![]() ![]() ![]() It enhanced baseball.īouton was the ideal author for such a book. Moving forward to what I wound up doing, “Ball Four” was invaluable to me. “Ball Four” was all true, and remains a monument to the value of first-hand reporting. New York sportswriter Dick Young called Bouton a “social leper.”īut all “Ball Four” did was take the players down off their pedestals, where they never should have been in the first place. Media members got a free ride from the teams they covered, so they piled on. Players felt Bouton betrayed baseball’s secret society. Then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn excoriated the book. ![]() Mickey Mantle acting the jerk (and his alcoholism).Īt the time, many thought “Ball Four” put baseball in a bad light. Voyeurism via hotel window ledges, or holes drilled in the back of the dugout. Amphetamines, a/k/a “greenies.” Groupies, a/k/a “Baseball Annies.” Adultery. There had never been a book like “Ball Four.” A diary of Bouton’s 1969 season, it was a total expose of baseball behind the scenes: Drinking. The book was “Ball Four.” Its author, Jim Bouton, died Wednesday at the age of 80. ![]() This book didn’t affect how I felt about baseball. Then, I read a particular book about baseball. ![]()
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