Late UCSB Baseball Player Maury Ornest Struck a Chord Using Art to Express Mental Illness

Maury Ornest had several things in common with Freddie Freeman, the World Series hero of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both were born of Canadian parents, and both grew up in Southern California. Their fathers groomed them to play baseball, tossing balls to them and taking them to Dodgers and Angels games.

Ornest was a major league draft prospect out of Beverly Hills High in 1977, but he decided to pursue a college education and came to UCSB. As a switch-hitter, he compiled a .363 batting average for the Gauchos and was taken in the third round of the 1980 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Injuries prevented Ornest from progressing out of the minor leagues, and then mental illness plunged him a dark place far from the bright lights of the ballpark. But it was discovered after his death in 2018 that he had achieved a colorful legacy of his own. As productively as Freeman strokes base hits, Ornest’s brushstrokes filled hundreds of canvases.

Laura Ornest remembers the day in 1983 her youngest brother broached bizarre visions that were clouding his mind. “It was a psychotic break from reality,” she said. Termed a schizoaffective disorder, it affected Maury the rest of his life. “There was medication, therapy, good times, rough times,” Laura said. “He became reclusive. A therapist suggested painting to express himself.”

After her brother suffered a fatal heart attack, she said, “When we went to his house, we were overwhelmed and surprised by the amount of paintings. We could hardly move around all the canvases. We found journals too. He left so much, telling us of his sadness, torment, and joy.”

The paintings, many of them baseball-themed, portray a vivid imagination. “What struck us most of all was the vibrancy, the joy, the love, the humor, the silliness, and whimsy in the paintings,” Laura said. “He transferred his inner darkness into vivid, life-affirming colors with passion and energy.”

Her brother’s output made Laura think about his dedication as a baseball player. “What inspired me about Maury was that he never gave up, in spite of his illness,” she said. “In baseball, even the best hitters fail two-thirds of the time. They know tomorrow is another day.”

Maury’s story is told in a documentary film, Outsider, which is being screened at UCSB’s intercollegiate athletics building on Sunday (Nov. 10). Laura Ornest, herself a graduate of the university, will be on a panel that includes Athletic Director Kelly Barsky, psychology professor Dr. Steve Smith, and art professor Jane Callister.

Dodgers art by Maury Ornest | Photo: Courtesy

Barsky described the film as “incredibly raw and graceful at the same time. It is an honor to highlight this Gaucho’s story and use that as an inspiration to remove the stigma around mental illness and support mental health.”

An art sale — which Maury Ornest never had the wherewithal to arrange — will follow Sunday’s screening and discussion. Invitations have been filled for the event, but queries can be addressed to Leslie Gray at leslie.gray@ucsb.edu.