The LSD Psychedelic No-Hitter- No One Died June 12, 2010

Dallas Braden Celebrated His Mother's Day No-Hitter

On this Date in History:  A pitcher throwing a no-hitter is quite an accomplishment as going through an entire Major League line-up without giving up a single hit to big league hitters is quite difficult.  Typically, it happens 2 or 3 times in any given season.  Every now and then a pitcher not only denies any hits, but he also issues no walks, does not hit a batter and his teammates to do give up an error.  That would mean that 27 men came to the plate and 27 men went back to the dugout.  Perfect games are pretty rare, though Oakland A’s pitcher Dallas Braden pulled off the feat this year against the Tampa Bay Rays and there were two others as well, which is very odd. 

Speed Makes Hitting Difficult..throw in some wildness and you can really be effective

Most of the time, a no-hitter is celebrated.  There have been some interesting ones that end up with a pitcher giving up zero hits but still losing the game.  Then there was the time that Nolan Ryan no-hit the Tigers in 1973 (box score).  Ryan was one of the hardest throwers in baseball history and racked up 5,714 strikeouts in his storied career.  He had 7 no-hitters, 12 one-hitters and 18 two-hitters.  Early in his career, he was wild and so batters had a sense of fear going against a guy who wasn’t too accurate with his pitches that often reached 100 mph.  In the 6-0 victory, Ryan struck out 17 Tigers but walked 4, which wasn’t too bad considering he walked 8 in his next no-hitter.  But, he was just wild enough to keep the Tigers on edge.  In the 9th inning, the Tigers’ Norm Cash came to the plate with a sawed off table leg as a bat.  “I wasn’t going to hit him anyway,” explained Cash.

Dock Ellis Could Be a Dominating Pitcher

Now, Ryan was naturally a little wild but he was always in control of his emotions and his focus.  The same can’t be said of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Dock Ellis.  When the right-hander took to the hill in San Diego on this date in 1970 he sported a pedestrian  4-4 record.  In his four losses, his lack of control was a key reason for the team’s defeat.  Wildness was certainly a hall mark of this game as well except for the final 3 innings.  Observers say that Ellis’ concentration suddenly became laser like and he only allowed one baserunner over the last 3 frames.     The thing is that Ellis did not even know he was going to pitch that night.  He thought that he wasn’t going to pitch until the next day.  So, what exactly  does a big leaguer do on an off day? 

Dock Ellis was known as a "free spirit"

Well, the Pirates had finished a series in San Francisco on Wednesday June 10th and after the game, the team flew to San Diego where they were to start a weekend series on Friday June 12, 1970, hence  the team was off on Thursday.   So, after the team arrived in San Diego, Ellis decided it was a good time to take a couple of trips.  First he dropped acid and then drove to Los Angeles to spend the team’s off day with friends.  He was up until all hours of the night drinking screw drivers and smoking dope.  When he woke up around noon, he promptly took another hit of acid.  He figured that it was a good thing to do since he was not going to pitch until Friday.  What Dock Ellis didn’t know was that it was Friday.  Ellis had slept all day Thursday.     About an hour after venturing into his second inning of Purple Haze, his girlfriend informed him that he was scheduled to pitch that night.  Whoops!   So, he caught a quick flight from LA to San Diego and arrived in time for the game.  What’s a guy to do who is tripping on LSD before he starts throwing 90 mph fastballs to batters? Should you call in sick? Nope; can’t let the team down.  Dock decided it was a good idea to load up on 6 amphetimines!

Ellis Was Pretty Care-Free In His 20's but Later Gave His Time to Rehabilitate Prisoners

Ellis recalled later, “I can only remember bits and pieces of the game.  I was psyched.”   I suppose he’s lucky that he didn’t have a “bad trip” because Ellis says that he had a “feeling of euphoria” and was “zeroed in on the cather’s glove.”  Ellis admitted though that he did not hit the catcher’s mitt too much.  See, Ellis hit one batter and walked 8 others.  After 6 innings the count was one hit batter and 7 walks!   Of the 9 total baserunners, 3 successfully stole bases off him, but no one crossed  the plate…and no one registered a base hit.  But, Ellis doesn’t remember much of that either.  He recalls the bases being loaded a couple of times and he remembers hitting the batter…but that’s about it.  What he does remember is the hallucinations he had while on the mound and most observers say that its a miracle that he not only pitched a no-hitter but also did not hurt or kill anyone.    As it turns out, Ellis can thank Willie Stargell for his success as the slugger hit two solo homeruns to secure the 2-0 win.  This was truly an ugly no-hitter that has only gotten uglier 40 years later when it is now known that Dock Ellis threw the only LSD aided No-Hitter in Major League History.

SPC Severe Weather Outlook June 12 2010

Weather Bottom Line:  Saturday morning featured that little shortwave that I had mentioned yesterday.  As I had suspected it was mainly just  a rain event with perhaps some thunder.  It will continue to be warm and humid throughout the day.  The next disturbance on Saturday morning was well out to the west so it fits that we get our next best chance of rain late Saturday night into early Sunday morning.  The timing will also limit the severe potential but heavy rain in spots is possible.   After that, I suspect that this unsettled pattern will stick around for a few days so get used to the unseasonably warm and humid conditions with periods of rain and t’storms passing through from time to time.

Where is Jimmy Hoffa? The Deep’s Grifon was a true beauty of the sea, as was Jaqueline Bissett July 31, 2009

Take That Boy!

Shaw Keeps His Eyes Forward

Shaw wasn't making up the stuff about the Griffon

On this date in 1715, the French ship Grifon survived a hurricane off the coast of Florida. “So what,” you ask?Well, first off when the Spanish came to the new world they were looking for booty and plunder. They wanted to exploit the region for its natural resources and send it back to the king in Spain. So they would gather up all of their gold and trinkets and send them back on ships, usually in a convoy to protect against pirates. The Spaniards were rather formidable in those days and so it was suicide for any marauding pirates to try and take on a fleet of ships. On this date in 1715, 10 Spanish ships and one French ship made its way through the Straits of Florida where they ran into a hurricane. For some reason, the French ship sailed farther off the coast from the Spaniards. The Spanish ships, filled with hundreds of tons of gold and silver, sunk. The french ship survived. That French ship was the Grifon.

A Famous Scene from "The Deep"

If you remember the movie The Deep then this ship is familiar to you. Its the ship that Robert Shaw decided had survived but later came back and may have sunk. I’ve provided a script from the scene below. But anyway, there are two things that come to mind from this. First is that Peter Benchley did a fabulous job of basing his fictitious tale on accurate history. I was very surprised that there really was a Grifon that really was the only ship to not sink in a hurricane. The other thing is that about 80% of that gold was recovered by the Spanish by 1716 but the rest did not come back to the surface until the mid 1960′s, which makes me wonder how much of Benchley’s script was really ficticious. Speaking of scripts, if you can take your eyes off of the photo of Bissett, you can read the script from The Deep, here.

Where is Jimmy?

On This Date in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.  He was last seen the previous day at a restaurant parking lot.  The movie Hoffa took many liberties. The Danny DeVito character was a fictitious character that was based on a conglomeration of other people. Here are the facts regarding the disappearance of James R. Hoffa.  There are many theories on what happened to him, but no one really knows.  Just a couple of days ago,  a story appeared that said a jawbone police found outside of Detroit probably was not that of the former Teamsters leader.  But, it goes to show that people and perhaps law enforcement remain on the case.  There have been stories that Hoffa is in the end zone of Giants Stadium.    There have been many searches, one in which the cops drained a lake. They didn’t find him.  I had a roommate from Pittsburgh whose father was a labor attorney.  He always told me that Hoffa’s body was in a road bed of some highway that I cannot recall.  Whatever, it is, speculation is that he was killed and it was a conspiracy, but by whom?  One of those stories that will probably never have a solution and therefore will never go away.

Ryan Makes A Point with Bob Hill

On This Date in 1990, Nolan Ryan won his 300th game by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3. Here is his career biography. We used to go to every game he pitched when he was with the Astros There was this old man who always screamed out “Breeze him Nolie!” It seemed to reverberate around the Astrodome…that and the beer vendor yelling “coldest foam in the Dome!” I never liked his nickname “The Ryan Express.” We just called him “The Big Heater.” There are a bunch of Ryan tales I could tell but two stand out. Of course, one is represented by the photo on the left. Robin Ventura didn’t like the Ryan threw inside so the youngster charged the mound. Ryan was a big, tough guy and this guy about 20 years his junior didn’t scare him. Instead of backing up, he simply bull-dogged the kid by grabbing him about the neck and pummeling him. It was as if he said “come here, boy!” One of the greatest moments in baseball history. Then there was his final pitch. He tore a ligament in his arm. But, he decided to throw one more pitch. The radar gun clocked it at 98 mph. Nolan Ryan is listed among Texas’ Heroes along with the likes of Davy Crockett.

Rain Totals

Missed it by That Much!

Weather Bottom Line:   As Maxwell Smart would say, “missed it by that much.”  I had said that the reports of rain and t’storms on Thursday evening were a bit overblown and I suspected that the widespread rain would be similar to what happened the previous day, which was wide spread rain after midnight toward day break.  Well, we did have scattered activity in the afternoon but the main blob did roll through much later.  But, it was over by about 4 AM.  So, I was off by a few hours.  Anyway, the map above shows the rain from midnight to midnight on the 30th and from Louisville to a few counties north, the totals were 2-4 inches and then a few counties south of Louisville got 2-3 inches.  My sunflowers are quite happy.

NAM rain 6Z Sunday

The pattern will be pretty regular in terms of consistency but not for the time of year.  Frontal activity is typically limited this time of year but we just had one come through and there will be another weak one on Saturday night.  The main action should be south and southwest of our area where the new front has grabbed on to the old front.  Then another weak front shows up on Wednesday night.  If this hold true, then we’ll probably see a repeat performance of scattered stuff on Saturday afternoon with the bulk of the widespread rain overnight on Saturday into Sunday morning.   Early Sunday church may be wet.  Then the same thing on Wednesday with some scattered stuff Wednesday evening with more widespread rain overnight Wednesday.  The fronts are weak so we don’t get overly cooler or drier behind them but this pattern does not lend itself to 90 degree temperatures any time soon.  For the first time in Louisville recorded history, we did not get to 90 degrees on any day in the month of July, which is quite remarkable. 

The Deep

Where’s Jimmy? Remember the Grifon! The Unforgettable Nolan Ryan July 31, 2008

Rain is done except for maybe a slight chance in the next 36 hours, the ridge builds in. Its going to be hot and humid for the next several days.

On This Date In History:

On This Date in 1990, Nolan Ryan won his 300th game by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3. Here is his career biography. We used to go to every game he pitched when he was with the Astros There was this old

Take That Boy!

man who always screamed out “Breeze him Nolie!” It seemed to reverberate around the Astrodome…that and the beer vendor yelling “coldest foam in the Dome!” I never liked his nickname “The Ryan Express.” We just called him “The Big Heater.” There are a bunch of Ryan tales I could tell but two stand out. Of course, one is represented by the photo on the left. Robin Ventura didn’t like the Ryan threw inside so the youngster charged the mound. Ryan was a big, tough guy and this guy about 20 years his junior didn’t scare him. Instead of backing up, he simply bull-dogged the kid by grabbing him about the neck and pummeling him. It was as if he said “come here, boy!” One of the greatest moments in baseball history. Then there was his final pitch. He tore a ligament in his arm. But, he decided to throw one more pitch. The radar gun clocked it at 98 mph. Nolan Ryan is listed among Texas’ Heroes along with the likes of Davy Crockett.

On This Date in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. The movie Hoffa took many liberties. The Danny DeVito character was a fictitious character that was based on a conglomeration of other people. Here are the facts regarding the disappearance of James R. Hoffa.

On this date in 1715, the French ship Grifon survived a hurricane off the coast of Florida. “So what,” you ask? Well, first off when the Spanish came to the new world they were looking for booty and plunder. They wanted to exploit the region for its natural resources and send it back to the king in Spain. So they would gather up all of their gold and trinkets and send them back on ships, usually in a convoy to protect against pirates. The Spaniards were rather formidable in those days and so it was suicide for any marauding pirates to try and take on a fleet of ships. On this date in 1715, 10 Spanish ships and one French ship made its way through the Straits of Florida where they ran into a hurricane. For some reason, the French ship sailed farther off the coast from the Spaniards. The Spanish ships, filled with hundreds of tons of gold and silver, sunk. The french ship survived. That French ship was the Grifon. If you remember the movie The Deep then this ship is familiar to you. Its the ship that Robert Shaw decided had survived but later came back and may have sunk. I’ve provided a script from the scene below. But anyway, there are two things that come to mind from this. First is that Peter Benchley did a fabulous job of basing his fictitious tale on accurate history. I was very surprised that there really was a Grifon that really was the only ship to not sink in a hurricane. The other thing is that about 80% of that gold was recovered by the Spanish by 1716 but the rest did not come back to the surface until the mid 1960′s, which makes me wonder how fictitious Benchley’s tale really was.

By the way…I would have loved to have posted a photo of Jacqueline Bisset…

Don’t Worry About Sunday Night But Keep a Sharp Eye for Booth’s Assassin April 26, 2008

Front came through this morning with little trouble.  Saturday afternoon will be sunny and nice as will much of Sunday though clouds will be increasing Sunday and its will be cooler than we’ve seen. Still comfortable.  Next front is Sunday night/Monday morning. Clouds will increase on Sunday and rain chances increasing late.  The map above is the SPC sever outlook for that time frame and you can see the slight risk is well south.  That’s because of what I said before and that is,  while it’s a strong front and will lower temperatures considerably and has a pretty good looking windfield, it doesn’t have much to work with in regard to low level moisture or energy.  The atmosphere won’t have time to load up.  The area in green that is the slight risk is pretty representative of how far north, or not how far north, the loading up gets. 

On This Date In History: A new conspiracy theory gets started when presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth is killed in a barn in 1865.  It’s kinda interesting how infamous he is.  Americans these days generally are pretty poor when it comes to history yet, this guy is probably one of the better known villains even today.  Not as well known as Colonel Sanders, but still.  But he was quite famous as an actor.  Today, it would be like a famous, good looking actor like Brad Pitt.    Anyway, Booth had escaped Ford’s Theatre by jumping from the presidential box to the stage. His spur caught in a curtain and he landed awkwardly such that he broke his leg.  That made it difficult for him to escape and he eventually got cornered in a barn near Fort Royal, Virginia.

Now, the orders were to take him alive.  The Union soldiers lit the barn on fire to try and smoke him out but before he had a chance, Sergeant Thomas Corbett stuck his musket through a slit in the barn walls and shot him.  I think Booth had his spine severed and he died.  So, the assassin was killed and the conspiracy theories began.  Corbett testified that he fired a carbine, yet the autopsy showed Booth was killed with a pistol bullet.  When Booth was dragged from the barn, the officer in charge said, “He shot himself.”  Then of course came the claims that Booth really wasn’t killed and that it was all made up.

But, Corbett went on claiming he shot Booth.  So, why did he disobey orders?  He blamed God!  He said that God told him to do it and that his orders from God were ultimate.  He also said that God once told him to avoid sexual temptation.  Instead of avoiding such circumstance, Corbett castrated himself with a pair of scissors in 1858.  He was appointed as the doorkeeper of the Kansas legislature but was dismissed in 1887 after threatening a lawmaker with a gun.  He was committed to an insane asylum (imagine that) but escaped and was never heard from again.  Be careful, perhaps he’s still running around out there somewhere.  Then again, maybe God told him to just go away. 

Other Items of Note:

April 26, 1990  Nolan Ryan threw is 12th one hitter, tying Bob Feller’s record.  He had a record 7 no-hitters and lost 5 no-hitters in the 9th inning.  My friends and I always went to an Astros game every series they played.  Saw Ryan a bunch of times.  We called him the Big Heater, which I like better than the Ryan Express.

April 26, 2000 Vermont Governor Howard Dean signed into law the nation’s first law allowing same-sex couples to form state recognized Civil Unions

April 26, 1948 Stevie Nicks is born.  I found a site that lists her as “rocker/druggie”

April 26, 1983 the Dow Jones hits 1200 for the first time. Today its more than 10 times that at well over 12,000.  I’d say that there’s been some economic expansion.