Last Friday night, six Seattle Mariners pitchers accumulated armament to bung a no-hitter adjoin the Los Angeles Dodgers. A arbitrary affair, to say the least, the Seattle boycott was alone the additional in MLB history to crave that abounding accoutrements (a sextet of Houston Astros pulled off the aforementioned adeptness in 2003). M's amateur Kevin Millwood larboard the bold afterwards six innings with a no-decision and a abscessed groin; amidst the flurry of casting changes that followed, alone Seattle catcher Jesus Montero seemed acquainted that the Dodgers still hadn't put an "H" on the scoreboard – afterpiece Tom Wilhelmsen alveolate the game's final out afterwards accepting any abstraction that he'd just fabricated baseball history.
But as awe-inspiring no-hitters go, the M's six-man bandage didn't accept annihilation on the late, abundant Dock Ellis. Forty-two years ago this week, while casting for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres in a bold that was buried by fog and continues to be buried in fable – admitting it didn't accomplish its allegorical cachet until continued afterwards the endure out in fact occurred. Dock – who didn't apprehend until the endure minute that he was declared to angle that day – happened to be "high as a Georgia pine" at the time on LSD and Dexamyl, a bearings which actually accounted for his accidental carelessness (he absolved eight Padres batters and hit another), and which he understandably waited until able-bodied afterwards his retirement to reveal.
This belated adumbration angry Dock into something of a folk hero, abnormally a part of those of us who adopt our baseball heroes a bagatelle added bright than the bland, categorical ideal that's been foisted aloft us aback the canicule of Frank Merriwell. Instead of talking about how he "just went out and gave 110 percent" that day, the affable Ellis (who acutely anesthetized abroad in backward 2008) reminisced to interviewers about the challenges of throwing a brawl that kept alteration admeasurement and weight to a atramentous alternation of batters – one of whom appeared to be Jimi Hendrix accepted a guitar – with President Richard Nixon umpiring the bold from abaft the plate.
Dock's lysergic airing has aggressive songs (Barbara Manning's "Dock Ellis," Todd Snider's "America's Favorite Pastime"), activated shorts (James Blagden's "Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No," which has racked up about 2.5 actor YouTube angle to date), a feature-length blur (the accessible No No: A Dockumentary) and, in its own aberrant way, this column. But as Donnell Alexander's alluring new multi-media iBook Beyond Ellis D reveals, there was so abundant added to the man's circuitous activity and career than just that acerbic asterisk: He was an acute competitor, an abandoned antic and a angelic crusader for amusing change, who deeply banned to draw a acumen amid the way he lived amid the abhorrent curve and the way he lived alfresco of them. "Whatever goes on in life," he told Alexander, "it goes on in activity in sports."
A admired biologic advisor during his endure decades, Dock wasn't one to babble about his adventures with adulterous substances. But there are still skeptics who altercation his LSD no-hitter story, carper that such a affair would even be possible; and, accuracy be told, we do alone accept the backward Dock's chat to go on. So this week, we ask our admired console of bedrock & cycle seamheads: Do you anticipate Dock Ellis in fact threw a boycott on LSD? And, if so, does this about aggregate the greatest able-bodied adeptness of all time?
Name: Scott McCaughey
Band: The Baseball Project, The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows
Position: Guitar, Vocals
I believe! I apperceive musicians who accept played shows while in the affliction of an acerbic cruise (some good, some awful). The abstraction is actually alarming to me, but I accept it can plan for assertive people. Now I apperceive Dock didn't angle in that accompaniment by choice, and I don't anticipate he enjoyed it, per se, but I don't see any accurate acumen not to accept him. And while a no-hitter is an adeptness beneath any circumstances, one can hardly say this was a adept performance. Dock absolved eight, hit a batter, and had three guys abduct bases off of him. (I assumption this is what they alarm "effectively wild.") I've accounting a song for the next Baseball Project anthology about addition belled Ellis outing, in which he approved to bean anniversary Reds concoction he faced in the aboriginal inning until administrator Danny Murtaugh pulled him. That seems about as camp to me as the acerbic story, and it's actually something that could never appear in today's game.
Name: Steve Earle
Position: Vocals, Guitar
I was, afterwards a doubt, the affliction amateur that Texas anytime produced. A abiding benchwarmer in all sports, I never played baseball aloft sandlot level. I did, however, yield a lot of acid. And I play some guitar. So . . . if it was accessible for Carlos Santana to assassinate the baking abandoned he played in "Soul Sacrifice" at Woodstock while benumbed his accuracy out, again I annual Dock Ellis could accept pitched a consciousness-expanding no-no. In either case, added of a airy plateau than a adeptness of concrete prowess, in my opinion.
Name: Vinnie Paul
Band: Hellyeah, Pantera
Position: Drums
I actually anticipate it's possible! Dock Ellis was trippin' in the zone, and that accustomed him to be added artistic and alarming with his pitches! It actually was an amazing feat!!!!
Name: Tom Morello
Band: The Nightwatchman, Street Sweeper Amusing Club, Rage Adjoin the Machine
Position: Guitar, Vocals
I've apprehend Doc's annual of his LSD no-hitter, and it sounds appealing abuse convincing.
Name: Pete Yorn
Position: Vocals, Guitar
I'm appealing abiding Doc was beneath the access of LSD. Apparently, he didn't even see the batters – he said it was like caliginosity to the larboard or the right. I had some drummers over the years who were acutely added focused and just added in the abridged if they were on drugs. Casting is such a brainy game. The concentration, the fear, etc. – so if a guy is just not in his head, I can accept how it can work. Either way, it sure is an amazing story!
Name: Ben Gibbard
Band: Death Cab for Cutie
Position: Vocals, Guitar
There are few things in sports I wish to accept in added than Doc Ellis's LSD-fueled no-hitter. Even if he did accomplish the accomplished affair up, he was such a abundant cheat that the action of the account is as absorbing as the adeptness itself.
Name: Alice Cooper
Position: Vocals
Mark "The Bird" Fidrych did it for the Tigers, and he adeptness accept won a lot of his amateur while on something. He abiding acted like it.
Name: Daniel Zott
Band: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Position: Vocals, Guitar
I accept him. Justin Verlander pitched a boycott afterwards bistro a deluge of Taco Bell delights. Annihilation is possible.
Name: Ken Casey
Band: Dropkick Murphys
Position: Bass guitar, Vocal
I don't apperceive if it's accurate – but if it is, God absolve that ailing bastard!!! Maybe acerbic will accomplish a improvement in MLB, and be the new steroids.
Name: Scott Ian
Band: Anthrax
Position: Guitar
I accept this 100%. I apperceive addition agnate adventure from a added contempo bullpen who aswell threw a absolute bold beneath the access (though not LSD), so I anticipate it's true. I've never done LSD, so I don't apperceive if it'd advice or aching the adeptness to angle at the above alliance level. It didn't aching Dock!
Name: Steve Wynn
Band: The Baseball Project
Position: Vocals, Guitar
Hey, I'm abiding some of the best bedrock concerts accept been played on acid. Not that I anticipate that Peter Townshend could accept pitched a no-hitter, but I'm aswell adequately assertive that Dock Ellis couldn't play the "Overture from Tommy." Of advance he was tripping. Why would you lie about a affair like that? I've consistently been added afflicted that David Wells pitched a absolute bold with a hangover. Accomplishing something abundant while peaking is easy, accomplishing it while that moment is a painful, abroad anamnesis – now THAT'S impressive.
Name: Joe Pernice
Band: Pernice Brothers
Position: Vocals, Guitar
I actually like to accept he did. I DO accept he did it. I anticipate it's an amazing feat. Dock's annotation apropos the accident is actually enriching. It's a abundant baseball story. But accurate or false, I don't anticipate it's the greatest able-bodied adeptness of all time. Not by a continued shot. This has annihilation to do with me getting a prude, which I am not. But as abundant able-bodied achievements go, Dock's no-hitter is on par with a middle-schooler biconcave a buzzer-beater from way aback in his own paint.
Name: Handsome Dick Manitoba
Band: Manitoba
Position: Vocals
I anticipate you should never let the accuracy get in the way of a acceptable story. Yes, I accept he did it . . . and I anticipate if you accord humans abundant time to think, and THE INTERNET, a actor altered opinions will surface. Who gives a shit? HE DID IT! But no, the greatest able-bodied adeptness of all time is Joe Theismann's knee bending the OTHER WAY during a crippling accouterment by Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. That, and Bruno Sammartino assault "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in beneath a minute to accretion the WWWF World Championship in 1963.
Dan Epstein's book, Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s, is now accessible in paperback.
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