Not too long ago, Bo Belinsky passed away, and among those baseball figures who invoked memories of him was Dean Chance.
Reading about it took me back a year and a half ago when I was busy playing bridge on the Internet. Those familiar with Internet bridge know that one plays with real, live people who are located all over the world, and that there is the ability to "chat" with your partner and/or opponents while you are "seated" at a table.
"Chat," of course, is of the electronic variety and takes place in the "chat box" that has become a routine part of life to those who use the Internet.
Participants in Internet games have "ID's" (i.e., "log on" names) which are nicknames, veiled references to who an individual Is, names intended to be on the "cute" side, and/or names having some meaning to the person who bears the "moniker."
On the occasion described, I was seated and engaged in a bridge game with an opponent whose "ID" indicated an attachment to baseball, a game that I revere so much that my interest is almost an addiction.
Upon noticing the name, I used the "chat box" to inquire of my opponent what the significance of the name was. He indicated that he had been a major league pitcher, which of course piqued my curiosity. "Who are you" I asked him.
Oddly enough this was not my first encounter on an Internet bridge game with a name evoking thoughts of baseball. Several months ago, I noticed a player with the "ID" name "Jim Bouton."
Jim Bouton was an accomplished pitcher with the New York Yankees of the 1960s (and later attained a measure of fame as an author of baseball subjects). When I saw his name at an Internet bridge table I was surprised and curious. At that time I asked the player if he was in fact Jim Bouton. The answer I received was negative. "No," I was told, "I am not Jim Bouton, but rather I am a big fan of his." Clearly, that case was closed.
But getting back to the more recent episode, there I was, staring at the "ID," and wondering who I was playing bridge with; I asked if he would tell me his name, which, perhaps not surprisingly, he would not.
Passing a name around the Internet can have undesirable consequences, after all. "Give me a clue," I implored, being egotistical enough about baseball matters to conclude that I might figure it out.
"Well," came the answer, "I played in the 1960s and 1970, and was an expansion draft choice of the Los Angeles Angels." Quite a clue, I thought to myself! Immediately, that part of my brain that stores such "important" information activated, and I recalled the name of Dean Chance, a pitcher who had been with the Los Angeles Angels, and played In the 1960s and 1970s with much success.
Chance was also the only Los Angeles Angels pitcher of that era that I could think of offhand (other than Bo Belinsky. who was known more as a character than a pitcher). Thus, typing in the chat box furiously, I found myself writing, "Are you Dean Chance?" No answer was forthcoming, and perhaps I did not expect one.
"Give me another clue, I said, to which the response was, "Well, I was also with the New York Mets."
Essentially our "chat" ended at that point. My bridge partner, however, who was an observer of the chat between the "mystery player" and me, Indicated that she had played with him before, and that based on what he had told her on a previous occasion, he was either in the insurance or real estate business and came from Arkansas (Hot Springs, she thought, or perhaps little Rock).
From my perspective, since baseball was involved, I could not let it rest
there, and for sure, a search would begin the next morning to determine who
this man was, and whether or not he was actually Dean Chance.
The Los Angeles Angels (later renamed the California Angels, and eventually
the Anaheim Angles), came into the American League In 1960; Gene Autry was
the original owner. In order to stock the team with players, thirty were
selected from the rosters of the incumbent teams. The mechanics of the draft
process are not material to this story; suffice It to say that among the
thirty chosen there were twelve pitchers, and that Dean Chance arguably
would prove to be the best of the lot.
Dean Chance's major league career lasted the better part of ten years. The highlight of that career was winning the Cy Young Award In 1964 with the Los Angeles Angels. At that time, there was only one such award (today there is one for each league), and Dean nosed out one of the all time great pitchers -Sandy Koufax- for that award. This may be the reason that it was not hard for a real fan to remember Chance.
To appreciate the year that Chance had In 1964, Koufax won the Cy Young award the year before (1963) and the following two years (1965 and 1966). In his "career year," Chance led the American League in victories with a 20-9 record, 15 complete games, 11 shutouts, 278 innings pitched, and the incredibly low earned run average of 1.65. Indeed, his 1964 achievements may well rank as one of the greatest years a major league pitcher ever had.
His lifetime record was 128 wins against 115 losses, but his earned run average of 2.92 is a number that would make him a big money pitcher by today's standards.
Based on the Information given to me by the "mystery player," it would not take a legendary effort in forensic science to ferret out (or should I say "surf ") whether or not he was in fact Dean Chance. Logging on to the "official web site" of the Anaheim Angels, I was able to ascertain the names of the players who were original expansion draft selections. There was an interesting mixture of well-known players at the end of careers, as well as some "young blood."
I searched for each name in an Internet telephone directory, with emphasis on matching the names of the twelve pitchers to Arkansas, first looking (unsuccessfully) for real estate and insurance connections. Finding none to associate with the name "Dean Chance," I next turned to names of individuals. By great coincidence, there was a "D. Chance" listed in a town within commuting distance of either Hot Springs or Little Rock. Noting the phone number, I decided to take a direct route, and dialed it.
My intention was to ask whoever answered the phone if I had reached Dean Chance, the baseball player. Alas, the phone rang, a recording intervened, and I heard, "The number has been disconnected."
Now, I was getting more and more determined to find the answer to the puzzle. Thus, I went back to work to see which of the twelve Angel pitchers in that 1960 draft met the criteria included in the "clues" passed to me by a stranger on an Internet chat box. This was essentially easy, and required research into biographical information of former players. Since I was visiting elsewhere and not at home, no printed material was available to me. As such, my answer awaited me in some more surfing through the Internet.
To my great amazement I learned that of the twelve pitchers Involved, only ten could be accounted for, and only one of those ten had careers that matched the clues: Dean Chance. It began to appear that the mysterious bridge player might actually be Dean Chance. Utilizing his "ID," I sent him an "instant messenger" communication, expressed that I did not mean to harass him in any way, and asked point blank if he were Dean Chance. No answer was forthcoming.
Glancing down at the biographical information I had printed regarding Dean Chance, I suddenly noticed that his real name was "Wilmer Dean Chance", which was not the name that I searched on. Quickly, I went back on line, took a chance (pun intended) and entered the name in a telephone directory.
An Ohio phone number and address came back, at which point I realized that based on his biography, Chance was from Ohio, and might have returned there after baseball.
According to his wife, who answered the phone when I called, he did. And to this day, resides in that state. Dean Chance was not at home, but I explained myself to Mrs. Chance and we had a delightful chat.
They were obviously together during his baseball days, and she knew the details of where he had been, and when he had been there.
She was not aware of any connection that Dean Chance had to the state of Arkansas, the supposed residence of the bridge player who knew so much about him. Nor did he ever play bridge.
Dean Chance ended his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1971, and spent most of it in the American league. When I apologetically told his wife that I was a New York Yankee fan, she was most gracious in replying "Dean loved to pitch against the Yankees."
My search for Dean Chance was essentially over, but one more thing remained. In my search, no Internet biographies were available for two of the twelve pitchers in the Los Angeles Angels expansion draft, which did not bode well for the impact that they had on baseball. In any case, I had to see if either of them had the background that Dean Chance did.
I consulted the "Baseball Encyclopedia" to determine if they were possibilities.
It was no surprise that neither of the two could have been Dean Chance. One lasted parts of two years in the Major Leagues with a career record of no wins and four losses, and the other had a career that lasted all of one game.
Clearly, neither had a career that spanned ten years, nor ever was with the New York Mets, as was accurately stated by the "mystery player."
How could an individual know so much about Dean Chance that he was able to provide a thumbnail sketch of a career that could only have been that of one single man over all the history of baseball? Was it an absolute coincidence? Why would he have an Internet "ID" that pointed to baseball, and might well invite questions from a baseball fan? Could it be that "mystery player" is a serious baseball fan In general and a devoted fan of Dean Chance in particular?
Following baseball, Chance became a farmer and managed professional fighters: hardly the real estate or insurance business in which the "mystery player" may have been engaged.
The claim that "mystery bridge player" resided in Arkansas might well be true. Odd, thing, of course, is that it threw me off track looking for Dean Chance in a state with which (according to his wife), he never had any connection. It was likewise an absolute coincidence that a "D. Chance" once had a telephone in Arkansas; after all, the name doesn't seem to be that common.
Finally, why would the mysterious bridge player claim to be Dean Chance, which, in effect, he was doing?
While this event is not likely to make the TV show by the same name, as far as I am concerned, it will remain an "Unsolved Mystery."
» Sam Person is a retired CPA and university professor of accounting and a baseball fan for over 60 years. He enjoys writing on baseball history.
Also by Sam Person
» Baseball Returns to Brooklyn, New York: You Can't Go Home Again
» On The John Rocker Trade
» DiMaggio for Williams: The Trade That Never Happened
» My Favorite Events at Each Position
» Some More Jewish Baseball Players
» My Brother’s Baseball Cards
» Strange Endings to Baseball Careers
» The Pitching Change
» More submissions
Copyright © 2001 by Sam Person. Posted December 14, 2001.
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