Dazzy Vance
The fireballer didn't find his groove until age 31, making Dazzy Vance one of baseball's greatest late bloomers. After bouncing around the minors for over a decade, he finally stuck with Brooklyn in 1922 and proceeded to lead the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. His 2,045 career strikeouts were achieved in an era when batters made far more contact than today's game.
Vance's peak came at 37 in 1928, when his 2.09 ERA was nearly twice as good as the league average — that ERA+ of 198 ranks among the finest single seasons by any pitcher. His signature pitch was a fastball that seemed to explode past hitters, complemented by a devastating curve that he'd learned to control late in his career.
What made Vance special wasn't just velocity but timing. He dominated during the offensive explosion of the 1920s, striking out batters when strikeouts were rare and ERAs were inflated. His seven strikeout titles represent pure dominance in the dead-ball era's twilight.
Career · Hitting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | NYY | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .500 | — | — |
| 1918 | NYY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1922 | BRO | 36 | 89 | 0 | 6 | .225 | — | — |
| 1923 | BRO | 37 | 83 | 1 | 1 | .084 | — | — |
| 1924 | BRO | 35 | 106 | 2 | 11 | .151 | — | — |
| 1925 | BRO | 31 | 98 | 3 | 11 | .143 | — | — |
| 1926 | BRO | 24 | 55 | 0 | 7 | .182 | — | — |
| 1927 | BRO | 34 | 90 | 0 | 9 | .167 | — | — |
| 1928 | BRO | 38 | 96 | 0 | 9 | .177 | — | — |
| 1929 | BRO | 31 | 74 | 0 | 1 | .135 | — | — |
| 1930 | BRO | 35 | 89 | 0 | 7 | .135 | — | — |
| 1931 | BRO | 30 | 67 | 0 | 3 | .134 | — | — |
| 1932 | BRO | 27 | 56 | 0 | 3 | .089 | — | — |
| 1933 | STL | 28 | 28 | 0 | 3 | .179 | — | — |
| 1934 | STL | 25 | 19 | 1 | 1 | .158 | — | — |
| 1935 | BRO | 20 | 17 | 0 | 2 | .059 | — | — |
| Career | 442 | 971 | 7 | 75 | .150 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | NYY | 9 | 30.7 | 0 | 4 | 4.11 | 71 | 18 | 1.533 |
| 1918 | NYY | 2 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 15.43 | 18 | 0 | 4.714 |
| 1922 | BRO | 36 | 245.7 | 18 | 12 | 3.70 | 113 | 134 | 1.437 |
| 1923 | BRO | 37 | 280.3 | 18 | 15 | 3.50 | 115 | 197 | 1.295 |
| 1924 | BRO | 35 | 308.3 | 28 | 6 | 2.16 | 191 | 262 | 1.022 |
| 1925 | BRO | 31 | 265.3 | 22 | 9 | 3.53 | 129 | 221 | 1.180 |
| 1926 | BRO | 24 | 169.0 | 9 | 10 | 3.89 | 106 | 140 | 1.361 |
| 1927 | BRO | 34 | 273.3 | 16 | 15 | 2.70 | 151 | 184 | 1.138 |
| 1928 | BRO | 38 | 280.3 | 22 | 10 | 2.09 | 198 | 200 | 1.063 |
| 1929 | BRO | 31 | 231.3 | 14 | 13 | 3.89 | 118 | 126 | 1.258 |
| 1930 | BRO | 35 | 258.7 | 17 | 15 | 2.61 | 184 | 173 | 1.144 |
| 1931 | BRO | 30 | 218.7 | 11 | 13 | 3.38 | 121 | 150 | 1.253 |
| 1932 | BRO | 27 | 175.7 | 12 | 11 | 4.20 | 98 | 103 | 1.298 |
| 1933 | STL | 28 | 99.0 | 6 | 2 | 3.55 | 109 | 67 | 1.343 |
| 1934 | STL | 25 | 77.0 | 1 | 3 | 4.56 | 94 | 42 | 1.494 |
| 1935 | BRO | 20 | 51.0 | 3 | 2 | 4.41 | 99 | 28 | 1.392 |
| Career | 442 | 2966.6 | 197 | 140 | — | — | 2045 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.