Doc Ellis dead at 63

[kbwsb]

He was a pretty good hurler in his day. Went 19-9 the year the Pirates won the Series, in 1971.

It's worth looking up and reading his account of his no-no, if you're into that type of thing. He was hanging out with a girlfriend in L.A. on on off-day, when he downed a tab of LSD.
A little bit later, the girl glanced at the newspaper and said, "Uh, Doc...today isn't an off-day...it says here that you're scheduled to pitch today in San Diego."

I imagine he said, "WTF?"

[HTC]

Still going strong in the fake baseball world.

[Mikey]

<!--quoteo(post=6290:date=Dec 21 2008, 07:31 PM:name=HTC)-->QUOTE (HTC @ Dec 21 2008, 07:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Still going strong in the fake baseball world.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Should have been an all-star the last 2 years.

[veryzer]

i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.

[Jody]

<!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)-->QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.

[ruby23]

<!--quoteo(post=6333:date=Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM:name=Jody)-->QUOTE (Jody @ Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once went on a 10 minute car ride to the store that took all night. The sun was out when we started and it came back up by the time we got home. There was also a deer following us.

[bz]

We tried to walk to the arboretum, which was 4 blocks away, and 5 hours later ended up back at home. The tiles in the sidewalk lit up like in Billie Jean.

I can't imagine doing anything skillful on acid.

[veryzer]

<!--quoteo(post=6340:date=Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM:name=ruby23)-->QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6333:date=Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM:name=Jody)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jody @ Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once went on a 10 minute car ride to the store that took all night. The sun was out when we started and it came back up by the time we got home. There was also a deer following us.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



dude, i been there. i tried to find my cousins house in the next town over. i had been there hundreds of times. i couldn't find it. i was lost 5 blocks from where i lived. we drove around that neighborhood for an hour. we had three carfuls of people who weren't tripping following us. they didn't think it was as funny as we did. every once in a while we would pull over to take a break. one of the cars would pull up next to us as ask us what the fuck we were doing. we'd just laugh and laugh and laugh. finally i managed to get the directions to one of them and we finally got to the house, but man did it take us forever. some of the funniest shit though. some of the best times i ever had was on acid.

[ruby23]

<!--quoteo(post=6360:date=Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM:name=veryzer)-->QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6340:date=Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM:name=ruby23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6333:date=Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM:name=Jody)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jody @ Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once went on a 10 minute car ride to the store that took all night. The sun was out when we started and it came back up by the time we got home. There was also a deer following us.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



dude, i been there. i tried to find my cousins house in the next town over. i had been there hundreds of times. i couldn't find it. i was lost 5 blocks from where i lived. we drove around that neighborhood for an hour. we had three carfuls of people who weren't tripping following us. they didn't think it was as funny as we did. every once in a while we would pull over to take a break. one of the cars would pull up next to us as ask us what the fuck we were doing. we'd just laugh and laugh and laugh. finally i managed to get the directions to one of them and we finally got to the house, but man did it take us forever. some of the funniest shit though. some of the best times i ever had was on acid.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The deer following us was awesome, he would run along aside us, the he'd jump over the hood, then he'd disappear. We'd stop the car and all look at each other and talk about how awesome it was and then somehow he'd show back up a few minutes later and do the same thing. I assume we never actually saw a deer that night, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Also, things taste totally awesome too.

[Tailgater]

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

[Lance]

<!--quoteo(post=6371:date=Dec 22 2008, 03:14 PM:name=ruby23)-->QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 03:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6360:date=Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6340:date=Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM:name=ruby23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6333:date=Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM:name=Jody)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jody @ Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once went on a 10 minute car ride to the store that took all night. The sun was out when we started and it came back up by the time we got home. There was also a deer following us.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



dude, i been there. i tried to find my cousins house in the next town over. i had been there hundreds of times. i couldn't find it. i was lost 5 blocks from where i lived. we drove around that neighborhood for an hour. we had three carfuls of people who weren't tripping following us. they didn't think it was as funny as we did. every once in a while we would pull over to take a break. one of the cars would pull up next to us as ask us what the fuck we were doing. we'd just laugh and laugh and laugh. finally i managed to get the directions to one of them and we finally got to the house, but man did it take us forever. some of the funniest shit though. some of the best times i ever had was on acid.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The deer following us was awesome, he would run along aside us, the he'd jump over the hood, then he'd disappear. We'd stop the car and all look at each other and talk about how awesome it was and then somehow he'd show back up a few minutes later and do the same thing. I assume we never actually saw a deer that night, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Also, things taste totally awesome too.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yeah, but what's weird is that you shared the same hallucination.

[ruby23]

<!--quoteo(post=6385:date=Dec 22 2008, 03:07 PM:name=Lance)-->QUOTE (Lance @ Dec 22 2008, 03:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6371:date=Dec 22 2008, 03:14 PM:name=ruby23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 03:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6360:date=Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6340:date=Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM:name=ruby23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ruby23 @ Dec 22 2008, 11:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6333:date=Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM:name=Jody)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jody @ Dec 22 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=6326:date=Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Dec 22 2008, 09:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i don't know how many of you have ever done acid, but to pitch, much less pitch a no-hitter, is absolutely amazing. my greatest accomplishment on acid was to laugh non-stop for 8 straight hours without throwing up.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once tried to start a camp fire with a flashlight. Good times.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I once went on a 10 minute car ride to the store that took all night. The sun was out when we started and it came back up by the time we got home. There was also a deer following us.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



dude, i been there. i tried to find my cousins house in the next town over. i had been there hundreds of times. i couldn't find it. i was lost 5 blocks from where i lived. we drove around that neighborhood for an hour. we had three carfuls of people who weren't tripping following us. they didn't think it was as funny as we did. every once in a while we would pull over to take a break. one of the cars would pull up next to us as ask us what the fuck we were doing. we'd just laugh and laugh and laugh. finally i managed to get the directions to one of them and we finally got to the house, but man did it take us forever. some of the funniest shit though. some of the best times i ever had was on acid.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The deer following us was awesome, he would run along aside us, the he'd jump over the hood, then he'd disappear. We'd stop the car and all look at each other and talk about how awesome it was and then somehow he'd show back up a few minutes later and do the same thing. I assume we never actually saw a deer that night, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Also, things taste totally awesome too.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yeah, but what's weird is that you shared the same hallucination.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
See, we may have seen an actual deer at some point and then continued to see/talk about it/whatever for the next few hours, I'm not entirely sure though.

[kbwsb]

<!--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.

[bz]

Yea, I believe it, too. Plus acid probably wasn't as potent as it is now. Also, I'm sure he built up a tolerance.

[kbwsb]

Plus, we're talking about a world-class athlete, doing something he'd done countless times. It was his full-time job, something he could have done in his sleep.

Kind of reminds me of the Willie Nelson story of how he went on stage one time after dropping acid; he said it was intensely uncomfortable, completely bizarre, and something he would <i>never</i> do again. But he's a professional, had done 1,000 similar shows, and somehow got through it.