In a new book called Frozen: My Journey Into the World of Cryonics, Deception, and Death, Larry Johnson, a former executive at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, details what he saw while working at the facility, including the terrible things workers did to the head and body of Red Sox player Ted Williams. According to the Daily News today, it’s gruesome and inexplicable stuff, including an incident the newspaper un-tastefully describes as “batting practice.”

“Johnson writes that in July 2002, shortly after the Red Sox slugger died at age 83, technicians with no medical certification gleefully photographed and used crude equipment to decapitate the majors’ last .400 hitter.”

“Holes were drilled in Williams’ severed head for the insertion of microphones, then frozen in liquid nitrogen while Alcor employees recorded the sounds of Williams’ brain cracking 16 times as temperatures dropped to -321 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“The head was balanced on an empty can of Bumble Bee tuna to keep it from sticking to the bottom of its case.”

“Johnson describes watching as another Alcor employee removed Williams’ head from the freezer with a stick, and tried to dislodge the tuna can by swinging at it with a monkey wrench.”

Johnson, who says he wrote in hiding while fearing for his life, hopes his book will lead to Ted Williams being cremated according to his original wishes. He will appear on Nightline on Tuesday to discuss the book.

Staff at Arizona cryogenics lab Alcor used Ted Williams’ frozen head for batting practice: book [NYDN]