-28 | DET | KCR | W | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971-07-25 | DET | OAK | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971-07-24 | DET | OAK | — | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-07-21 | DET | LAA | — | 0.1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-07-18 | DET | KCR | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 406 | 294 | 111 | 373 | 33 | 31 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | LAA | P | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1962 | LAA | P | 50 | 24 | 12 | 37 | 1 | 2 |
| 1963 | LAA | P | 45 | 35 | 15 | 46 | 6 | 2 |
| 1964 | LAA | P | 46 | 35 | 10 | 33 | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | CAL | P | 36 | 33 | 14 | 49 | 1 | 6 |
| 1966 | CAL | P | 41 | 37 | 17 | 48 | 4 | 7 |
| 1967 | MIN | P | 41 | 39 | 15 | 51 | 7 | 6 |
| 1968 | MIN | P | 43 | 39 | 15 | 57 | 5 | 3 |
| 1969 | MIN | P | 20 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1970 | CLE | P | 45 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 1970 | NYN | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | DET | P | 31 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 406 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | TSN Comeback Player of the Year | |
| 1964 | Cy Young Award | |
| 1964 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1964 | TSN Pitcher of the Year |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 19.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1964 | Cy Young Award | ML | 1st | 17.0 | 20 | 17 |
| 1964 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 97.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1962 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 3rd | 1.0 | 20 | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Dean Chance (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dean Chance
- What years did Dean Chance play?
- Dean Chance played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1971.
- Was Dean Chance a pitcher?
- Yes. Dean Chance pitched in the major leagues, recording 128 wins and 1534 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Dean Chance hit?
- Dean Chance hit 0 career home runs with 44 hits.