“No No: Dockumentary”
(2014), by Jeff Radice, is a biographical sketch of the career of Major League
Baseball pitcher Doc Ellis, who pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates
on June 12, 1970 in San Diego (on the road) against the Padres, while under the
influence of LSD. He walked eight and
hit a batter, so the result is amazing. That game happened just after I had started my own work career and was temporarily living in Indianapolis.
The biography starts by noting that the comfort of
African-American baseball players had not really improved that much since
Jackie Robinson broke the ranks (the film “42”). But as the film progresses, it deals
increasingly with the problems of drugs in baseball and sports, which got
increasing attention from the major media in the 1970s and 1980s. But this issue was with cocaine, LSD and the
like; it predates the scandals over the
use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs that would affect baseball
later. Player would eventually testify
about drug use, some pitchers admitting to throwing at hitters when using them.
The film shows the look of major league stadiums during that
time. Many stadiums built from the 60s through
the 80s were symmetrical, as there was a belief that baseball stadiums should
be more uniform for fairness and integrity of statistics. Since the 1990s, there has been an interest
in a more retro, individualized retro look, as with Baltimore’s Camden
Yards. The film shows some World Series
play in Baltimore’s old symmetric Memorial Stadium.
Ellis retired early, in 1980, at 35.
The Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann pitched a "no no" on the last day of the 2014 season at home against the Miami Marlins. The slang term for a no-hitter reminds me of the name of the laser or heat-wave depilatory tool advertised heavily on some cable channels.
The official site is here film on Netflix Instant
play. It is available on both Amazon and
YouTube, too, for legal rental.
Picture: modern stadium of Pirates in Pittsburgh, my visit, 2007.
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