Chicago Cubs: Ranking Alec Mills’ no-hitter in history
By Bill Felber
Chicago Cubs legend Ken Holtzman’s no-hitter had a game score of 84.
Holtzman’s first no-hitter, thrown at Wrigley Field against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 19, 1969, achieved a Game Score of 84, which is very good by any standard except the no-hit standard.
Holtzman’s gem is memorable for a couple of reasons. The first is that he pitched it without resorting to even a single strikeout. But Holtzman coerced a dozen outfield putouts and another dozen infield assists, seven of them by second baseman Glenn Beckert.
The second memorable moment occurred when Hank Aaron led off the seventh inning. Aaron launched a high drive toward the left-field ivy. At first, the ball appeared destined for the first row of bleachers, but at the last second, a gust of wind blew the ball back from left-center in the direction of the foul line. That brought it into the deeper left field well, where Billy Williams was able to catch it with his back against the vines.
Holtzman walked three batters in winning for the 14th time against seven defeats.
Unfortunately, Holtzman’s gem was probably the season-high point for Chicago. The Chicago Cubs walked off the field leading the NL East by eight full games with just 40 more to play. But they went 15-25 down the stretch and were overtaken by the Mets, who went on to win the World Series.