BULLARD, Texas — For a lot of baseball fans, the return of the World Series conjures up memories of watching their favorite team accomplish amazing things --through their TV screen. But for Robert Ellis, a former MLB pitcher and world champion himself, the memories are a bit more real -- a bit more tangible.
"I was sitting in the dugout, and Randy Johnson was sitting there, and I said, he’d pitched the night before and pitched lights out, I said ‘are you gonna pitch today?’ and this was in the second inning of the game and he had his tennis shoes on," Ellis recalled to CBS19. "He was like ‘there’s no way’. And I look up on the monitor, right in the hallway going to the dugout, and I see Randy down in the bullpen getting loose."
That’s an interaction Ellis had with Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in the dugout during game seven of the 2001 World Series, which Johnson did end up finishing on the mound. That title remains the only one in Arizona Diamondbacks history ahead of their matchup with the Texas Rangers in this year’s Fall Classic, making Ellis a part of baseball history.
Ellis was the No. 3 starter on that 2001 Diamondbacks team that won the World Series, and he remembers exactly where he was when Luis Gonzalez walked it off for Arizona.
"I think, obviously, the thing I remember the most was Gonzo getting the game winning hit, that blooper over Jeter’s head, in that 2001 series, and just running to home plate and everything was blank," Ellis said.
After the World Series title in Arizona, Ellis spent a few more years in the league, including a stint with the Rangers in 2003 – playing alongside guys like Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Michael Young. Ellis called it a career after that, and quickly turned his focus to coaching. He’s coached at different levels across the country, including with the 2020 World Champion Dodgers.
Now, his journey has led him to serving as Bullard High School's baseball coach, where he gets to help inspire the next generation of ballplayers.
"The high school level is… I really enjoy it," Ellis said. "For me, it’s, you just see so much growth. And not everyone wants to play in the big leagues, they just want to learn baseball, and I love to teach the game, and this gives me an opportunity to do that."
On Friday, the Rangers continue their journey toward their first-ever title, while the Diamondbacks are back in the Fall Classic for the first time since that unlikely ride Ellis was on, more than 20 years ago.