By Bob Zayas, Cubs beat writer and MLB Contributor
CHICAGO- This past Sunday, Alec Mills etched his name into the Chicago Cubs' history books.
The Cubs 28-year-old right-handed pitcher threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was Mills’ first career no-hitter and the 16th in Cubs franchise history. Mills pitched a complete game, and gave up just three walks. He struck out five in 114 pitches. What makes this pitching performance even more interesting is the fact that Mills barely became a college player, much less a major league pitcher.
Mills, who hails from Clarksville, Tennessee, was a walk-on at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 2010. As the story goes, he was walking by practice one day as a freshman, and told the coach he thought he could help the team on the mound. Never mind that he was hardly even recruited coming out of high school. Quickly, Mills emerged as an ace for the Skyhawks, finishing his senior season with 165 strikeouts and 13 wins.
He began as a relief pitcher and then developed into a starter. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2016. In 2017 the Royals traded Mills to the Cubs, and he got his first MLB start with the Cubs on August 24, 2018.
Currently, he is 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA. He was named NL Player of the Week for his phenomenal performance.
Mills is appreciative of the publicity he received following Sunday's performance, but noted that he is "not done yet" in a Twitter post on Friday.
As a side note, the Cubs have only 11 games left in this shorten 2020 season. The magic number to secure a playoff spot is 7. If the season ended today, Cubs would be playing the Phillies. Go Cubs!
Sources: ESPN.com, Bleacherreport.com, MLB.com and CBS Sports
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