San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Bouton never lost drive that made career success
During the 1978 baseball season, I was Forrest Gump, a rookie beat writer stumbling along in a daze, encountering amazing historical people and events.
Got to know folks like Vida Blue, Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, Dusty Baker, Bird Fidrych, Pete Rose, Tommy Lasorda. And Jim Bouton.
Bouton died this past week, and I flashed back to ’78, to maybe his greatest game. I found my story and was reminded that Bouton was more than just a soso pitcher and quirky author.
In ’78, Bouton had been out of the major leagues for seven seasons, but he made a brief comeback at age 39, as a knuckleballer for the Braves.
His first start was against the Dodgers, the team I covered. Some considered Bouton’s comeback a demeaning publicity stunt by Braves owner Ted Turner, although Bouton had been working hard in the minors for two seasons. Bouton mowed down the mighty Dodgers for three innings, then they chased him and won the game. Grumpy Dodger Davey Lopes snarled, “We thought it was a disgrace to the game having him pitch. ... His Walter Mitty days are over.”
Bouton simply didn’t have time for that kind of hate. After the game he pulled up a stool and talked to a small group of writers. Asked if he thought he might inspire old guys to try to pitch in the big leagues, Bouton said, “I don’t think so, but there might be (people of all ages) saying to themselves, ‘There is something I would like to try, and if it means sacrificing, it would be worth it.’ It’s not my purpose to blaze trails, but it’s always nice to see people try things they’ve always wanted to try.”
If you’ve read “Ball Four,” you know Bouton loved baseball, every gopher ball and bumpy bus ride of it. His comeback was no publicity grab.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for a couple years,” Bouton said that day. “You jump out of bed in the morning and look out the window and say, ‘The big leagues are somewhere over those hills, and if I keep climbing, I might get there someday.’ If you enjoy climbing hills, and don’t care if you ever get there, you can’t lose.”
RIP, WP (Winning Pitcher).