NEWSLETTER
In the immediate aftermath of a historic event like Alec Mills’ no-hitter yesterday, you’re really just in the “celebrate it” moment. Awash in the glow of something you almost never get to see – something so good! – you aren’t really spending a ton of time thinking about the context, the nature of the game itself, or some of the fun factoids that will ultimately come to supplement the experience.
Now, the morning after Alec Mills threw the 16th no-hitter in Chicago Cubs franchise history, I wanted to do some of that reflecting and enjoying.
This year, of course, is going to be indelibly printed on our brains forever, and I mean that both within and without the baseball aspect. We won’t ever forget the pandemic, what it meant to experience, when it was, what our lives were like, and on and on. We also never would forget a no-hitter, especially not one as surprising as Alec Mills busting it out of nowhere in a mid-September playoff race.
But we sports fans love to remember things – often loudly, together, while drinking a beer – and the combination of something so special from Mills, in a year like this? Man, that is something we’re really going to remember. And, just maybe, to be able to experience that remembering together at some point in the future is going to make up for the fact that we didn’t quite get to experience the moment, itself, together like usual. It doesn’t make this moment better than any other. It just makes this memory so much more personal and unique.
I expect the same is true for Mills and the players who backed him up yesterday, and hearing from him and them may have been the best part of the post-no-hitter afterglow:
Alec Mills, college walk-on, never a top prospect, 22nd-round pick, TJ surgery, traded… now a pitcher with a big league no-hitter on his resume:
"I'm just proud to be that person that can tell you, 'Never give up.'"
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 13, 2020
Alec Mills, full quote (updated from earlier):
"I'm just proud to be that person that can tell you to never give up. Never stop playing. Never let people tell you what you can and can't do and just keep persevering and be the best person you can be."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 13, 2020
Mills when told Heyward didn't want to come out of the game during the no-no: “That means a lot. Jason has been big. He was the guy when I came over was the first guy to come up and introduce himself. That means a lot. That kind of hit me. That means a lot.”
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) September 13, 2020
David Ross, who caught Jake Arrieta’s no-hitter in 2016, on watching Alec Mills: “Just a proud parent moment. That’s how you feel. You see the adversity somebody’s been through. To work hard, get an opportunity and make the most of it is really rewarding from my seat.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) September 13, 2020
Javy Baez:
"It's unbelievable. This is something that we're going to be part of for life. This is something like a championship kind of thing. No one can take it away from you. So, I'm really, really happy that I was part of it."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 13, 2020
Some no-hitter reaction over on IG from Kipnis, Happ and Caratini… pic.twitter.com/hzccdRQNAP
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 14, 2020
More joy, factoids, and interesting stuff from Alec Mills’ no-hitter:
https://twitter.com/darenw/status/1305492752965275649
Although he struck out only 5, and thus it was a whollllle lotta balls in play that coulda become hits, Alec Mills wasn't just lucky today. Only three of those balls in play came with a better than 50% expectation of being a hit. pic.twitter.com/oMsEuf13hD
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 14, 2020
Congratulations to Alec Mills on his 1st career complete game, which also happened to be a no-hitter! @Cubs pic.twitter.com/Wmsm3lthHH
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 13, 2020
This is the first time that the @Cubs (Alec Mills) and @WhiteSox (Lucas Giolito) both threw no-hitters in the same season. pic.twitter.com/WV2MQECClV
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 13, 2020
Baseball is incredible. Alec Mills wasn’t recruited to the University of Tennessee at Martin. He walked by practice one day and told the coach he was good enough to pitch on the team. A tryout followed. 22nd round pick. Today, he threw a no-hitter for the @Cubs. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1305321227666501639
Kyle Hendricks: *throws Opening Day shutout vs. MIL*@ATMills37: “Hold my rosin bag.”@Pepsi pic.twitter.com/m5u7wGPxMp
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 14, 2020
