Dazzy Vance

Dazzy Vance
Pitcher
Born: March 4, 1891(1891-03-04) Orient, Iowa
Died: February 16, 1961(1961-02-16) (aged 69) Homosassa Springs, Florida
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 16, 1915 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
August 14, 1935 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Career statistics
Win–loss record	197–140
Earned run average	3.24
Strikeouts	2,045
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1915) New York Yankees (1915, 1918) Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers (1922–1932) St. Louis Cardinals (1933) Cincinnati Reds (1934) St. Louis Cardinals (1934) Brooklyn Dodgers (1935)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1934) 1924 NL MVP 1924 Triple Crown Led NL in ERA in 1924, 1928, 1930 Led NL in wins in 1924, 1925 Led NL in strikeouts from 1922–1928
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1955
Vote	81.7% (twelfth ballot)

Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) was a star Major League Baseball starting pitcher during the 1920s.

Biography

Born in Orient, Iowa, Vance played a decade in the minors before establishing himself as a big league player in 1922 with the Brooklyn Dodgers at the age of 31, when he went 18–12 with a 3.70 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) (see Triple crown) en route to winning the National League MVP award. He 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.^[1] (He struck-out 17 batters in a 10-inning game in 1925.)

On September 24, 1924, Vance struck out three batters on nine pitches in the second inning of a 6–5 win over the Chicago Cubs. Vance became the fifth National League pitcher and the seventh pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning. He finished the season with 262 strikeouts, more than any two National League pitchers combined (Burleigh Grimes with 135 and Dolf Luque with 86 were second and third respectively). That season, Vance had one out of every 13 strikeouts in the entire National League.

Vance's play began to decline in the early 1930s, and after bouncing to the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and back to the Dodgers, he retired after the 1935 season. Vance 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). He retired with a 197–140 record, 2045 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA – remarkable numbers considering he only saw 33 innings of big league play during his twenties.

Vance was also involved in one of the most famous flubs in baseball history, the "three men on third" incident during the 1926 season. With Vance on second and Chick Fewster on first, Babe Herman hit a long ball and began racing around the bases. As Herman rounded second, the third base coach yelled at him to go back, since Fewster had not yet passed third. Vance, having rounded third, misunderstood and reversed course, returning to third. Fewster arrived at third. Herman ignored the instruction and also arrived at third. The third baseman tagged out Herman and Fewster; Vance was declared safe by rule.^[2]

Vance pitched a no-hitter in 1925.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. Vance is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:

Line-Up for Yesterday

V is for Vance,
The Dodgers' own Dazzy;
None of his rivals
Could throw as fast as he.

— Ogden Nash, Sport magazine (January 1949)^[3]

See also

• Triple Crown
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
• Major League Baseball titles leaders
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

1. ^ "Dazzy vance Fans 15 Chicago Batters for Season's Record". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7UYsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LsoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6363,4724856&dq=national+league+record+strikeouts+in+a+game+history&hl=en. Retrieved 10 May 2011. 
2. ^ Hinckley, David (March 28, 2003). "BASE LOADED Three Men on Third, 1926 chapter 29". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/03/28/2003-03-28_base_loaded__three_men_on_th.html. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
3. ^ "Baseball Almanac". http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 

External links

• Dazzy Vance at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Vance Was Violent Pitcher With Power, Speed To Burn, by Harry Grayson, May 26, 1943

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dutch Ruether	Brooklyn Robins Opening Day Starting pitcher 1925	Succeeded by Jesse Petty
Preceded by Burleigh Grimes	National League Strikeout Champion 1922–1928	Succeeded by Pat Malone
Preceded by Pete Alexander	National League Pitching Triple Crown 1924	Succeeded by Bucky Walters
Preceded by Dolf Luque Ray Kremer Bill Walker	National League ERA Champion 1924 1928 1930	Succeeded by Dolf Luque Bill Walker Bill Walker
Preceded by Dolf Luque	National League Wins Champion 1924–1925	Succeeded by Donohue, Kremer, Meadows & Rhem
Preceded by Jesse Haines	No-hitter pitcher September 13, 1925	Succeeded by Ted Lyons

Persondata
Name	Vance, Dazzy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 4, 1891
Place of birth	Orient, Iowa
Date of death	February 16, 1961
Place of death	Homosassa Springs, Florida