Wayland Ogden Dean (June 20, 1902 – April 11, 1930) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played seven seasons in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

, four at the major league level. In his major league career, Dean went 24–36 with a 4.87

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, 1 save, and 147

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 96 games, and 60 starts.

Professional career

Early minor league career

Dean began his professional career in with the Class-C Daytona Beach Islanders. He went 8–6 with 77

runs allowed Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in 19 games with the Islanders. Later that season, Dean played for the Class-AA

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. In 11 games, Dean went 3–5 with a 4.88 ERA. The next season, Dean continued to play for the Colonels. He went 21–8 with a 3.27 ERA in 36 games that season. Dean ended the season fifth in the league in wins.

New York Giants

Dean was purchased by the New York Giants after being described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' as being the "most-sought-after young twirler in the minor leagues." Dean refused to sign a contract offered to him by the Giants in January of that year. In his major league debut, the Giants lost to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

3–2. On the season, Dean went 6–12 with a 5.01 ERA, and 39

in 26 games, 20 starts. In 1925, Dean played his second season with the Giants. On June 12, Dean was injured after he was struck in the knee during batting practice before a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

. Dean also struck out

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Mel Ott Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...

in Ott's first major league at-bat. On the season, Dean went 10–7 with a 4.64 ERA, 1 save, and 53

Philadelphia Phillies

In January 1926, the Giants traded Dean to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Jack Bentley for

Jimmy Ring James Joseph Ring (February 15, 1895 – July 6, 1965) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1917–1920), Philadelphia Phillies (1921–1925, 1928), New York Giants (1926) and St. Louis Cardinals (19 ...

. With the Phillies that season, Dean went 8–16 with a 4.91 ERA, and 52 strikeouts in 33 games, 26 starts. His 111

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

allowed led all pitchers in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

. The next season, Dean again played for the Phillies. On May 26, 1927, Dean was suspended by Phillies

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Stuffy McInnis John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis (September 19, 1890 – February 16, 1960) was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, where his spectacular playing brought ...

after Dean didn't report to the team for two days straight. With the Phillies that season, Dean went 0–1 in 2 games with 4 earned runs.

Chicago Cubs

On June 2, 1927, Dean was sold by the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs, Dean pitched 2 games and compiled no

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

, and gave up no earned runs.

Later minor league career

On February 21, 1928, Dean was traded by the Cubs to the Louisville Colonels for Ed Holly. That season marked Dean's return to the Class-AA Louisville Colonels, where he was first discovered by the New York Giants. In 4 games with the Colonels, Dean went 0–1, and gave up no earned runs. His season was cut short when he became ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, and was sent to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

because doctors concluded that his only chance of survival was to be in the city's climate. ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'' criticized Dean on his choices throughout his career, writing, "

ean Ean may refer to: People * Ean Campbell (1856–1921), Anglican bishop in the early 20th century * Ean Elliot Clevenger, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter * Ean Evans (1960–2009), bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd from 2001 until his de ...

was a careless fellow, who went the pace headlong." Dean did, however, recover and played the next season with the Class-B

Dayton Aviators The Dayton Aviators were a minor league baseball team based in Dayton, Ohio. From 1928 to 1930, the Aviators played as members of the Class B level Central League, winning the 1928 league championship. The Aviators hosted home games at North Sid ...

of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

, this time as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. In 511 at-bats with the Aviators, Dean batted .317 with 32 doubles, 7 triples, and 22 home runs. That season, Dean was fifth in the league in home runs. Dean became ill again and was forced into retirement. He died on April 11, 1930, in his parents house at the age of 27, afflicted with tuberculosis. After his death, Dean's former manager in Louisville, Joe McCarthy, named Dean as the best player he had ever sold to the major leagues.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Wayland 1902 births 1930 deaths Baseball players from West Virginia Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Islanders players 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Richwood, West Virginia Philadelphia Phillies players New York Giants (NL) players Tuberculosis deaths in West Virginia