Stars of 75: Dock Ellis
Posted: August 24th, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball | 35 Comments »
Well, 09/09/09 closes in at mosquito to windshield speed, and … you know, that’s probably not the comparison I really wanted to use. Anyway, exciting times and lots to report about The Machine: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds …
– A long excerpt of the book will be in Sports Illustrated this week.
– I am writing a Pete Rose piece for SI.com on Wednesday that will incorporate those gambling polls I asked you Brilliant Readers to take not too long ago.
– I’ve been told that the book will be available on Kindle and other e-readers. The release date for that might be 09/15/09 (which is still listed as the online release date) but anyway it will be around that same time.
– I will be in Cincinnati for a few days, beginning Sept. 19, to do book signings and such things.
– I will be in New York for a few days, right around Oct. 1 when I will be one of the speakers at the oh-so-great Varsity Letters book reading (along with Jennifer Ring, who wrote Stolen Bases: Why American Girls Don’t Play Baseball and Larry Tye, who wrote Satchel).
– I will be doing some other signings — especially in the Kansas City Area — and details are still being worked out on those.
And there will be other things happening — it’s a fun, crazy, busy time. And as part of the countdown, I’m going to try to bring you every day another “Star of ‘75.”
* * *
Today’s star, Dock Ellis, admitted that he once threw a no-hitter while freaking out on LSD. But for our purposes, it’s better to go back to May 1, 1974 … when his Pittsburgh Pirates were facing the Cincinnati Reds. Not to go all Jim Rice on you, but it is kind of fun to think about baseball at a time when four of the dominant teams were the Oakland A’s, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles.
The Pirates got off to a dreadful start in ‘74 — they were 6-12 — and Ellis decided that a statement had to be made. Ellis was a guy who believed in making statements. In ‘76, he would hit bean Reggie Jackson in the face — apparent retaliation for a home run Reggie had hit off him. Five years earlier. In the All-Star Game. That beanball was so drastic that it actually got Congress involved for a short while; a House Committee looked into seriously punishing beanballs.
Anyway, in ‘74 Ellis wanted to make a statement and so, he plunked Pete Rose with a pitch to lead off the game. Then, he plunked Joe Morgan with a pitch. First and second, nobody out. Then … he plunked Dan Driessen with a pitch. Bases loaded nobody out. Then, he tried four times to plunk Tony Perez with a pitch — but Doggie was too quick and managed to avoid it. Walk — run scores. Then, he threw two pitches at Johnny Bench’s head. That’s when Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh went to the mound and yanked Dock Ellis.
There are at least two fun little tidbits about this game — like a pitcher trying to hit every member of the other team is not fun enough. One was the way the newspapers tried to cover the event … something that speaks to the challenges we still face today when trying to write intelligently about, say, steroids or whatever. Dock Ellis was not available after the game, and so even though it had to be obvious to everyone that Ellis was trying to hit every batter he faced, the longstanding rules of journalism forbid writers from saying so. There’s an old line in sportswriting: “We don’t write the truth. We write what people tell us.”
And so, it’s absolutely hysterical to go back and see the bizarre turns of logic sportswriters of the time used to review Dock Ellis’ performance:
“It’s not a record Dock Ellis will savor, but he may be the only pitcher in major league baseball history to hit the first three batters in a game,” the Associated Press wrote.
“He just couldn’t find the plate,” Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen said.
“It was just a case of wildness,” Murtaugh said.
“Wild” was the headline in the Uniontown, Pa. newspaper. That’s it, one word, “Wild.”
“I’ve never seen anyone that wild,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson said.
“Dock Ellis mowed them down Wednesday night, literally,” was another version of the lead.
Did the mowdown serve its purpose? Hard to say. The Pirates continued to play uninspired ball well into August — they still had a losing record on August 11th. But the division was so even that they were only 2 1/2 games back at the time. And they won 31 of their last 47 games to win the division title. They lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS.
The second interesting part of it — this was something that, sadly, I ended up cutting out of the book for space and narrative purposes — happened the next year, my year, 1975. Ellis dealt with all sorts of injuries and other distractions that season and did not face the Reds during the season (he did pitch two uneventful innings in the first game of the championship series between the two). But several players told me that during that year, Ellis did send word to the Cincinnati clubhouse: He was tired of the PIrates. He wanted to pitch for a real team. He wanted to pitch for the Reds.
Today’s star of 75: Dock Ellis.
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I take it the title of this post is an homage to the “Stars on 45″ cover band of the late 1970s/early 80s?
If so, I guess that merits a “Circle Me Jaap Eggermont,” which is certainly one of the least likely sentences ever.
If Dock Ellis pitched today, ESPN would probably devote an entire channel to him.
Steve F, only if he played for the Yankees or the Red Sox….
I think you’re reaching there, Andrew.
Joe wrote “it is kind of fun to think about baseball at a time when four of the dominant teams were the Oakland A’s, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles”. This is why the NFL has MLB beat by a mile. In the 2007 AFC championship, it was New England vs. San Diego. In the 2007 NFC championship, it was NY Giants vs. Green Bay. Not one word was uttered about the financial disparities between the competitors in each game.
RIP Dock Ellis
(1945-2008)
And Dock Ellis did end up playing for the Yankees. He was on the 1976 Yankees team that was swept by none other than the Reds in the World Series.
Anyways, can’t wait for the book!
Dock Ellis will draw you a picture of how he gonna kick your ass, then mail it to you ten days in advance. The picture gets there right? You’re goin’, “What the hell is this?” and then Dock Ellis knocks on your door, Promptly kicks your ass and you still won’t know what happened to you!
See, my damie, Dock Ellis don’t wa-da-tah to the shama cow… ’cause thats a cama cama leepa-chaiii, dig?
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/img/daily/602/pootie_l.jpg
Looking forward to the book, Joe. Hope you can make it up to Boston for a signing.
…of course the 2007 ALCS and NLCS featured Boston, Cleveland, Colorado and Arizona. Let’s not overstate the payroll issue.
#8 -
The payroll issue is not overstated. It is one of the 2 or 3 biggest problems with baseball, and it is a problem that faces baseball uniquely.
thanks for the pic johnson
circles around me bootsy collins
[...] This post was Twitted by kansas_city_mo [...]
woops bertsy sorry
Todd Snider has a song on his album about Doc Elllis’ LSD fueled no hitter… Good stuff.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105862831
How much LSD do you have to take before you show up at work in curlers?
Whatever it is I’m gonna say that’s my limit.
The answer is “Dock Ellis.” The question is, “What if T.O. went back in time and became a starting pitcher?”
What’s most notable to me about that story is that Danny Murtaugh had to come out and fetch Dock. Nowadays he’d have been run after the second plunk. Part of me kind of prefers 1975.
Joe – did you pick the 9-9-09 date before or after you knew that the Beatles were going to release their entire digitally remastered catalog along with Rock Band- The Beatles? I think it was before and they’re trying to catch a ride on your coat tails.
I can’t wait for the next star of ‘75.
“…of course the 2007 ALCS and NLCS featured Boston, Cleveland, Colorado and Arizona. Let’s not overstate the payroll issue.”
Of course, Boston had the second biggest payroll in the game. Let’s not understate that.
By the way, in 2004 and 2007, I was working in Kosovo during the World Series. Coincidence?
My favorite part of the story was that the Big Red Machine – a team with Hall of Famers at first, second, and catcher, the all-time hit leader in left field, and Ken Griffey’s 118 career OPS+ in right field – had the immortal Dan Driessen in the three hole that day. Later in the game, he was lifted in favor of pinch-hitter Andy Kosco. Andy Kosco!!
Man, that Sparky Anderson was crazy like a fox.
Until he got a chance to prove otherwise by playing everyday, the Reds considered Dan Driessen as an equal to Tony Perez or Johnny Bench hitting wise, as they demonstrated by trading Tony Perez after the ‘76 season. Driessen responded by putting up a fairly good season in 77, then was league average or worse in the years following that.
Send Dock Ellis back to Libya.
to #8
The payroll issue is not only the worst problem baseball has, it is the top 3.
1. Payroll Disparity
2. Guaranteed Contracts
3. Overblown Salaries for unproven players in the draft.
Seriously, these are the main reasons that the casual fan is dissaffected.
The payroll disparity can sometimes be overcome for a small run by teams that do things perfectly, but by and large the Big teams can afford to outbid teams for whoever they wish, and if they are stupid enough to overpay for a piece of crap, it does not hurt them. The Royals will pay Jose Guillen 12 million in 2010 and even they know he is done. The Yankees have made that kind of mistake-they dropped the guy and spent 15 million on someone else. The Royals are crippled by it. (Before someone mentions it- I am WELL aware that they cause most of their own problems, it’s just that Guillen is a good example for # 1 & 2.)
For #3- I am sure there are guys who were drafted low who spent 4 years in the minors and 5 years as a player on a major league club who have not made as much money as Strasburg is guaranteed to make if he blows his arm out tomorrow and never pitches again.
Us Baseball Geeks try and look past it and enjoy a beautiful game. Try and have a conversation with a casual fan and avoid money being thrown into the conversation. Then try it with a casual football fan on any Sunday. You will notice the difference. They talk about the game and the skill level, or about which team is better. The Baseball guys talk about money more than the game.
If we fix these problems, they might go back to talking about things like the DH, trying to get the same # of teams in each league, Umpires not letting people pitch inside etc. It will raise interest in the game itself!
KHAZAD,
Guaranteed contracts are the 2nd biggest problem in baseball? Like it’s bad that they have an actual union and not a joke of one like the NFL? I agree that payroll disparity is an issue in baseball, but any salary cap plans also must be met with salary floors because owners are generally greedy. And because owners are greedy, I have no problem with them being forced to share some of their revenue with the people who are actually playing the game.
Hello! I come from the year 1870! Alas, I am sorry to have to report that the great pas-time of base-ball has been irrevocably soiled by the amount of money the players are being paid to-day!
I’m always perplexed that the casual fan seems to side not with the millionaires who play the game but the billionaires who own the team. Seems backwards, to me.
[...] * Poz writes about Dock Ellis trying to hit every Cincinnati Red [...]
@21 KHAZAD
The problem with BASEBALL is unproven players getting too much money? Umm…have you looked at the contracts NFL rookies get? Didn’t Matt Stafford sign the highest-paying contract for any QB ever up to that point this spring? Stuff like that happens every year in the NFL draft, and yet BASEBALL has the unproven player money issue….sure. (That said, Strasburg probably did get to much, but not nearly as insane as the likes of Darrius Heyward-Bey and Matt Stafford)
To maybe clarify, I do think that baseball needs to do something about rookie salaries and allowing people like Scott Boras to hold teams captive like they do. However, I disagree that it’s one of baseball’s biggest problems (and if it is, then things really aren’t too bad I don’t think), but think it IS something that needs to be addressed in the NFL. I just don’t get how new draftees can be seen as worthy of being the highest paid players in history before ever even attending a day of training camp.
Thank you for this post! Dock Ellis is one of my all-time favorite players and this game specifically has my vote as the funniest game in baseball history.
Supposedly before the game Dock was telling his teammates that he planned to mow down the Reds. His line: “We gonne get down. We gonna do the do. I’m gonna hit these motherf–kers.”
That line ALWAYS makes me laugh. Never gets old.
Dock deserves the HBO documentary treatment. A Dock doc, I guess. One of the greatest characters ever.
By the way that’s great news about the varsity letters date and I’m psyched that Larry Tye is also showing up. Good excuse for me to get back to my old neighborhood for a night.
If any other BRs are going to this thing, we should touch base as the date gets closer.
@27 “allowing people like Scott Boras to hold teams captive like they do” – how is this the case? The draft has the explicit intent of holding the PLAYER captive to a single team. Boras, et al, just use the only negotiating leverage that they have. I agree that payroll disparity is an issue, but #2 and #3 on Khazad’s list are definitely not. They are both choices made by owners who know that, if they were not to provide guaranteed contracts and “overblown” salaries, another of their brethren would. That is, they are paying what the market bears.
Boras just does an excellent job maximizing the very tiny amount of leverage that players have in the draft. If you don’t think that the draft is designed to screw young players as much as possible, you’re deluding yourself.
…and nobody charged the mound! Can you imagine what would happen today?
5:
nevermind, I guess, that the huge payroll Red Sox lost in the ALCS to the Rays and the big bad Yankees missed the playoffs entirely.
Although your point that teams from places like San Diego and Wisconsin make the playoffs in football but not baseball still stands…except that the Brewers made it last year and the Padres were barely beaten out in a one game playoff with Colorado, of all teams, the year before.
After reading some replies it, it seems that I came across as having a problem with what players are making. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I do think that there should be a salary cap, but I also believe that it should come with revenue sharing and a salary floor.
I do not think that the overall percentage of money spent on players salaries should go down. In fact, I believe that if baseball had to be more forthright about their finances, overall salaries might go up.
While I agree that the stupidity of the owners contributes to all 3 of the problems, it does not stop me from wanting them fixed.
I DO think that there should be less money spent on unproven players, (and I am aware that the NFL shares this problem) but that the minimum major league pay should go up, with less years at the mercy of the owners as far as raises go. (There is absolutely no reason for a 7 year fringe player to be making more than a really good 3rd year player.)
I am not against guaranteeing salaries for a certain period of time. When you sign a contract, the first year should be guaranteed, with the succeeding years being guaranteed (one at a time) by being on the roster (including the DL) after the All Star break the preceding year. In order to get out of the next year, you would basically have to pay them for nothing for half a year. (I think the Royals might have released Guillen before the break this year under that rule -but with Dayton, maybe not.
This would keep the complete bust 3-7 year contract from being a complete drain on the team, and would make it easier for small market style teams to offer longer deals. Every player that was released would be a free agent and get what their talent would get them from whatever team would pay them the most. (As well as being paid the remainder of the year that they were released.)
Oh sheesh… I hate it when someone acts like the owners have guns to their heads. They give out the contracts they give out because they choose to – to make them, individually, or severally, into victims is silly.
A salary cap limits salaries (for obvious reasons), and a salary floor raises salaries and leads to more bad contracts, not less. The first is collusion, the second is bad business.
I would, however, completely agree about revenue sharing – I don’t know how it would be done exactly, but something like the 60/40 split on gate receipts that has existed since time immemorial seems completely reasonable for TV. Just because nobody considered it in aught-two doesn’t mean the same principle shouldn’t apply.
That’s why there’s a disparity – last I heard (which was years ago) the Yankees got 50 times the TV revenue of, say, the Twins – and no doubt the Royals. As in to the tune of $500 million more. No wonder they can outbid everyone. But yet, the Royals still have to field a team and fulfill the schedule. There are two teams on the field, if they’re weren’t, TV revenues might be kinda low.
Because of the above, “small market” is a misnomer – it really only applies to ticket sales. And there isn’t a 50:1 disparity there.