Jim Bouton (1939–2019)

Jim Bouton’s classic and entertaining tell-all book made from his diary written during his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers) and the Houston Astros. There was a huge uproar when it was published - how dare he mention Mickey Mantle’s drinking!? - and Bouton was persona non grata especially with his old team the Yankees for many years, and for some he still is - just read the other reviews here. The book is, of course, about baseball, but it is also about show more Bouton’s coming to grips with his own inadequacies and, maybe, learning about the nature of workplace sociology. Because, to me, this book only happens to be set on a baseball team; the facts are familiar to anyone who works anywhere, and that is why it remains popular. In a sense Bouton plays an innocent who is shocked to discover that his boss is interested in his own job, not Bouton’s. He is angry that the team won’t pay him as much as he thinks he is worth. He is mad that middle management is incompetent and that they get their jobs because they don’t give the big boss a hard time. Well, that’s how it is and how it will be. The book’s success also owes something to the fact that it appeared around the time of the coming of free-agency in baseball - and serves as a reminder that the only power at the bottom is through organization. show less

This 50th anniversary edition with several postscripts and an introduction by Bouton's second (and last) wife, will make you laugh and cry. You'll laugh at the baseball side, such as Bouton's teammate Mike Hegan saying it was hard to explain to his wife why she needed a shot of penicillin for his "kidney infection". You'll cry reading Bouton's emotional account of the death of his daughter in a car accident. At least you'll cry if you have any kids of your own. Throughout the book, you'll show more notice a few instances of Bouton perhaps overstating his accomplishments a wee bit, such as adding 1 to his number of victories in Savannah, but overall he comes across as smart, perceptive, and likable. The original Ball Four was as controversial for Bouton's out-of-step liberal political views as it was for revealing the less-than-heroic truths about players such as Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. It's clear that Bouton loved baseball, however, continuing to play it at some level as long as he was able. (I don't must mean the major and minor leagues, but playing for amateur teams as he aged.) Also, after reading about the cheapskate owners he encountered, you may not feel so bad about today's players' astronomical salaries. Or at least you can reason, as Bouton did, that it's less bad for the players to get all the money than for the owners to get it. In any case, this is highly recommended. If you're a baseball fan, be prepared to spend several hours looking up everyone who is mentioned on the baseball-reference website. It will give you a further appreciation for just how perilous and ephemeral a career in baseball could be. show less

Really glad I read this. Ball Four is terrific, very funny and eye-opening. Easy to read. Well written. It really feels like Jim is talking to you, directly. The baseball stuff is hilarious, and the decades later updates were both heartbreaking and melancholy.

What a fascinating individual. He's no saint, and he wouldn't say he was, but he certainly is one of the most significant baseball players ever and it has nothing to do with his ability to throw the Knuckleball. It's amazing to hear show more how controversial this was in 1970, obviously now a lot of the stuff he writes about is pretty tame, but back then it was a nuclear revolution that pro athletes weren't heroes, but regular funny/flawed dudes just like in real life. Many of his inner fears/thoughts are ones we have about our every day lives. You really feel like you're living in the dugout with him.

Getting a real kick out of my non-fiction binge lately. I used to not be as interested, but the best books I've read this year have all been non-fiction. Just a side note, that has nothing to do with Ball Four. show less

“The world doesn’t want to hear about labor pains,” Johnny Sain used to say. “It only wants to see the baby.”

My A's just lost their Wild Card game, so I though I'd end my personal baseball season by finally reading this!
The book is about the author's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros after a late-season trade. In it, Bouton also recounts much of his baseball career, spent mainly with the New York Yankees. He also describes how he attempts to show more make the Pilots out of spring training, and what happens when he gets demoted to the AAA Vancouver Mounties. All of the stories are extremely entertaining! And it's a pretty good detailing of a player who has won games in two World Series, and is now just hanging on and trying to land a pitching spot on an expansion team. With basically just a knuckleball left.

It is dated, and at times offensive, the "beaver hunting" probably being the most so. But even with that, it was interesting to read in the Editor's Forward by Leonard Shecter that they had to "make a decision, too, about the use of language.", and that the reader should, "Rate it X.". Now, he wrote that in January 1970, but I must say that by 2019's standards, this would be PG-13, or R at most! Crazy how times, and standards, change...

I really did enjoy this book, and found myself laughing out loud many times! But I do wonder how the author could justify revealing so many things about his friends, teammates, and the locker room itself. I would be pissed if I were his friend or teammate! So, a really good read, from a man I would have never, ever trusted! show less