As a sixteen-year-old, Deal was invited by the Pittsburgh Pirates to spend in week in Pittsburgh. By then, the club was managed by Pie Traynor, who gave Deal his first baseball tryout. After signing with Pittsburgh two years before his high school graduation, he spent 1940 with the Hutchinson, Kansas team of the Western Association, hitting a.312 average while splitting time between the outfield and third base. The next year he gained promotion to the Harrisburg Pirates of the Interstate League, playing for them two seasons before joining the military. As a physical training instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps, Deal remained stateside until his discharge in 1945. That year, he played in the International League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he became a pitcher, and was sold to the Boston Red Sox in 1947. Late in the season he was called up to the Red Sox, making his debut on September 11 as a pinch-hitter. In his first major leagueat bat, he connected a game-winning RBIsingle off Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Lemon, while posting a 0–1 mark in five appearances. Deal earned a spot as a starting pitcher during 1948 spring training, but hurt his arm after that. It was an injury which would plague him for the rest of his career. Despite the pain, he would eventually pitch in four games with the Red Sox that year and went 1–0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 4 innings of relief. In 1949 he was traded by Boston to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for a minor leaguer. He spent 1949 with the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association and later pitched in 36 games for the Cardinals in 1950 and 1954. In four major league seasons Deal posted a 3–4 record with a 6.55 ERA in 45 games, including two starts, 34 strikeouts, 48 walks, 12 games finished, one save, and 89 innings of work. As a hitter, he collected a.167 batting average, including one home run, one double, five runs, and four RBI. Deal later established himself in the St. Louis organization as an outfielder, catcher and switch-hitting pinch-hitter, while winning 108 games as a pitcher. His highlights included starting and completing a twenty-inning game for Columbus against the Louisville Colonels on September 3, 1949. In addition to winning the game and giving up one earned run during the 20 innings, he collected four hits in eight at bats. He also hit a home run during the 1952 Caribbean Series while playing as a pitcher/outfielder for the Puerto Rico team. Between 1951 and 1959 Deal spent most of those years with the Cardinals' AAA International League farm team, the Rochester Red Wings. He had a record of 61–38 as a pitcher for Rochester. Deal also was a utility outfielder, back-up catcher and pinch-hitter for the Red Wings.
