Mike Dejan

Michael Dan Dejan

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• Debut July 13, 1940
• Final Game August 12, 1940
• Born January 13, 1915 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died February 2, 1953 in West Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Mike Dejan played 12 games for the 1940 Cincinnati Reds, a team which went on to win the 1940 World Series.

Mike went to high school in Los Angeles, CA and was in the New York Yankees organization from 1935-39, hitting at least .300 each year. The Reds picked him up from the Washington Senators organization in 1940 - between two minor league teams he hit .371 in 1940.

An issue of the Auburn Citizen Advertiser in July 1940 (apparently July 12) indicates that Dejan was bought from Chattanooga for $30,000 and a player, and came up with a batting average of .404 at the time, leading the Southern Association in six categories.

He spent 1941-42 at Birmingham, hitting over .300 and then did not play again until 1946. He spent 18 games with San Diego, and for the first time failed to hit .300. The next season, however, he hit ..393 for Tucson in 59 games.

Dejan was always primarily an outfielder, but he did a significant amount of pitching from 1935-38, appearing in 40 games.

The book Baseball in Norfolk, Virginia has three photos of Dejan from 1937 - one with glove, one with bat, and a third starting a windup as a pitcher.

The book Crosley Field has a photo of him in a Reds uniform.

During World War II he served in the 47th Tank Battalion of the Army as a Sergeant.