Twins No-Hitters: Dean Chance

Welcome back, fans! I hope that you had a fantastic holiday and New Year! I know this lockout has created some of the longest, darkest days we have seen in baseball since 1994! I am still feeling frustrated knowing that baseball talks are still not happening. The best way to combat the baseball blues is to continue reaching into those archives and remembering why this is America's favorite pastime and why we continue to show up and watch these big kids play "the game."

I had a rough time ranks games four and five for my no-hitter countdown. Both games were on the road. I noticed that road games made it harder for the Twins to pull off wins, which was likely due partly to schedule, stadium, weather, and fan base. The Twins played a doubleheader against Cleveland at the end of a strenuous road trip on this particular day. The team was tired. Chance was trying to come back after a break in his winning streak, making factors for this win admirable and slide into number four in our countdown. 

No-No Number 4
The Pitcher: Dean Chance
The Date: August 25, 1967
The Opponent: Cleveland 
The Stadium: Cleveland Stadium

The Pitcher's Background and Story
Like the other Twins pitcher with a no-hitter in the 1960's Jack Kralick, Dean Chance was born and raised in Ohio. Both were also born on the same day, June 1 (no, not in the same year). The pitchers grew up an hour and forty-six minutes apart. 

Dean Chance attended West Salem Northwestern High School in West Salem, Ohio. He was best known as an all-Ohio Basketball player averaging 25 points a game, and then later, for his baseball prowess. He was a large youth, 6'3 by age 14, and loved playing basketball. Chance helped lead his high school to the 1958 Class A state final four. 

He had scholarship offers from colleges all over the country to play basketball, but Chance decided baseball was his best opportunity. 

Dean Chance's talent in baseball was just as astonishing as his basketball talent. As a junior and senior year, he was setting state records that still stand today:

• 52–1 career record
• 20 wins in a season
• 32 straight wins
• Eight no-hitters in a season (in both his junior and senior years)
• 18 no-hitters total

His talent didn't go unnoticed. The Orioles, who were in the process of rebuilding their farm system, were the first team to come calling.

Chance signed with the Orioles in 1959 as an amateur free agent. They signed him right out of high school, giving him a $30,000 bonus. He spent the next two seasons pitching for the Orioles until MLB expansion came around. 

He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 1960 expansion draft. The American League expanded by two teams to catch up with the National League. Chance was picked by the Senators but immediately traded to the Angels for outfielder Joe Hicks. Chance returned to the Senators, now the Twins, until December of 1966, when the Angels dealt him to the Twins for outfielder Jimmie Hall, first baseman Don Mincher, and relief pitcher Pete Cimino. 

When Chance came back to the Twins in 1967, he had experienced quite a bit of success in Los Angeles. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1962. In 1964. he went 20-9 with a 1.95 ERA and even four saves to win the Cy Young Award (and finished fifth in MVP voting). Not only did he make the All-Star team that year, but he led the AL in games started (39), completed games (18), and innings pitched (283 2/3). He threw 11 shutouts. 

The Game 
Cleveland was over halfway through a stretch of 15 straight games when they played the Twins on August 25, 1967. It was the third of four doubleheaders for them that month. Doubleheaders were not uncommon for this period in baseball. It was a way to ramp up competition and make fans happy with "more baseball." Doubleheaders soon faded as owners realized they were losing money (go figure).  

Dean Chance struggled with his control throughout the game, and that started right away. He gave up an unearned run in the first inning due to two walks, an error, and a wild pitch. Lee Maye had got on base, but with number five hitter Max Alvis stepped to the plate and struck out. However, the third strike sailed past Twins catcher Jerry Zimmerman for a wild pitch, allowing Maye to score. In the game, Chance walked five batters and hit another. 

Sonny Siebert (who threw a no-hitter in 1966) was the Cleveland starting pitcher that day. He and Chance kept the game tied 1-1 through the top of the sixth inning. Harmon Killebrew came to the plate with Cesar Tovar on third base. Siebert balked, sending Tovar home and giving the Twins a 2-1 advantage. That score held up through nine innings. 

Over the final eight innings, Chance struck out eight hitters, earning the Twins their second no-hitter. At the time, it was their "third no-hitter." You see, earlier that month, Chance had throw five perfect innings in a game against the Red Sox before the game was rained out. Since then, MLB altered its rules to require nine innings pitched for an official no-hitter.

Opponent
Cleveland's roster that evening was nothing to write home about. In fact, throughout the entirety of the 1960s they were a weak team. The team had problems with attendance, due to their poor play... and legends of a curse.

 "The Curse of Rocky Colavito" stemmed from the team's owner making a trade with the Tigers in 1960, sending Rocky Colavito to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn. Whether is is related or not, Cleveland suffered for more than 30 years, with a losing record in 27 of the next 34 seasons. 

The Twins had a lineup of all-stars in comparison. Even with a strong lineup, there will be games where the offense struggles. This was one of those games. The pitching being better than the other team is a relief because the Twins had just as much trouble getting runs, and the game was close. 

How many pitchers pitched
The pitching matchup in the second game was Dean Chance (16-9, 2.52 ERA) versus the Indians' Sonny Siebert. Dean Chance was the 1964 AL Cy Young Award winner who had won five straight games from July 28 to August 16 before lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a loss to Detroit on August 22. 

Siebert had identical 16-8 records for Cleveland in 1965 and 1966. It wasn't that he was pitching poorly this season, Cleveland's offense was scoring a meager three runs a game when he was the starting pitcher. Scoring an unearned run in this game was solely based on walks and an error. 

Home or Away
The Twins were coming to the end of a long road trip that took them out to the West Coast to play against Los Angeles, and then back east to New York, Detroit, and to Cleveland, playing 16 road games in 13 days. This game was the first Twins road no-hitter.

Did the pitcher hit
All pitchers were still hitting during this time in the league. Dean Chance was not particularly strong at the plate. He had very few plate appearances during his time, a whopping .066 batting average when he retired. In this game, Chance had four plate appearances and went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. At game's end, he was hitting .027 on the season.

Wrap it up!
Dean Chance had all the makings of a notable pitcher from a young age. He still holds high school pitching records in Ohio. When Chance won the 1964 Cy Young award, he was the first Angels pitcher to do so.

Hitters struggled to hit off of him, "Every time I see his name on a lineup card," Mickey Mantle once told sportswriter Maury Allen about Chance, "I feel like throwing up."

Dean Chance should be discussed more in Twins history and he was a player that I truly enjoyed learning about. What do you think? Was he too far down on the list? Would you have him put higher on the list? Do you believe that the 1960s were peak pitching for the Twins, or would you pick a different era? 

I look forward to discussions!

PREVIOUS NO-HITTER ARTICLES

1. Jack Kralick
2. Eric Milton
3. Scott Erickson

MORE FROM TWINS DAILY
— Latest Twins coverage from our writers
— Recent Twins discussion in our forums
— Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email