June 12, 1970, no-hitter[edit]
Self-reportedly under the influence of
LSD, Ellis pitched a
no-hitter against the Padres on Friday, June 12, 1970. The Pirates flew to San Diego on Thursday, June 11 for a series against the
San Diego Padres. Ellis reported that he visited a friend in Los Angeles and used LSD "two or three times." Thinking it was still Thursday, he took a hit of LSD on Friday at noon, and his friend's girlfriend reminded him at 2:00 PM that he was scheduled to pitch that night. Ellis flew from Los Angeles to San Diego at 3:00 PM and arrived at
San Diego Stadium at 4:30 PM; the game started at 6:05 PM.
[5]
Ellis threw a no-hitter despite being unable to feel the ball or see the batter or catcher clearly.
[24] Ellis said his catcher
Jerry May wore reflective tape on his fingers which helped him to see May's signals. Ellis walked eight batters and struck out six, and he was aided by excellent fielding plays from second baseman
Bill Mazeroski and center fielder
Matty Alou.
[25]
As Ellis recounted it:
I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. 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. I started having a crazy idea in the fourth inning that
Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to
Jimi Hendrix, who to me was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate. 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.
[26]
Ellis reported that he never used LSD during the season again, though he continued to use amphetamines.
[5]
An animated short film by James Blagden about the game, "Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No", features narration in Ellis's own voice, taken from a 2008 NPR interview.
[27]
Assessments of LSD claim[edit]
Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Press believes Ellis' version of events that day, although he did not witness the game in person. Smizik was the reporter who first broke the story. Bill Christine, also of the Pittsburgh Press, doesn't believe Ellis' claim and was at the game that day. Christine was a beat reporter who "practically lived with the team that year". Christine said that he did not notice anything unusual, and says that if Ellis had reported to the stadium only 90 minutes before his scheduled start, reporters would have been told. John Mehno, a reporter who had "extensive interactions" with Ellis over his career, was skeptical about many stories told by Ellis, including the LSD no-hitter. Mehno said that he has not found a teammate who would corroborate the story.
