Final Card Friday: 1935 Dazzy Vance

In baseball history, how many pitchers have led their league in strikeouts seven or more times? I’m sure those more in tune with baseball history might immediately think of Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, and Bob Feller. Those who first took in the game in the 1960s and 1970s, would think of Nolan Ryan. If you think of recent times, you might name Randy Johnson. However, would you have said Dazzy Vance?

For seven straight seasons, 1922-1928, Dazzy Vance led the National League in strikeouts. Without a doubt, 1924 was his finest season. Dazzy won the pitching Triple Crown and NL MVP that year, leading the NL with 28 wins, a 2.16 ERA, and a career-high 262 strikeouts. Vance’s 262 strikeouts were the most by any NL player, other than Christy Mathewson, from 1901-1961. He also led the league with 30 complete games…boy, it was a different era. It’s interesting to note that Vance beat Rogers Hornsby for the MVP award. Hornsby hit .424 in 1924.

Throughout Vance’s 16-year career, he led the league in wins twice, ERA three times, shutouts four times, and complete games twice. The amazing thing is he did it all in nine seasons between the ages of 31 and 39. You see, even though Dazzy made his Big League debut in 1915 when he was 24-years old, it took him seven years to earn his first Major League win. Vance made his Big League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates but was quickly dealt to the New York Yankees. Bouncing from the minors to the majors, Dazzy had an 0-7 Big League record before a fateful poker game changed his life.

If it wasn’t for an accident during a poker game in 1920, Dazzy Vance may never have become Dazzy Vance the 7-time strikeout king. Legend has it that Vance was pulling in the winnings from a poker pot when he banged his pitching elbow on a nearby table. Troubled with a sore elbow, Dazzy saw a doctor who performed a minor operation on his arm. More than likely, he removed some bone chips from a previous injury that had been giving Vance arm troubles for years. Dazzy was reborn. After two seasons in the minors, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1922 season. The rest is history.

Dazzy Vance was 44-years old in his final season of 1935. Used exclusively as a reliever, he only managed a D* rating. However, he impressively earned an (X) for his strikeout total. At 44-years old, Vance knew it was time to hang it up. I’m sure having reached and won the World Series the season before with the St. Louis Cardinals helped make his decision easier. Other than reaching 200 career wins, there was little else Dazzy needed to accomplish.

In 1955 with 81.7% of the BBWAA votes, Dazzy Vance was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with Ted Lyons, Gabby Hartnett, and Joe DiMaggio. On first look, his 197 career wins and 3.24 ERA don’t scream Hall of Famer. However, considering how dominant he was for a nine-year stretch, it seems appropriate for him to have a plaque in Cooperstown. Consider that Dazzy’s career 63.0 WAR is third to only Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell from the years 1920-1941. Pitching in an era when strikeouts were much harder to come by, he was the Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, or Pedro Martinez of his time.