Books and articles about Jim Bouton

Bouton was a good pitcher before arm trouble deprived him of his fastball, but the personable nonconformist is best remembered for his book. Ball Four, a combination of his diary of the 1969 season (split between the expansion Pilots and the Astros) and his recollections of his Yankee career, broke baseball taboos by revealing the personal lives of his teammates past and present. Sometimes less-than-admirable but usually amusing details were included. Until then, the whole of baseball journalism had protected the public from such supposedly shocking knowledge as the drinking habits of Mickey Mantle and his Yankee buddies, the use of "pep pills," and the womanizing of most ballplayers on road trips. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn called it "detrimental to baseball."

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Bouton first gained notice as an integral member of the Yankee staff in the final three seasons (1962-64) of the four-decade New York dynasty. His style was energetic, with his cap often flying off as he hurled both the ball and his body toward the plate. He was 7-7 as a rookie, then had an All-Star season in 1963. He was 21-7 with a 2.53 ERA and placed among the league leaders in most categories: second in winning percentage, shutouts (6), and fewest hits per nine innings (6.89), tied for second in wins, and fourth in ERA. He took a tough loss in Game Three of the World Series, opposing the Dodgers' Don Drysdale. Bouton surrendered the lone run of the game on a first-inning walk, a wild pitch, and a single; he tied a WS record with two wild pitches in the game.

Bouton was solid again in 1964, going 18-13 with a 3.02 ERA and leading the AL in starts. He had a fine World Series, winning Game Three 2-1 on a complete-game six-hitter (St. Louis's run was unearned) and also capturing Game Six, which was a 1-1 tie through six innings, by the score of 8-3.

But the Yankee dynasty and Bouton's career both came crashing down in 1965. He blew out his arm and the New York offense failed. He doggedly pitched through pain for two seasons, going 4-15, 4.82 in '65 and 3-8, 2.69 in 1966, the year the Yankees fell to last place.

Bouton spent most of the rest of his career in the bullpen, and began to throw a knuckleball in 1968. He retired after the 1970 season and spent some time as a TV sports reporter in New York. A successful minor league comeback in 1975 didn't lead to any offers, but he tried again in 1977; it was at this point that he said, "This winter I'm working out every day, throwing at a wall. I'm 11-0 against the wall." He was still unpopular among his ML peers, but he made it back with the Braves (owned by anti-establishment Ted Turner) in 1978 and went 1-3 in five starts. After finally calling it a career, he wrote about his comeback in an update of his first book called Ball Five. Since his retirement, he has gone into various baseball-related businesses and was one of the inventors of "Big League Chew," bubblegum shredded to resemble tobacco. (SH)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 6, 1962: Mickey Mantle hits home runs right- and lefthanded for the 9th time, in the 2nd game of a doubleheader, as the Yankees win 8–0 over the Senators at the Stadium. His first homer follows a Roger Maris round-tripper. The shutout is Jim Bouton's first win the majors. In the opener, a 4–2 Nats win, Mantle accounts for both Yankee runs with a lefthanded homer. » June 24, 1962: A marathon between the Tigers and Yankees concludes in the 22nd inning when Jack Reed's home run—his only one in the ML—gives New York and Jim Bouton a 9–7 victory. Reed replaced Pepitone in the 13th. For the Tigers, Phil Regan takes the loss and Rocky Colavito has seven hits. Bobby Richardson ties a mark by going to the plate 11 times. At an even seven hours, the game is the slowest extra-inning contest in league history and it is the longest game in innings in Yankee history. » June 27, 1963: Chicago's Ray Herbert allows five Yankee singles to beat the Yankees, 6–0, and give the Sox a virtual tie for 1st. The Sox assault youthful pitching star Jim Bouton (10-3) for all their runs in the first five innings. » September 13, 1963: Jim Bouton's 20th win, 2–0 at Minnesota, clinches the Yankees 28th pennant. » October 5, 1963: Fans attending the first World Series game at Dodger Stadium see a pitching duel between Don Drysdale and Jim Bouton. A first-inning run is all Los Angeles needs to take a 3-0 World Series lead. » May 6, 1964: The Yanks hit four home runs -- two by Hector Lopez and one apiece by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris -- to back Jim Bouton's 9–2 opening win over the Senators. Washington comes back from a 4–0 deficit to win the nitecap, 5–4, despite a three-run Mantle homer off starter Claude Osteen. » June 21, 1964: The Yankees move into first place by eight percentage points over Baltimore, as they outpitch the White Sox to win 2–0 and 2–1. Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard home runs win it 2–0 for Jim Bouton in the opener against White Sox pitcher Juan Pizarro, and an error wins the nightcap 2–1 in the 17th. The Yankees sweep 4, giving up just one run in 41 innings, and take nine games from Chicago in 11 days. » July 16, 1964: Steve Barber regains first place for the Orioles with a successful 6–1 outing against the Yankees and Jim Bouton. » October 10, 1964: After Jim Bouton and Curt Simmons battle to a 1–1 tie through eight innings, Mickey Mantle homers on Barney Schultz's first pitch in the 9th, and the Yankees win 2–1. » April 12, 1965: In Minnesota, the Yankees drop their second straight 11th inning opener, as the Twins win 5–4. Twins starter Jim Kaat, stranded because of the ice and snow, is brought to Metropolitan Stadium by helicopter. Kaat is matched by Jim Bouton, who goes five innings, giving up two earned runs. Bob Allison's wind-blown fly ball in the 11th drops untouched for a three-base error by Hector Lopez, one of eight errors the two teams combine for. Cesar Tovar's 2-out single scores the winner off Pedro Ramos. » May 16, 1965: Oriole teenager Jim Palmer picks up his first major league win, topping the Yankees, 7–5. Palmer also bangs his first major league homer, a two-run drive off Jim Bouton, to give himself the victory margin. » September 23, 1966: The Braves move into 1st place by pounding the Astros 10–2. George Stone is the winner over Jim Bouton. » September 2, 1968: In the last PCL game played in Seattle, Jim Bouton of the Seattle Angels (a combined PCL team of the Pilots and California Angels) tops Spokane, 4–1. » May 16, 1969: In the highest-scoring 11th inning ever, Seattle scores six runs, then allows 5, but hangs on for a 10–9 win at Boston. Jim Bouton gets the win with three shutout innings. Wayne Comer has a pair of homers, including one in the 11th. Kenworthy adds a homer in the 11th and Rico Petrocelli goes deep in the 11th for the Sox. » June 24, 1969: The White Sox sweep a pair from the Pilots, winning 6–4 and 7–6 with reliever Wilbur Wood winning both games. In game 2, Bill Melton hits three consecutive homers, in the 2nd, 4th and 6th innings, but it takes a homer by Ed Herrmann in the 9th to win it. Reliever Wilbur Wood is the winner in both games, giving up a hit in three 2/3 innings in Game One and a hit in two innings of game 2. Jim Bouton pitches in both games for Seattle without allowing a run in three 2/3 innings. » August 24, 1969: Seattle trades P Jim Bouton to Houston for pitchers Dooley Womack and Roric Harrison. » August 29, 1969: Houston's Jim Bouton makes his first National League start and toils 10 innings before losing to the Pirates, 4–2. » April 20, 1970: Willie Stargell belts a tremendous home run, off Jim Bouton, over the RF roof at Forbes Field to lead the Pirates to a 3–1 win over Houston. » May 4, 1970: Houston's Jim Bouton posts the first complete-game victory of his NL career, yielding six hits in beating the Cubs, 7–2. Bouton (2-2) scores two runs. » June 1, 1970: By reprimanding Astro Jim Bouton in a private meeting for writing the controversial book Ball Four, Commissioner Kuhn helps put the book on the bestseller list and make it a classic. » September 14, 1978: Jim Bouton, 38, after retiring from pro baseball, earns a 4–1 win for the Braves over the Giants. It is Bouton's first ML victory since 1970, and the last of his career. The Bulldog gives up just three hits in six innings. » July 25, 1998: Former Yankee P Jim Bouton makes his 1st appearance at Yankee Stadium since 1970 at Oldtimers Day and is greeted with cheers all around. Bouton had been persona non grata in New York since writing "Ball Four," which broke a long–standing taboo in sports by taking readers into the locker room and revealing players' extracurricular escapades. The Yanks invited the Bulldog back after his son wrote a Father's Day article in the New York Times suggesting it.