Bernie Carbo: I Was On Drugs During World Series

Bernie Carbo was nearly a World Series hero. Facing elimination and a three-run deficit in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, the Red Sox outfielder slugged a pinch-hit home run to even the score at Fenway Park. Carlton Fisk went on to seal the victory in the 12th inning, but Boston would fall to the Cincinnati Reds in Game 7.

What makes Carbo's feat even more impressive is his recent admission that he was on all sorts of drugs when he hit the three-run shot. "I probably smoked two joints, drank about three or four beers, got to the ballpark, took some [amphetamines], took a pain pill, drank a cup of coffee, chewed some tobacco, had a cigarette, and got up to the plate and hit,''he told the Boston Globe.

Carbo's stunning interview encompasses far more than the 1975 World Series. The Red Sox Hall of Famer says he "was addicted to anything you could possibly be addicted to. I played the out field sometimes where it looked like the stars were falling from the sky."

The Globe article chronicles the devastating consequences of his addiction as well as his eventual recovery. Click here for all of the amazing details.

Carbo is not the only former ballplayer who claims to have accomplished a major on-field triumph while high. Dock Ellis says his no-hitter for the Pirates occurred after he had taken LSD.

Comments

[BruntLIVE]

04:26 PM on 04/06/2010

He's White: No harm no foul, his stats will stay in tact. Hey, he was just horsing around right? Did I say he was White?

[jfair80]

03:54 PM on 04/06/2010

Perhaps it was the drugs that attributed to them loosing the series?

[cookerman45]

01:27 PM on 04/05/2010

i could tell by his hair cut.

[kulturkampf]

10:06 AM on 04/05/2010

Doc Ellis' Electric Gatorade Acid Test.

[Weirdo]

10:34 PM on 04/04/2010

Doc Ellis's feat was far more athletic.

[ECB]

10:56 PM on 04/04/2010

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpropaganda/dock-ellis-lsd-infused-no-hitter-ken

Here you go !

[WilliePilgrim]

06:50 PM on 04/04/2010

Clearly the notion that drugs are antithetical to performance is the result of statistics and not the individual's own capacities. In fact there exists evidence, anecdotal of course, that when we abandon conscious control or body and mind's true potential is unimpeded by our expectations and desires, and performs feats that it otherwise might not have been able to achieve.

[gene poole]

06:39 PM on 04/04/2010

Sounds like a helluva fun day!

[callings]

05:44 PM on 04/04/2010

Babe Ruth was famous for drinking large volumes of beer between games of a double header. He hit fairly well. These guys are paid for what they do between the lines (even if they're doing lines), not for being moral pillars. Move on.

[Weirdo]

10:35 PM on 04/04/2010

Babe Ruth once said that he could have "hit .600, if I had tried for all those dinky singles."

[ECB]

04:25 PM on 04/04/2010

"Bernie Carbo" Is that a great sports name or what ?

[VivaldiPickpocket]

06:44 PM on 04/04/2010

Makes me want to drink lots of water.

[yappnmutt]

02:49 PM on 04/04/2010

that happened before baseball was considered a sport. it was still a game then.

guys used to drink in the clubhouse and smoke in the dugout during the game.

[american-dolt]

01:52 PM on 04/04/2010

I think it was Jock Sutherland who said he surfed Pipeline on acid in the 60's.

[guitargeorge1964]

01:21 PM on 04/04/2010

I read an article about Dock Ellis a few years ago in the Houston Press. That is one of the weirdest sports stories I've ever read. If you can find that original article, check it out.

[Torrentlover]

01:08 PM on 04/04/2010

All right, that's it, pot must officially be listed as a performance enhancing drug. Too many successful athletes have either admitted to or have been photographed using the herb.

Here I was thinking pot made you lazy and unwilling to do anything! Legalize already.

Ps, SI has a good article entitled something like "High Draft Picks"

[Kevin Atlanta]

01:06 PM on 04/04/2010

So much for the reefer madness...

Don't bogart that joint.

[HatingTheGame]

01:05 PM on 04/04/2010

Incredible things can happen when you're on drugs.