Lance Michael Dickson (born October 19, 1969) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player who was a

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 dr ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

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 (A ...

(MLB) in 1990. He threw left-handed and batted right-handed.

Amateur career

Dickson was born in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

, and graduated from

Grossmont High School Grossmont High School is the oldest high school in San Diego's east county, California. Its mascot is the Foothiller, so chosen because, at the time of the school's construction, east county was much more isolated from the rest of San Diego than ...

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

in 1987. He was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

in the 37th round (953rd overall) of the

1987 MLB Draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional co ...

. Dickson did not sign with the team, opting to go to college and try to improve his draft prospects. He attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

, and in 1989 he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, where he was named the most valuable pitcher of the league's All-Star Game. He was selected in the first round of the

1990 MLB Draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

(23rd overall) by the Chicago Cubs, and signed with them seven days later.

Professional career

Dickson played in 11 minor league games and went 7–3 with a very low 0.94 ERA. He also recorded 111 strikeouts in 76 innings. After this performance he was called up to the major leagues and made his debut as the Cubs' starting pitcher on August 9, 1990. The second-youngest player in the league at the time of his promotion, Dickson's big-league career was nonetheless short-lived. He went 0–3 with a 7.24 ERA in his three starts, precipitating his return to the AAA

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

. His last major league appearance was August 18, 1990. After he went back to the minor leagues, he was chosen by the American Association managers as the best pitching prospect and possessor of the best breaking ball in the league. His record was 4-3 and had a 2.86 ERA in his 15 starts. He led the league with 92 strikeouts in 91 innings before he was injured by a stress fracture in his right foot in June 1991. During the following off-season he had arm surgery. He returned to the minor leagues after the surgery and retired from baseball in 1995.

References

External links

Dickson's career statsDickson's stat page at thebaseballcube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Lance 1969 births Living people Chicago Cubs players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from San Diego Peoria Chiefs players Geneva Cubs players Charlotte Knights players Iowa Cubs players Orlando Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Gulf Coast Cubs players Baseball players from Fullerton, California Grossmont High School alumni