“My head was messed up.” In a rare moment of clarity, these once were the words of former Houston Astros pitcher, Mark Lemongello, known for his frequent outbursts of self-assault, sometimes slapping himself after ineffective pitches or outings.

Lemongello wore Astro orange from 1976 through 1978. Bizarre events and an encounter with the law haunted his life shortly after his baseball career ended: Events that were singularly unique among baseball players to that point… and haven’t been matched since.