Eight Men Out

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox are considered the greatest team in baseball and, in fact, one of the greatest ever assembled to that point, behind their greatest star, Joe Jackson. However, the team's owner, Charles Comiskey, is a skinflint with little inclination to reward his players for a spectacular season.
When gamblers "Sleepy" Bill Burns and Billy Maharg get wind of the players' discontent, they offer a select group of Sox â including star knuckleball pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who led the majors with a 29-7 win-loss record and has an earned run average of just 1.82 â more money to play badly than they would have earned by winning the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Cicotte's motivation for being involved was because Comiskey refused him a promised $10,000 should he win 30 games for the season. Cicotte was nearing the milestone until Comiskey ordered team manager Kid Gleason to bench him for 2 weeks (missing 5 starts) to rest the 35-year-old veteran's arm for the series.
A number of players, including Chick Gandil, Swede Risberg, and Lefty Williams, go along with the scheme. Jackson is depicted as being not bright and not entirely sure what is going on. Buck Weaver, meanwhile, is included with the seven others but insists that he wants nothing to do with the fix.
When the best-of-nine series begins, Cicotte (pitching in Game 1) deliberately hits Reds leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back with his second pitch in a prearranged signal to gangster Arnold Rothstein that the fix was on (Rothstein allegedly financed the fix). Cicotte then pitches poorly and gave up 5 runs in four inningsâfour of them in the 4th, including a triple given up to Reds pitcher Walter "Dutch" Ruether. He is then relieved by Gleason, though the Sox lose the first game 9â1. Williams also pitched poorly in Game 2, while Gandil, Risberg and Hap Felsch made glaring mistakes on the field. Several of the players become upset, however, when the various gamblers involved fail to pay their promised money up front.
Chicago journalists Ring Lardner and Hugh Fullerton grow increasingly suspicious. Meanwhile Gleason continues to hear rumors of a fix, but he remains confident that his boys will come through in the end.
A third pitcher not in on the scam, rookie Dickie Kerr, wins Game 3 for the Sox, making both gamblers and teammates uncomfortable. Other teammates such as catcher Ray Schalk continue to play hard, while Weaver and Jackson show no visible signs of taking a dive with Weaver continuing to deny being in on the fix. Cicotte loses again in Game 4. With the championship now in jeopardy, Gleason intends to bench Cicotte from his next start, but he begs for another chance. The manager reluctantly agrees and is given an easy Game 7 win. Unpaid by the gamblers, Williams also intends to win, but when his wife's life is threatened, he purposely pitches so badly, he was quickly relieved with "Big" Bill James in the 1st inning. Jackson hits a home run off Reds pitcher Hod Eller in the 3rd inning, but the Sox lose the final game.
Cincinnati wins the Series (5 games to 3). Fullerton writes an article condemning the White Sox. An investigation begins into the possible fixing of the Series. In 1920, Cicotte and Jackson admit that a fix existed (though the illiterate Jackson is implied as having been coerced into making his confession). As a result of the revelations, Cicotte, Williams, Gandil, Felsch, Risberg, McMullin, Jackson, and Weaver are tried. The eight men are acquitted of any wrongdoing. However, newly appointed commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis bans the seven men (not including Jackson) for life because they either intentionally lost games or knew about the fix and didn't report it to team officials.

Question: who was nearing the milestone?
Answer: Eddie Cicotte.