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Dazzy Vance was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for his impressive fastball, Vance was the only pitcher to lead the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. Vance was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
Vance did not win his first major league game until his early thirties but proved to be the ultimate late-bloomer. He continued to pitch at a high level well into his forties.
Vance pitched from 1912-1921 in the minors, winning 133 games. Although he was in the maj
Dazzy Vance was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for his impressive fastball, Vance was the only pitcher to lead the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. Vance was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
Vance did not win his first major league game until his early thirties but proved to be the ultimate late-bloomer. He continued to pitch at a high level well into his forties.
Vance pitched from 1912-1921 in the minors, winning 133 games. Although he was in the majors briefly in 1915 and 1918, he didn't become a regular until 1922, the year after he had won 21 games with the New Orleans Pelicans. On July 20, 1925, he struck out 17 batters in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals; it would remain the highest total by one pitcher against the Cardinals until Corey Kluber had 18 strikeouts against them in 2015.
In 1914 Patsy O'Rourke was quoted as saying that Vance, at the time a youngster, was going to become another Pete (Grover Cleveland) Alexander.
Vance was discovered to have an arm injury in 1916 and was given medical treatment. He continued to work on his pitching in the minor leagues. Vance only reappeared in the major leagues once for the Yankees, pitching two games in 1918. Vance said he was suddenly able to throw hard again in 1921 while pitching for the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association: he struck out 163 batters and finished the season with a 21–11 win–loss record. The Pelicans sold his contract to the Brooklyn Robins in 1922.
In 1922, Vance produced an 18–12 record with a 3.70 earned run average (ERA) and a league-leading 134 strikeouts. His best individual season came in 1924, when he led the National League in wins (28), strikeouts (262) and ERA (2.16)—the pitching Triple Crown—en route to winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Vance set the then-National League record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game when he fanned 15 Chicago Cubs in a game on August 23, 1924. He later struck-out 17 batters in a 10-inning game in 1925.
Vance's play began to decline in the early 1930s and he bounced to the St. Louis Cardinals (becoming a member of the team known as the Gashouse Gang), Cincinnati Reds and back to the Dodgers.
Vance retired after the 1935 season. He led the league in ERA three times, wins twice, and established a National League record by leading the league in strikeouts in seven consecutive years (1922–1928). Vance retired with a 197–140 record, 2,045 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA — remarkable numbers considering he saw only 33 innings of big league play during his twenties.
Following his playing days, Vance settled on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he helped to develop the tourist trade at Homosassa Springs, where he died in 1961.
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Tags: Baseball (1), Iowa (1), Orient (1), Born 1891 (1), Died 1961 (1), Pitcher (1), Brooklyn Dodgers (1), Baseball Hall Of Fame (1), Right-Handed Pitcher (1), National League MVP (1), Pitching Triple Crown (1), Hardy High School (IA) (1), Brooklyn Robins (1)
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