Dean Chance might have been only 26 years old in 1967, but it was already his seventh big league season. He was a September callup in 1961 for the Angels and then in his first full season in 1962, he finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting with a solid season both as a starter and a reliever. In 1964, he broke out and put together a season worth of the Cy Young in which he won 20 games and posted a league leading 1.65 ERA. Like Jim Lonborg, it would be the only time he’d net a Cy Young vote although his 1967 season was almost as worthy.
Chance had losing seasons in 1965 and 1966 before the Angles traded him away to the Twins. In 1967, he put it back together. He led the team with 20 wins, 283 2/3 innings and 220 strikeouts. He’d play in his only All Star game and his 1.100 WHIP was good for the eighth best in the American League. The 283 2/3 innings would lead the league as would his 18 complete games and his 127 ERA+ was the fifth best in the American League.
Dean Chance was death to right handed hitters. Righties hit only .215/.247/.286 against him in 1967 vs. .246/.313/.346 against lefties. And after losing his first start of the season, he then rattled off seven straight wins. He struggled in June but then in August, he had another nice stretch where he won five straight.
He didn’t get a single vote for the Cy Young, but then again, only two people did with Lonborg running away with it. Regardless, Chance’s arm kept the Twins in the pennant race and he was the ace on a team that just missed playing in the World Series.
Here are Chance’s numbers in 1967.
Wins 20
Losses 14
Games 41
Games Started 39
Complete Games 18
Innings Pitched 284
Hits 244
Runs 109
Earned Runs 86
Walks 68
Strikeouts 220
ERA 2.73
Runs Saved Above Average 22
Shutouts 5
H/9 7.73
BR/9 10.11
SO/9 6.97
BB/9 2.15
SO/BB 3.24
Neutral Wins 20
Neutral Losses 14