12-22-2008, 05:40 PM
<!--quoteo(post=6377:date=Dec 22 2008, 02:40 PM:name=Tailgater)-->QUOTE (Tailgater @ Dec 22 2008, 02:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Yeah, I never really bought into him pitching on acid. I tried playing catch with a nerf football while tripping once. No way.
But it makes a great story either way.
R.I.P Doc<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I highly recommend reading Doc's account of that day. It seems extremely authentic.
And even the box score reveals that this wasn't a typical no-no...he walked <i>eight</i> batters, and beaned a guy.
This passage is typical of his story that day:
<!--coloro:#008080--><!--/coloro-->"I was zeroed in on the (catcher's) glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me."<!--colorc-->
<!--/colorc-->
There's also some evidence that exists that <i>a lot</i> of extreme pitching exploits have occurred under weird circumstances...the David Wells perfect game he pitched after partying all night with the cast of SNL (he claimed he was still drunk when he got to the stadium), the story of Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 WS (he was not scheduled to pitch, and living up to his rep as one of the premier party animals of that era, had spent the night before that game getting hammered, and was both hung-over and stunned when Casey Stengal gave him the ball)...maybe getting out of the normal routine induces a state of relaxation in some pitchers, and this in turn helps them focus. Who knows?
But having known people with personalities like Doc Ellis, I totally believe the story.
But it makes a great story either way.
R.I.P Doc<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I highly recommend reading Doc's account of that day. It seems extremely authentic.
And even the box score reveals that this wasn't a typical no-no...he walked <i>eight</i> batters, and beaned a guy.
This passage is typical of his story that day:
<!--coloro:#008080--><!--/coloro-->"I was zeroed in on the (catcher's) glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me."<!--colorc-->
<!--/colorc-->
There's also some evidence that exists that <i>a lot</i> of extreme pitching exploits have occurred under weird circumstances...the David Wells perfect game he pitched after partying all night with the cast of SNL (he claimed he was still drunk when he got to the stadium), the story of Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 WS (he was not scheduled to pitch, and living up to his rep as one of the premier party animals of that era, had spent the night before that game getting hammered, and was both hung-over and stunned when Casey Stengal gave him the ball)...maybe getting out of the normal routine induces a state of relaxation in some pitchers, and this in turn helps them focus. Who knows?
But having known people with personalities like Doc Ellis, I totally believe the story.
There's nothing better than to realize that the good things about youth don't end with youth itself. It's a matter of realizing that life can be renewed every day you get out of bed without baggage. It's tough to get there, but it's better than the dark thoughts. -Lance