Born in Ohio in 1941, Chance was a star player on his high school basketball and baseball teams. The Washington Senators drafted him as the 48th pick in the 1960 expansion draft and immediately traded him to the Angels. By age 20 in 1961, Chance made his MLB debut.
In his first full season, Chance was #3 in Rookie of the Year voting in 1962 after pitching to a 2.96 ERA over 206.2 innings. Chance and his teammate Bo Belinsky were a force on and off the mound in 1962, teaming up for 24 combined wins and a Hollywood social life outside the team with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.
Chance really shone in 1964, earning an All Star nod as well as the AL Cy Young award. He pitched to a club record 1.65 ERA over 278.1 innings, tossing 15 complete games and 11 shutouts with an ERA+ of 200 and 20 wins. It was a season that will likely will never be topped by another Angels pitcher.
Aside from having the best single season as an Angels pitcher, Chance is 8th in all time fWar, 9th in Ks, 3rd in shutouts, and his 2.83 ERA is tied with Andy Messersmith for best among Angels starters with more than 200 IP.
Chance was traded to the Twins after the 1966 campaign, ending his strong 6 season run with the Halos. His success continued for a few years with Minnesota. Injuries and 10 years of hard throwing ended Chance’s baseball career by age 30. Over his carer he logged 2,147 innings, had a 2.92 ERA, 83 complete games, 33 shutouts, and a 41.3 fWAR
Chance passed away in 2015, just a few months after he was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame.
Gubi approves
Dammit, you beat me to it!
Fortunately, I trusted my stuff, stayed within my mechanics and changed the reader’s eye level.
Probably helped that you didn’t have any movement restrictions due to pants…