Jackson’s big day reminiscent of Dock Ellis’ performance forty years earlier.
This past Friday, continuing a trend of remarkable pitching performances, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson threw the fourth no-hitter of the season—and we haven’t even reached the All-Star break yet.
But Jackson’s path to the no-no was a bit more interesting than the others. While he possessed unhittable stuff, the 26-year-old was simultaneously dealing with some serious control issues, and by the end of the night had walked eight batters. It ultimately took the former Dodgers top prospect a whopping 149 pitches to get through nine innings (the most pitches ever thrown in a no-hitter).
It was an act reminiscent of another legendary pitching performance, as Jackson’s no-hitter occurred only two weeks after the 40th anniversary of one of the more underreported athletic feats of all time. On June 12th, 1970, pitcher Dock Ellis, then a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, threw a no-hitter where, like Jackson, he walked eight batters. But while Jackson’s mind may have been buzzing with a mix of excitement, nervousness, and nicotine, Ellis’ mental state during his no-hitter was a bit more precarious—he was tripping on acid.
Thinking that he had the day off, Ellis had dropped acid the morning of June 12th, 1970. It was only when his girlfriend showed him the newspaper that he realized he was the starting pitcher in the first game of a doubleheader. Ellis rushed to the ballpark, arriving “high as a Georgia pine.”
On the mound, Ellis “didn’t see the hitters,” and the catcher had to put tape on his fingers so Ellis could see the signals. The hallucinations didn’t stop there; sometimes he saw Jimi Hendrix digging into the batter’s box. Other times it was Richard Nixon calling balls and strikes.
According to Ellis, “There was times when the ball was hit back at me—I jumped because I thought it was coming fast, but it was comin’ slow.” Even the ball shifted sizes on him: “I thought it was a big ol’ ball—and then sometimes it looked small.”
Somehow—despite walking eight batters—Ellis not only emerged victorious, but also finished the game having thrown the fourth no-hitter in Pittsburgh Pirates history.
Rather than hindering him, Ellis felt that the LSD had helped. “It was easier to pitch with the LSD because I was so used to medicating myself,” the pitcher recalled years later.
Upon retiring, Ellis became a substance abuse counselor. He passed away in 2008.
To read more about Ellis’ historic day, click here.