Summary
Bouton befriended sportswriter Leonard Shecter during his time with the Yankees. Shecter approached him with the idea of writing and publishing a season-long diary. Bouton, who had taken some notes during the 1968 season after having a similar idea, readily agreed. The book chronicled the 1969 season, which was the Seattle Pilots' only operating season, though Bouton was traded to Houston late in the year. [1]
Ball Four described a side of baseball that was previously unseen by writing about the obscene jokes, drunken womanizing, and routine drug use among players, including by Bouton himself. Bouton wrote with candor about the anxiety he felt over his pitching and his role on the team. Bouton detailed his unsatisfactory relationships with teammates and management alike, his sparring sessions with Pilots manager Joe Schultz and pitching coach Sal Maglie, and the lies and minor cheating that has gone on in baseball. [1]
Bouton disclosed how rampant the use of amphetamines or "greenies" was among players. Also revealed was the heavy drinking of Yankee legend Mickey Mantle, which had previously been kept almost entirely out of the press. Bouton additionally described clashes with his coaches (usually about his role with the team, his opinion that he should use the knuckleball exclusively, and his desire to throw between outings) and his outspoken views on politics. [5]
Publication and response
Ball Four proved to be commercially successful. The first edition was published in an edition of just 5,000 copies and quickly sold out. [6] Reprints, translations, and new editions ensued, with the book ultimately selling millions of copies worldwide, with the book eventually being considered as a baseball classic. [6]
Reaction within baseball
Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn called Ball Four "detrimental to baseball," and tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying that the book was completely fictional. Bouton refused to deny any of revelations in Ball Four. Many of Bouton's teammates never forgave him for publicly airing what he had learned in private about their flaws and foibles. The book made Bouton unpopular with many players, coaches and officials on other teams as well, as they felt he had betrayed the long-standing rule: "What you see here, what you say here, what you do here, let it stay here." Pete Rose took to yelling "Fuck you, Shakespeare!" from the dugout whenever Bouton was pitching. [7]
A number of sportswriters also denounced Bouton, with Dick Young leading the way, calling Bouton and Shecter "social lepers". [8]
Although Bouton wrote about Mickey Mantle in a mostly positive light, his comments on Mantle's excesses spawned most of the book's notoriety, and provoked Bouton's essential blacklisting from baseball. Bouton tried several times to make peace with Mantle, but not until Bouton sent a condolence note after Mantle's son Billy died of cancer in 1994 did Mantle contact Bouton. The two former teammates reconciled not long before Mantle's death in 1995. [9]
Hank Aaron, Leo Durocher, Mickey Mantle and Tom Gorman, each of whom had, at one time or another, been either directly or indirectly associated with Bouton, expressed their opinions on the book, none of them favorable, on a 1979 episode of The Dick Cavett Show . [10]
Legacy
The following year, Bouton described the fallout from Ball Four and his ensuing battles with Commissioner Kuhn and others in another book, titled I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally. Bouton dedicated the book to sportswriter Dick Young and Bowie Kuhn. [1]
In 1976, Ball Four became the inspiration for an eponymous television sitcom. [11] Bouton starred as "Jim Barton", a baseball player who was also a writer with a preoccupation with his teammates' personal lives. [11] The show was canceled after five episodes. [11]
In an interview with the website Five Books, sportswriter Joe Posnanski named Ball Four as one of the best baseball books, saying "it's beautifully written, and, again, there's a lot of humanity in it. There is certainly also a lot of shock value in it. There are stories about taking drugs and some of the off-field relationships. That is what made the book somewhat scandalous when it first came out." But Posnanski says the book is really about trying to hold on to youth, citing the last line: "You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end, it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." [12]
Bouton's authorship of Ball Four led to his being named as one of three author-plaintiffs in the case of Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. , ultimately losing his case in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015. [13]
Mickey Charles Mantle, nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York Yankees, primarily as a center fielder. Mantle is regarded by many as being one of the best players and sluggers of all time. He was an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player three times and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
James Hoyt Wilhelm, nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch; umpires are challenged as well, as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes. A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer.
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Major League Baseball owners for almost 20 years prior to his election as commissioner.
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James Alan Bouton was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1962 and 1978. He was also a best-selling author, actor, activist, sportscaster and one of the creators of Big League Chew.
John Franklin "Johnny" Sain was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He was the runner-up for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in the Braves' pennant-winning season of 1948, after leading the National League in wins, complete games and innings pitched. He later became further well known as one of the top pitching coaches in the majors.
The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees; the Cardinals prevailed in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.
Bobby Ray Murcer was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1965 and 1983. He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, whom he later rejoined as a longtime broadcaster. A Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star, and was voted to the AP's American League 1970s All-Decade team. Murcer led the American League in on-base percentage in 1971, and in runs and total bases in 1972.
Jane Leavy is an American sportswriter, biographer, and author who previously worked as a reporter for The Washington Post. Leavy primarily writes about baseball and is best known for her biographies on baseball greats Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth.
Joseph Anthony Pepitone was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, and Atlanta Braves from 1962 to 1973 and for the Yakult Atoms of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1973. Pepitone was a three-time MLB All-Star and won three Gold Glove Awards.
Anthony Christopher Kubek is an American former professional baseball player and television broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting in 37 World Series games. For NBC television, he later broadcast twelve World Series between 1968 and 1982, and fourteen League Championship Series between 1969 and 1989. Kubek received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2009.
John Joseph Keane was an American professional baseball manager and coach. He managed in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four complete seasons and parts of two others. Keane is perhaps best remembered for his change of teams following the 1964 MLB season—after the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series, he unexpectedly resigned as manager of the Cardinals and was subsequently hired to manage the Yankees.
Philip Francis Linz was an American professional baseball player. Linz played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1962–65), Philadelphia Phillies (1966–67), and New York Mets (1967–68). He batted and threw right-handed, and was listed at 6 feet (72 in) and 180 pounds (82 kg), during his playing days.
Herman Thomas Davis Jr. was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder and third baseman from 1959 to 1976 for ten different teams, most prominently for the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was a two-time National League batting champion and was a member of the 1963 World Series winning team.
Martin E. Appel is an American public relations and sports management executive, television executive producer, baseball historian and author.
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Arthur Stewart was an American baseball front-office executive and scout. He began his Major League Baseball (MLB) scouting career with the New York Yankees in 1953. He later joined the Kansas City Royals in 1969, becoming its scouting director in 1984, before serving as senior advisor to the general manager from 1997 until his death.
The Harmonica Incident took place on a New York Yankees team bus on August 20, 1964, en route to O'Hare International Airport. Infielder Phil Linz, slightly resentful at not being played during a four-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox that was believed at the time to have seriously set back the Yankees' chances at that year's American League pennant, began playing a harmonica in the back of the bus. Manager Yogi Berra, feeling that Linz's behavior was inappropriate given the team's recent poor performance, angrily called on him to stop, whereupon Linz threw the harmonica and loudly complained about being singled out despite not having been at fault for the losses.
Leonard Shecter was an American journalist and author. He edited Jim Bouton's groundbreaking Ball Four, as well as its sequel, I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally.
