Luis Severino will try to do what these 3 former greats couldn't do with the Mets

The New York Mets took a "Chance" with another former Cy Young Award winner

Dean Chance was a bonus baby and star pitcher for the Los Angeles/California Angels. After coming up for a cup of coffee in 1962 at the age of 20, he established himself as a star the following year winning 14 games and pitching to an ERA of 2.96. After having a bit of a tough time on a bad Angels team in 1963 going 13-18 with a 3.19 ERA, Chance became the youngest pitcher to win Cy Young Award when he led the American League in wins (20), ERA (1.65), complete games (15), shutouts (11), and innings pitched (278). He also won five of those games – complete game shutouts – by 1-0 scores.

The Angels were not a very good team, and Chance was not exactly an exemplary good little soldier. And so they decided they could lose just as well without him and rid themselves of a headache. So after two more productive seasons, the Angels shipped him from the warm climate of Southern California to the frozen tundra of Minnesota baseball.

In his first season with the Twins, Chance would again win 20 games in 1967, leading the AL with 39 starts, 283 innings, and 18 complete games, pitching to a 2.73 ERA.

He started another 39 games the following season, winning 16 games with a 2.53 ERA. But Chance was limited to 15 starts and 88 innings due to injuries for the 1969 Western Division Champions Twins. He won five games and pitched to a 2.95 ERA.

Chance had a career ERA of 2.92 and from 1962 through 1969 had only had an ERA over 3.00 three times, the highest being 3.19 during that 1963 campaign. The Twins gave up on Chance after the ’69 season and they sent him to Cleveland. The Indians decided to make him a relief pitcher for the 1970 season. He appeared 36 times out of the pen. That didn’t work. He also made 19 starts and with the exception of a few quality starts, that didn’t work.

The Mets were looking to add to their stable of pitchers for a stretch run and acquired Chance…believing they would be teaming two Cy Young Award winners – Seaver and Chance – and have a dual threat at the front end of the rotation. It was an odd decision because the Mets had a wealth of young arms ready in system. And also because Chance had a reputation as a wild one and that never sat well with M. Donald Grant.

Well…it didn’t matter…Chance didn’t have much of one to make a difference. He made three appearances, all in relief. Two innings. 13.50 ERA. He had enough time to have yearbook pics taken with two different uniform numbers (32 and 27).

Chance didn’t make it out of spring training with the team in 1971. He was sent to Detroit before the Mets broke camp and was out of baseball one year later at the ripe old age of 30.