Dock Ellis, 1945-2008
The SF Seals — Dock Ellis
(from the EP The Baseball Trilogy, Matador Records 1993)
Last Friday, December 19, baseball pitcher Dock Ellis died at age 63 of unspecified liver ailments. A better-than-average but not stellar pitcher with a habit of throwing deliberate beanballs, Ellis would today be forgotten by all but the Pittsburgh Pirates faithful but for one of the game’s all-time great stories: On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres while tripping on acid.
In 1993, devoted baseball fan Barbara Manning launched a side project with ex-Cat Heads drummer Melanie Clarin called the SF Seals, named for their hometown’s late, lamented minor league franchise. The SF Seals’ first release was the 7″ EP The Baseball Trilogy, containing covers of two baseball-themed novelty tunes and Manning’s own “Dock Ellis.” A churning neo-psychedelic rocker with droning, distorted guitar lines under Manning’s affectless deadpan vocal, “Dock Ellis” recalls vintage freakbeat classics like the Who’s “I Can See For Miles” and Tomorrow’s “My White Bicycle” as refracted through a lo-fi indie rock prism. In a career filled with terrific songs, “Dock Ellis” could be Barbara Manning’s best.
– Stewart Mason
