Док Эллис: Бейсбол жұлдызы және өмірінің күресі

American baseball player (1945–2008)

Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between and and won the World Series in Ellis also played for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and New York Mets. In his MLB career, Ellis accumulated a 0.537 record, a 3.46 earned run average, and 1,136 strikeouts. Ellis threw a no hitter on June 12, 1970, and later stated that he accomplished the feat under the influence of LSD. Ellis was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All Star Game in 1971. Joining the Yankees in 1976, he helped lead the team to the American League pennant, and was named the league's Comeback Player of the Year. Ellis was an outspoken advocate for the rights of players and African Americans. He had a substance abuse problem, and acknowledged after his retirement that he had never pitched without the use of drugs. After going into treatment, Ellis remained sober and devoted the remainder of his life to counseling others with substance use disorder in treatment centers and prisons. He died of a liver ailment at age 63 in 2008.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ellis attended Gardena High School in Gardena. At age 14, he began drinking alcohol and using drugs. He played baseball as an infielder for a local semi professional team called the Pittsburgh Pirates Rookies, along with future major leaguers Willie Crawford, Bill Rohr, Tom Harrison, Bobby Tolan, Roy White, Ron Woods, Reggie Smith, Don Wilson, Bob Watson and Dave Nelson. The team was managed by Chet Brewer. He appeared in four games and was named all league. Ellis was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at age 17; the diagnosis was later changed to sickle cell trait. and the Columbus Jets of the Class AAA International League. Ellis pitched in an exhibition game for the Pirates against the Cleveland Indians in July, receiving the win. The Pirates called Ellis up to the majors near the end of the season, but the team did not use him in a game that year. Ellis started the 1967 season with Columbus. He believed that he was not on the major league club because the Pirates already had a number of African American players; he felt that the team did not want to alienate white fans. Ellis was sent down to the Macon Peaches of the Southern League, which Ellis believed was because of the length of his hair. Ellis said that he was promoted back to Columbus after shaving his head. He had a 2–0 win–loss record with Macon and a 5–7 record with Columbus. he came to terms with the team in March. The Pirates optioned Ellis to Columbus, who moved Ellis from the starting rotation to the bullpen. At Columbus, Ellis credited his work with manager Johnny Pesky and pitching coach Harvey Haddix for improving his performance.

Ellis made his MLB debut in June 1968, beginning as a relief pitcher, but the Pirates moved Ellis into the starting rotation later that season and he started 10 games. Ellis pitched his first complete game in September. He had a 6–5 win–loss record with a 2.51 ERA with the Pirates in 1968. The struggles of Steve Blass kept Ellis in the starting rotation, as Blass was moved to the bullpen.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Press, who first broke the story in 1984, believes Ellis' version of events that day, although Smizik did not witness the game in person. Bill Christine, also of the Pittsburgh Press, does not believe Ellis' claim and was at the game that day. Christine was a beat reporter who "practically lived with the team that year." Christine had said that he did not notice anything unusual and 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. However, Ellis' close friend Scipio Spinks, a pitcher for the Houston Astros, has said that he has no doubt that Ellis was telling the truth about his LSD use, as he was very familiar with Ellis' drug habits, including the use of LSD. Singer songwriter Barbara Manning paid tribute to Ellis and his no hitter in the psychedelic pop song "Dock Ellis", as did folk singer Todd Snider with "America's Favorite Pastime" on his 2009 album The Excitement Plan. A 2009 animated short film by James Blagden about the game, Dock Ellis and the LSD No No, features narration in Ellis' own voice, taken from a 2008 NPR interview. The no hitter is featured in the documentary about Ellis' life, No No: A Dockumentary (2014), directed by Jeffrey Radice. Robin Williams riffed on Ellis and his no hitter as part of a segment on performance enhancing drugs in sports, during his 2009 HBO special Weapons of Self Destruction.

Ellis struggled for the remainder of the 1970 season, and finished the year with a 13–10 win–loss record as he experienced elbow and shoulder pain. However, he finished second in the NL with four shutouts and seventh with a 3.21 ERA. The Pirates won the National League (NL) East division championship. Ellis started Game 1 of the 1970 National League Championship Series (NLCS) to the Cincinnati Reds. Ellis took the loss, and the Pirates lost the series to the Reds in three games. Ellis worked on his changeup for the season. He was rewarded by being named the Pirates' Opening Day starting pitcher; he defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4–2. After a strong start to the 1971 season, posting a 13–3 win–loss record, Ellis was named to appear in the 1971 Major League Baseball All Star Game, held at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The AL selected Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics as their starter, and Ellis publicly stated that National League All Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other". Ellis was the losing pitcher in the game. The next time the two opposed each other, Ellis beaned Jackson in the face in retaliation for his earlier home run. Ellis started Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS, earning the victory over the San Francisco Giants. During the series, Ellis created a stir by complaining about the Pirates' lodgings, complaining that the organization was "cheap". He changed hotels because he said the hotel rooms were too small. In a losing effort, he lasted only 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and four runs, including two home runs. Though Ellis denied being in pain before the game,

Ellis finished the season with a 19–9 win–loss record and a 3.06 ERA. He placed fourth in the Cy Young Award balloting. His 19 wins were fifth best in the league, and his .679 winning percentage was fourth best.

On May 5, 1972, Ellis, Willie Stargell, and Rennie Stennett missed the team bus to Riverfront Stadium. A security guard asked the three for identification; Stargell and Stennett complied and were allowed in, but Ellis did not have identification with him. The Reds sued Ellis for assault and Ellis countersued. Before going to trial, the Reds dropped the suit and wrote Ellis a letter of apology. Ellis finished the 1972 season ninth in the NL in ERA (2.70), sixth in winning percentage (.682), fourth in walks per nine innings pitched (1.818) and first in home runs per nine innings ratio (0.331). The Pirates won the NL East that year and faced the Reds in the 1972 NLCS. The Pirates pitched Ellis with a sore arm, but the Reds won the series. In August 1973, pictures circulated of Ellis wearing hair curlers in the bullpen during pregame warmups. but charged that the Pirates were displaying racism. In his 1980 book, Ellis admitted that wearing hair curlers produced sweat on his hair, which he used to throw a modified version of a spitball. and the Pirates lost the division to the New York Mets. Ellis again led the league in home runs allowed per nine innings pitched ratio (0.328).

Ellis attempted to hit every batter in the Cincinnati Reds lineup with a pitch on May 1, 1974, as he was angry that the Pirates were intimidated by the Big Red Machine. Ellis hit Rose, Joe Morgan, and Dan Driessen in the top of the first inning, with his first six pitches all aimed at the batters. With the bases loaded, Ellis attempted to throw strikes to cleanup hitter Tony Pérez but walked him, forcing home a run. After Ellis aimed two pitches at the head of Johnny Bench, he was removed from the game by manager Danny Murtaugh. Ellis' box score for the game reads as follows: 0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Ellis tied eight other players for the MLB record with the three hit batsmen in the inning. Ellis struggled at the start of the 1974 season, with a 3–8 win–loss record and 4.54 ERA through July 10. He then won eight consecutive games and nine out of ten, pitching seven complete games in that ten game stretch. A line drive off the bat of Willie Montañez fractured the fifth metacarpal bone in Ellis' pitching hand on September 10, prematurely ending his season. Ellis had the seventh best walks plus hits per inning pitched ratio (1.155) that season. The Pirates won the NL East but lost the 1974 NLCS, three games to one, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Healthy to begin the 1975 season, Ellis continued to perform well. In August, the Pirates asked Ellis to pitch in the bullpen; he refused on consecutive nights. On August 15, 1975, Ellis refused assignment to the bullpen again; as a result, the Pirates suspended him for one day. and attempting to fight him. Reportedly, coach Don Leppert also tried to fight Ellis.

Ellis sensed that he would be traded that offseason due to the fallout from his suspension. Tired of Ellis' behavior, Pittsburgh general manager Joe L. Brown insisted that the Yankees take Ellis as part of the deal. His 17 wins were eighth in the AL, while his .680 winning percentage was third best. After the season, he was voted the AL Comeback Player of the Year by the United Press International. The Yankees won the AL East division championship in 1976. Ellis started in Game 3 of the 1976 American League Championship Series (ALCS), getting the win. The Reds defeated the Yankees in four games.

Before the season, Ellis publicly criticized Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for giving him a raise that was inadequate given his 1976 performance and for interfering with manager Billy Martin. Torrez emerged as a top starting pitcher for the Yankees that season, while Ellis struggled. While pitching for Oakland, the team asked him to keep charts. Defiant, Ellis set the charts on fire in the clubhouse, setting off sprinklers. going 10–6 with a 2.90 ERA. Hunter, responding to a raucous team flight, banned liquor on team flights; Ellis vowed that he would bring liquor on the plane to Toronto anyway. Ellis led a player insurrection against Hunter's authoritarian style, declaring that Hunter "may be Hitler, but he ain't making no lampshade out of me." The Rangers organization blamed Ellis for the team's disappointing finish in 1978 and indicated that they would look to trade Ellis. However, owner Brad Corbett sided with Ellis over Hunter, firing Hunter after the season.

After starting the 1979 season with a 1–5 win–loss record, Ellis was traded to the New York Mets on June 15, 1979, for minor league pitchers Mike Bruhert and Bob Myrick. The Mets, seeking to upgrade their pitching staff due to poor performances and injuries to Pat Zachry and Skip Lockwood, acquired Andy Hassler from the Boston Red Sox on the same day. Ellis went 3–7 with a 6.04 ERA with the Mets. Ellis requested the Mets send him back to the Pirates. Seeking more pitching in their pennant race, the Pirates purchased Ellis from the Mets on September 21, 1979, for an undisclosed sum of money; the price was later revealed to be "something in excess of the waiver price of $20,000". Ellis made three relief appearances with the Pirates that year, Ellis trusted his catcher to call pitches, and he rarely asked for a new sign.

Ellis was married four times. they divorced in 1972. Ellis' second wife was Austine, and they divorced in 1980. The third wife was Jacquelyn, Trey fathered Ellis' first grandchild, Dock Phillip Ellis IV (Dru). Ellis' youngest daughter Simone, who mothered Ellis' second grandchild, died of cancer in December 2012. Ellis stopped using alcohol and other drugs in 1980, when his son was an infant. and later worked with people who had the disease and raised money for sickle cell research. including Pascual Perez, whom he counseled for drug problems. In 1989, Ellis served as player/coach for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association and went 0–2 with a 1.76 ERA and seven saves as a part of the team's bullpen. Ellis was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2007 and was placed on the list for a liver transplant. Although he had no health insurance, friends from his baseball career helped pay his medical bills. Services were held at the Angelus Funeral Home.