Dock Ellis, one of nine pitchers to hurl no-hitters before joining the New York Mets, died Friday at the age of 63.
Ellis, who joined the Mets for part of the 1979 season, threw his no-no as a Pittsburgh Pirate on June 12, 1970 in a unique state – he was tripping on acid.
Ellis has acknowledged taking LSD the day of the game as he was under the impression that the Pirates had a day off. Turns out he was scheduled to pitch Game 1 of a doubleheader. (See this Dallas Observer article for details of this infamous feat.) The 2-0 win apparently wasn’t pretty, as Ellis walked eight and hit at least one batter.
Dock pitched just 17 games with the Mets in ’79, compiling a 3-7 record with a 6.04 ERA.
