No No: A Dockumentary Page #11

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"where are you going?"

I said, "I'm going to

the hospital."

And so, I got up and got dressed

and went to the hospital

and never went back.

He called me and he said,

"pick me up from the airport.

He called me and he said,

"pick me up from the airport.

Have a bottle of vodka, because

it's going to be my last drink."

He said, "I'm a drug addict

and an alcoholic."

And I said, "what?"

He said, "I'm a drug addict

and an alcoholic.

I'm going into treatment."

And I did, I picked him up

from the airport

and had his bottle of vodka.

And to my knowledge,

that was his last drink.

(Music)

(Music)

Peter golenbock:
How long

did you stay in this center?

Dock:
I stayed almost two weeks

more than the insurance,

because I was afraid.

You know, it was like I didn't

have the six bullets in my gun.

It was like I had five

and I knew it.

So whatever it was, I was going

to stay there 'til I got it.

You can always change

and be a better person.

You can always change

and be a better person.

I think he went there.

And we tried to go back.

Because I loved him, I mean,

he was wonderful.

It was just that one night

that tore everything apart.

Once you are an addict

or have been cured of it,

you don't have a problem

talking about it,

because that's in your makeup.

Because that's in your makeup.

You're supposed to talk about

it, because after I stopped

using... the thing was,

I needed to talk about it

to make myself fine.

You've got to face what you did,

and then you've got

to live your life.

In Pittsburgh this morning,

major league baseball players

begin testifying about

alleged cocaine deals

with a clubhouse cook.

Keith Hernandez, of the mets,

formerly of the

St. Louis cardinals, said at

one point, he estimates,

that between one-third and a

half of the major league players

that between one-third and a

half of the major league players

were using cocaine.

News reporter:
Enos cabell,

a journeyman infielder,

now with the Los Angeles

Dodgers, testified.

Former Pittsburgh pitcher

dock Ellis talked this week

about how tempting he found

cocaine and amphetamines

in the big leagues.

Yes, a lot of money causes

a lot of problems,

and a lot of problems

causes a lot of stress,

a lot of stress causes a lot

of need for medication,

and to medicate those problems,

a lot of athletes,

a lot of individuals seek

drugs and alcohol.

When you used drugs as an

athlete, did it make you

when you used drugs as an

athlete, did it make you

more aggressive on the field?

Did it affect your play?

Well, I can recall one incident,

ed, where I hit some baseba...

Some players for the

Cincinnati reds.

But you're not the only pitcher

who's thrown at someone.

I threw to hit them.

I mean, I threw to hurt

them bad.

But what do young

athletes need, then?

What's the advice?

Educate and make the young

guys in the rookie leagues,

the rookies, aware of drug

dangers and alcohol dangers.

Have an anonymous rehabilitative

program for major league

have an anonymous rehabilitative

program for major league

baseball players, and a thorough

after-care program,

and help these guys.

I felt that I had some

colleagues that were

involved with drugs and alcohol,

and what I had learned,

if I could share that with them,

they might stop

or they might think about

stopping, so I said,

"I'm going to go to school.

I'm going to learn about

this counseling stuff."

And that's what I did.

He loved going to school.

He'd come over.

He'd come over.

He'd want me to help

him with his papers.

He just put his all into what...

Into that.

And that's what he did with

anything he tried,

he was going to 100%.

His dream was that

major league baseball

put a real drug program in.

Baseball hasn't addressed that.

Football hasn't addressed that.

His idea was go

to the clubhouse.

Go to the hotel.

Go to where they're at.

They ain't going to come to you.

They ain't going to come to you.

By the time they come to you,

they've already been locked up

or their old lady's

thrown them out.

And his idea was to go around

to different clubhouses

in different cities and just

have a group on living.

Hi, everybody.

Our guest on sports look today

was once referred to as the

muhammad Ali of baseball.

Dock Ellis, who is now a

counselor, drug counselor

and alcohol abuse counselor

for the New York Yankees,

and on retainer for a number

of other players...

I think dock had a natural

leadership quality.

I think dock had a natural

leadership quality.

There was a wisdom there,

because at this point in

dock Ellis' life, he'd been

through a hell of a lot,

and was really kind of an

inspiring presence on the set.

(Players chatter)

The casting director just said,

"do you know who wants

to come in and just audition

is dock Ellis?"

To come in and just audition

is dock Ellis?"

And I said, "really?

That's kind of amazing."

I know he's retired now,

but why not?

(Cheering)

I most vividly remember dock

when we were doing this

company softball game sequence,

and it was a chance

to actually kind of

talk baseball.

And that was the first time that

I had heard his claim

that he pitched the

no-hitter on LSD.

And he talked about

it with embarrassment.

It wasn't like some sort

of cool calling card.

It wasn't like some sort

of cool calling card.

He was talking about that day,

about sort of his own

disappointment in himself.

So, when he referred to it,

it was with regret.

Even though all the other guys,

comics, hip guys,

you can imagine them chortling

and goading and coming up

with one-liners about it,

and pretending that they

were on acid pitching

and stuff like that,

and he'd joke along with them,

but you also felt

and he'd joke along with them,

but you also felt

that he was disappointed

in himself.

I just remember this look

in his eyes and him saying,

"I'm glad I threw a no-hitter,

I suppose, but I'd probably

trade that for not having pulled

a stunt like that," you know?

And maybe some day some of

these big-time stars

will come around to you kids

because they really care

about you, and they're going to

tell you about some of the hell

and pain they've been through

because of booze and drugs.

Some of you don't know it,

but I'm a former

major league baseball player.

I did some things in baseball

that I see some of you guys

do today.

And you know, some of you who

are off the hook sometime,

and that's just the

way my life is.

I met dock at an aa convention,

and we changed cards

and pleasantries.

And we changed cards

and pleasantries.

I said, you know, if you ever

need me for something, dock,

I'm up at the boys' school

and you want to come up

and give a talk to my young

inmates, more than welcome.

Probably three days,

four days later, I get a call.

He said, "I'm coming up!"

So he came up, and a week later,

I said, "do you want a job?"

I was out to lunch.

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