One of the things I look for when I write is something unique. By its very nature, that means nobody else can lay claim to that thing, whatever it may be. “Special” and “different” are also interesting words, and it’s possible to find things about Ken Holtzman that fill that bill. So let’s try a few of them on for size, to honor his passing at the age of 78.
For starters, Holtzman’s nickname, that I was aware of as a kid growing up in the 70s, was “no-hit” Holtzman. That was because Holtzman not only threw one no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves in 1969, but he followed it up with another no-no against the Cincinnati Reds in 1971. There are several great pitchers who never threw a no-hitter, so throwing one puts a pitcher into some pretty rarefied air. Throwing a second one puts a pitcher into an even smaller group of roughly three dozen pitchers over the course of MLB’s long history. That’s special, all right, but it isn’t unique.
What about the post-season success that he had on the field? Not with the Cubs, of course, but with the Oakland A’s, who won three straight World Series titles in the early 1970s. Holtzman was an important part of the A’s rotation in those years, even though Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter probably got more attention than he did. In fact, it wasn’t Hunter or Blue who got three starts in the 1973 World Series, including the win in the decisive Game 7, but Kenny “No-Hit” Holtzman.
Again, this was a very high level of excellence which few players could ever obtain. But the New York Yankees also won three straight titles in the late 1930s, and five straight from 1949 to 1953, and three more from 1998 to 2000. I’m not sure exactly how many pitchers were involved with these teams (and I’m not nerdy enough to find out, either), but I imagine it had to be a few, at least.
So what about Ken Holtzman is unique? Well, I can confidently state that he recorded more Wins than any Jewish pitcher who has ever played at the major league level. Ask any baseball fan, and even most Jewish baseball fans, who holds that distinction, and they’d probably say Sandy Koufax. And that seems like a safe answer, since Koufax is a Hall-of-Famer, won three Cy Young Awards and a National League MVP award, threw four no-hitters and a Perfect Game, and set a Modern-day National League strikeout mark for a single season that has stood for almost sixty years. It has to be Koufax, right?
Well, not exactly. Koufax’s brilliance from 1961 to 1966 has few, in any, equals in baseball history, but he retired from the game at age 30. Holtzman was able to squeeze out ten victories after age 30, giving him 174 for his career, or nine more than Koufax’s 165. And that, as the Associated Press and a few other news oulets have picked up on, places him at the top of a list of Jewish pitchers that include Steve Stone (107 career wins), Jason Marquis (124 career wins), and Denny McClain (131 career wins).
And I’ll be back with more, as events warrant. Until then….
Still here, still your audience. Great entry. How I didn’t know that Holtzman was a member of the tribe escapes me. Great stuff.