Vance and DeBerry formed a successful
battery during their tenure with Brooklyn. In 1922, Vance produced an 18–12 record with a 3.70
earned run average (ERA) and a league-leading 134
strikeouts. He later struck-out 17 batters in a 10-inning game in 1925. On September 24, 1924, Vance became the sixth pitcher in major-league history to pitch an
immaculate inning, striking out all three batters on nine total pitches in the third inning of a game against the Cubs. He finished the season with 262 strikeouts, more than any two National League pitchers combined (
Burleigh Grimes with 135 and
Dolf Luque with 86 were second and third respectively). That season, Vance had one out of every 13 strikeouts in the entire National League. Vance pitched a
no-hitter on September 13, 1925, against the
Philadelphia Phillies, winning 10–1. Vance was involved in one of the most famous flubs in baseball history, the "three men on third" incident during the 1926 season. With Vance on second and
Chick Fewster on first,
Babe Herman hit a long ball and began racing around the bases. As Herman rounded second, the third base coach yelled at him to go back, since Fewster had not yet passed third. Vance, having rounded third, misunderstood and reversed course, returning to third. Fewster arrived at third. Herman ignored the instruction and also arrived at third. The third baseman tagged out Herman and Fewster; Vance was declared safe by rule. Vance's play began to decline in the early 1930s and he bounced to the
St. Louis Cardinals (becoming a member of the team known as the
Gashouse Gang),
Cincinnati Reds and back to the Dodgers. On September 12, 1934, Vance hit his seventh and final major league home run at 43 years and 6 months, the second oldest pitcher to do so to this day. However, just a week later commenting for a newspaper article, Vance said that he did not recommend baseball as a career to young men. Vance pointed out that very few people could make a good living out of it, especially during a time when increasing major league salaries were attracting many college-educated men who would have previously chosen other work. Vance retired after the 1935 season. He led the league in ERA three times, wins twice, and established a National League record by leading the league in strikeouts in seven consecutive years (1922–1928). Vance retired with a 197–140 record, 2,045 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA — remarkable numbers considering he saw only 33 innings of big league play during his twenties. ==Later life==