Alec Mills' Inspirational Quote Following His No-Hitter Is Perfect

You probably caught it at the end of Len Kasper's call after Javier Báez threw over to Anthony Rizzo for the final out on Sunday, when Alec Mills no-hit the Brewers at Miller Park. "The former college walk-on has made history in Milwaukee!" A college walk-on? It's not like we haven't seen these stories before, but it doesn't make Mills' journey any less inspirational. Mills, who grew up in Tennessee, wasn't even recruited to play for Tennessee Martin and only made the team after walking by practice, telling the coach he was good enough to be on the team and then getting a tryout.

The Royals picked Mills in the 22nd round of the 2012 draft, and after four seasons in the minors the right-hander got his first cup of coffee in the majors in 2016. Mills only made three relief appearances in 2016, giving up five runs in 3.1 innings and right before spring training in 2017, he was traded to the Cubs for minor league outfielder Donnie Dewees. However, things didn't really get better for Mills once he joined the Cubs' organization. The right-hander only made seven starts in the minors, sidelined most of 2017 because of a stress reaction, the same injury that Yu Darvish suffered in his first year with the Cubs in 2018. Mills was called up by the Cubs to the big leagues in 2018, making a few spot starts and seven overall appearances. And then 2019 happened.

Mills had a 5.11 ERA in 104 innings at Triple-A in 2019, allowing opponents to hit .284 against him. However, we did see Mills have success with the Cubs once again, recording a 2.75 ERA in 36 innings. Entering spring training in 2020, Mills was battling with Tyler Chatwood for the fifth spot in the rotation and before the shutdown in mid-March, it appeared as though Mills was headed to the bullpen to begin the season. That despite Mills looking great in Arizona. But then Mills caught a break. You never want to see guys get injured, but you also love to see guys make the most of the chances they get. Jose Quintana cut his thumb days before the start of summer camp, which allowed Mills to be the fifth starter once the season began in late July. And in his 15th career start in MLB, Alec Mills, the college walk-on, made history.

And how can you not love his quote after the game.

Love it!