Bouton, pitcher, ‘Ball Four’ author, dies
Jim Bouton, the former New York Yankees pitcher who shocked and angered the conservative baseball world with the tell-all book “Ball Four,” has died. He was 80.
Bouton’s family said he died Wednesday at the Great Barrington, Massachusetts, home he shared with wife Paula Kurman. He fought a brain disease linked to dementia and was in hospice care. Bouton also had two strokes in 2012.
Published in 1970, “Ball Four” detailed Yankees great Mickey Mantle’s carousing and the use of stimulants in the major leagues. Bouton’s revealing look at baseball off the field made for eye-opening and entertaining reading, but he paid a big price for the best-seller when former teammates and players and executives across baseball ostracized him for exposing their secrets. He wasn’t invited to the Yankees’ Old-Timers’ Day until
1998.
Throwing so hard that his cap often flew off his head, Bouton was 21-8 with six shutouts in 1963 — his second season in the majors and his only year as an All-Star — and went 18-13 with four more shutouts in 1964. The Yankees lost the World Series both years, with Bouton losing his lone start in 1963 in New York’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers and winning twice the following year in the Yankees’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bouton injured his right arm in 1965, going 4-15 that season, and saw limited action the next three seasons with New York. He worked on “Ball Four” in 1969, a season spent with the expansion Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros, his fastball replaced by a knuckleball as he tried to prolong his career.
Bouton was a television sportscaster in New York City with WABC and WCBS, wrote other books, appeared in the 1973 movie “The Long Goodbye” and starred in a 1976 CBS sitcom based on “Ball Four” that lasted only five episodes.
ELSEWHERE
All-Star ratings: Baseball’s ● All-Star Game had a record low television rating. The American League’s 4-3 win over the National League had a 5.0 rating on Fox, according to Nielsen Media Research. The game was seen by an average of 5.93 million households and 8.14 million viewers. That is down from a 5.2 rating and 8.69 million viewers for the AL’s 8-6, 10-inning victory last year. Ortiz recovering:
●
Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is recovering from a third surgery after experiencing complications resulting from his gunshot wound last month. Ortiz’s wife, Tiffany, said in a statement that he is “recovering well and in good spirits.” Robot umpires: The
● independent Atlantic League became the first American professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes Wednesday night at its All-Star Game. Plate umpire Brian deBrauwere wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the call upon receiving it from a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar.
Astros: Outfielder Jake ●
Marisnick has been suspended for two games by MLB after his violent home plate collision with Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy. He appealed and is available to play until it is resolved. Lucroy sustained a concussion and broken nose. Marisnick was called out for colliding with Lucroy.
Cardinals: Catcher
●
Yadier Molina was place on the injured list with a strained right thumb and infielder Matt Carpenter was activated.