Kenneth Dale Holtzman (November 3, 1945 – April 15, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees.
With the Cubs, Holtzman pitched two no-hitters. He played for the Athletics' dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974. A two-time All-Star, Holtzman was a 20-game-winner for the Athletics in 1973. He is a member of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.
Early life
Holtzman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 3, 1945, to Henry and Jacqueline Holtzman. He was raised in an observant Jewish family and graduated from University City High School in St. Louis in 1963.
Career
Draft and minor leagues
The Chicago Cubs selected Holtzman in the fourth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft. At age 19, Holtzman pitched 12 games in the minor leagues in 1965, four with the Treasure Valley Cubs in the Pioneer League, and eight with the Wenatchee Chiefs in the Northwest League. He was 8–3 in the dozen starts, with a 1.99 earned run average and 114 strikeouts in 86 innings.
Chicago Cubs (1965–1971)
The Cubs promoted Holtzman to the major leagues in September 1965. After making three relief appearances in 1965, Holtzman joined the Cubs' starting rotation in 1966, and had an 11–16 rookie campaign as the team finished in last place. He pitched against Koufax in 1966 on September 25, and took the win by a 2–1 score, becoming the last pitcher to beat Koufax during the regular season. Koufax would make his last regular-season appearance a week later, on October 2. Holtzman served in the National Guard in 1967 and was only available to play on weekends. He appeared in 12 games and had a 9–0 record. After going 11–14 in 1968, he posted consecutive 17-win seasons. Holtzman had no strikeouts and three walks in the game. This was the first no-hitter by a Cub left-hander at Wrigley Field In the seventh inning, Hank Aaron crushed a drive to left field that appeared to be a home run, but the wind held up the ball, enabling Billy Williams to catch the long fly ball in the recessed "well" at the wall in left field. Holtzman faced Aaron again in the ninth, and got him to ground out to second base to complete the no-hitter. The Cubs led the Eastern Division for much of the season before finishing in second place, eight games behind the eventual world champion New York Mets.
On June 3, 1971, Holtzman pitched his second career no-hitter — the first ever at Riverfront Stadium — against the defending league champion Cincinnati Reds, winning the game, 1–0.
Oakland Athletics (1972–1975)
thumb|left|Holtzman in 1974
Holtzman asked to be traded at the end of the 1971 season, so he was dealt to the Oakland Athletics in November in exchange for outfielder Rick Monday. Oakland had won the Western division in 1971 but were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series. This was just as Oakland began its run of three straight World Series titles.
In 1973, Holtzman led the A's with a 2.97 ERA (6th best in the league) as each of their three top starters won 20 or more games.
After losing in salary arbitration in February, Holtzman had an 18–14 record for the 1975 A's as they won their fifth straight American League Western Division title. On June 8, against the Detroit Tigers, he had what would have been his third career no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth by a Tom Veryzer double. He would have become the third pitcher (after Cy Young and Jim Bunning) to pitch no-hitters in both leagues. Holtzman lost Games 1 and 3 of the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox as the A's were swept. He was fourth in the AL in games started (38), sixth in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (7.33), and seventh in wins. Holtzman sought a three-year $460,000 pact. With free agency imminent after the season and the expectations of higher salaries for which Athletics owner Finley was unwilling to pay, he was acquired along with Reggie Jackson and minor-league right-handed pitcher Bill Van Bommel by the Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell on April 2, 1976. When Jackson received a $60,000 raise to end his season-opening holdout, Holtzman accused Orioles general manager Hank Peters of a "double standard" for continuing to impose an automatic 20% pay cut on him and eight other unsigned teammates. A proposed trade that would've sent him and Bobby Grich to the Kansas City Royals but was dependent on him signing a contract failed to materialize on June 13.
Holtzman was dealt along with Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks, Grant Jackson, and Jimmy Freeman from the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan just before the non-waiver trade deadline on June 15, 1976. He posted a 12–10 record for the Yankees over three years, but his playing time was increasingly limited. He ended his career with Chicago in 1979, going 6–9 with a 4.59 ERA.
Post-baseball career
Holtzman went on to attempt a career as an insurance salesman. He coached the St. Louis baseball team for the Maccabiah Games for a few years and is a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.
Personal life and death
Holtzman had three daughters with his ex-wife Michelle.
Ken Holtzman died in St. Louis on April 15, 2024, after battling heart issues. He was 78, and had been hospitalized for three weeks prior to his death. After a funeral service on April 17, his body was interred at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in Chesterfield, Missouri.
See also
- List of Jewish Major League Baseball players
- List of World Series starting pitchers
References
Further reading
- Bike, William S. The Forgotten 1970 Chicago Cubs: Go and Glow (2021). The History Press. ISBN 978-1467149082.