Dock Ellis

Born: 3/11/1945 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Died: 12/19/2008 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1968-06-18 | Final Game: 1979-09-29

Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 205 lbs

Full name: Dock Phillip Ellis

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Dock Ellis was a notable pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1968 to 1979. Born in 1945, he made a significant impact on the game during a transformative era in baseball, showcasing his talents primarily with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over his career, he recorded a win-loss record of 138-119 and maintained a respectable earned run average (ERA) of 3.46. Ellis was known for his distinctive pitching style and competitive spirit, which contributed to his achievement of 1,136 strikeouts and a single save during his time on the mound. His performance earned him an All-Star selection, highlighting his status as one of the premier pitchers of his era. Ellis's career is perhaps most famously remembered for his unconventional no-hitter on June 12, 1970, which he pitched while under the influence of LSD, an event that has become a legendary anecdote in baseball history. His willingness to speak candidly about his struggles with substance abuse and the challenges he faced off the field made him a prominent figure in discussions about mental health and addiction in sports. Dock Ellis's legacy extends beyond his statistics; he was a trailblazer who used his platform to advocate for players’ rights and social justice, leaving an indelible mark on the game long after his retirement.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
138	119	345	317	71	14	1	2127.7	2067	817	140	674	1136	3.46	0

Career ERA 3.46 vs. league average 3.64 across their career seasons — 5.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1968	PIT	NL	6	5	26	10	2	0	0	104.0	82	29	38	52	2.51	2.98 (+16%)	-74.5
1969	PIT	NL	11	17	35	33	8	2	0	218.7	206	87	76	173	3.58	3.61 (+1%)	4322.7
1970	PIT	NL	13	10	30	30	9	4	0	201.7	194	72	87	128	3.21	3.89 (+17%)	2592.6
1971	PIT	NL	19	9	31	31	11	2	0	226.7	207	77	63	137	3.06	3.47 (+12%)	2999.9
1972	PIT	NL	15	7	25	25	4	1	0	163.3	156	49	33	96	2.70	3.26 (+17%)	3805.8
1973	PIT	NL	12	14	28	28	3	1	0	192.0	176	65	55	122	3.05	3.75 (+19%)	5109.9
1974	PIT	NL	12	9	26	26	9	0	0	176.7	163	62	41	91	3.16	3.63 (+13%)	1407.9
1975	PIT	NL	8	9	27	24	5	2	0	140.0	163	59	43	69	3.79	3.71 (-2%)	1036.6
1976	NYY	AL	17	8	32	32	8	1	0	211.7	195	75	76	65	3.19	3.51 (+9%)	-
1977	NYY	AL	1	1	3	3	1	0	0	19.7	18	4	8	5	1.83	4.00 (+54%)	-
1977	OAK	AL	1	5	7	7	0	0	0	26.0	35	28	14	11	9.69	4.00 (-142%)	-1388.1
1977	TEX	AL	10	6	23	22	7	1	1	167.3	158	54	42	90	2.90	4.00 (+27%)	2480.5
1978	TEX	AL	9	7	22	22	3	0	0	141.3	131	66	46	45	4.20	3.69 (-14%)	-2398.6
1979	TEX	AL	1	5	10	9	0	0	0	46.7	64	31	16	10	5.98	4.00 (-49%)	-851.6
1979	NYN	NL	3	7	17	14	1	0	0	85.0	110	57	34	41	6.04	4.00 (-51%)	-815.6
1979	PIT	NL	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	7.0	9	2	2	1	2.57	—	0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
388	489	42	65	4	0	0	23	4	27	201	0.133	0.178	0.141	0.319	-3311.4

Career AVG .133 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 47.7% below league average.

Career OBP .178 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 44.5% below league average.

Career SLG .141 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 62.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.319 vs. league average 0.695 across their career seasons — 54.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1968	PIT	NL	27	29	1	2	1	2	0	0	11	0.069	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	PIT	NL	37	68	2	6	0	1	0	2	40	0.088	.248 (-64%)	.320 (-64%)	.369 (-76%)	.689 (-71%)	-783.5
1970	PIT	NL	38	70	9	7	1	1	1	2	37	0.100	.253 (-61%)	.325 (-62%)	.385 (-70%)	.711 (-66%)	-783.3
1971	PIT	NL	44	79	11	16	0	12	2	6	29	0.203	.249 (-19%)	.316 (-18%)	.365 (-45%)	.682 (-32%)	-399.2
1972	PIT	NL	36	59	6	9	0	1	0	1	22	0.153	.243 (-37%)	.310 (-46%)	.353 (-57%)	.664 (-52%)	-481.8
1973	PIT	NL	29	65	2	7	0	0	1	2	32	0.108	.256 (-58%)	.325 (-59%)	.378 (-72%)	.703 (-66%)	-697.3
1974	PIT	NL	30	56	6	12	1	4	0	8	15	0.214	.256 (-17%)	.324 (-4%)	.369 (-37%)	.693 (-21%)	-166.2
1975	PIT	NL	30	36	3	4	1	1	0	5	8	0.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	NYY	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	NYY	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	OAK	AL	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	TEX	AL	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	TEX	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	TEX	AL	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	NYN	NL	17	26	2	2	0	1	0	1	7	0.077	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	PIT	NL	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
8	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1976	ALCS	NYA	1	0	0	.000
1976	WS	NYA	1	0	0	.000
1975	NLCS	PIT	1	0	0	.000
1972	NLCS	PIT	2	1	0	0.000
1971	NLCS	PIT	1	3	2	0.000
1971	WS	PIT	1	1	1	0.000
1970	NLCS	PIT	1	2	1	0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	4	7	6	0	35.3	39	16	12	14	4.08

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1976	ALCS	NYA	1	0	1	1	8.0	6	3	2	5	3.38
1976	WS	NYA	0	1	1	1	3.3	7	4	0	1	10.80
1975	NLCS	PIT	0	0	1	0	2.0	2	0	0	2	0.00
1972	NLCS	PIT	0	1	1	1	5.0	5	0	1	3	0.00
1971	NLCS	PIT	1	0	1	1	5.0	6	2	4	1	3.60
1971	WS	PIT	0	1	1	1	2.3	4	4	1	1	15.43
1970	NLCS	PIT	0	1	1	1	9.7	9	3	4	1	2.79

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	345	317	173	287	23	26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1968	PIT	P	26	10	5	18	0	2
1969	PIT	P	35	33	15	35	3	2
1970	PIT	P	30	30	21	34	2	3
1971	PIT	P	31	31	22	32	2	1
1972	PIT	P	25	25	16	15	0	2
1973	PIT	P	28	28	16	30	1	3
1974	PIT	P	26	26	14	22	4	2
1975	PIT	P	27	24	8	16	2	4
1976	NYA	P	32	32	19	20	3	0
1977	NYA	P	3	3	1	2	0	0
1977	OAK	P	7	7	1	3	0	0
1977	TEX	P	23	22	15	16	3	4
1978	TEX	P	22	22	11	22	2	2
1979	TEX	P	10	9	2	8	1	0
1979	NYN	P	17	14	7	13	0	1
1979	PIT	P	3	1	0	1	0	0