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The unperfect NY Mets game where a Cubs bloop hit spoiled history

It's almost as close to perfection as one can get without getting there.
ByTim Boyle|
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Apr 8, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; A general view of a statue of Mets great Tom Seaver outside of the stadium before a game between the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Apr 8, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; A general view of a statue of Mets great Tom Seaver outside of the stadium before a game between the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Look at the MLB standings all of these years later and you’d never think the battles between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs in 1969 were significant enough. Knowing your history, you’ll recall the September 9 game when a black cat seemed to curse the Cubs.

Exactly two months earlier on July 9, with the Cubs leading the NL East, what would become known as the “unperfect game” took place at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver was on the mound and history was two outs from being made.

Here’s how amazing Tom Seaver was in his unperfect game vs. the Cubs

A single by Jim Qualls with one out in the ninth broke up the perfect game. None of the fielders had a shot at it. The ball was perfectly placed.

This doesn’t take away from how impressive Seaver was. On his way to a shutout, Seaver disposed of the Cubs on 100 pitches with 11 strikeouts.

A big bag of strikeouts and no hits allowed, Seaver wasn’t even close to walking a batter. Not a single Cubs hitter saw ball 3 called against him. They seemed to completely give up on ever drawing by the 9th. Randy Hundley led off the 9th by trying to bunt his way on base on the first pitch. Qualls’ single was on the first ball he saw.

It was an 8-pitch battle in the 8th inning against fellow Hall of Famer Ernie Banks that seemed to give Seaver the greatest challenge. In typical Tom Terrific fashion, Banks went down on strikes. Seaver finished the day with 72 strikeouts along the way. If not for that one perfectly-placed ball by Qualls, this could have been an all-timer in MLB history.

Lost in this game was the early chaos the Mets hitters caused the Cubs. They chased starter Ken Holtzman in the middle of the second inning following two errors, a single by Seaver, and a double by Tommie Agee.

The 50,000+ attendance witnessed the ultimate “what could have been” moment. More shocking was how many other times Seaver would come close. He had 5 total one-hitters with the Mets, finally going all 9 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds on June 16, 1978, almost a year to the day when the Mets traded him.

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