a book
Ball Four
Jim Bouton · 1990 · 540 pages
The beloved baseball classic now available in paperback, with a new prologue by Jim Bouton. When Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and social leper. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And serious critics called it an important social document. Today, Jim Bouton is still not invited to Oldtimer's Days at Yankee Stadium. But his landmark book is still being read by people who don't ordinarily follow baseball. For the updated edition of this historic book, Bouton has written a new prologue, detailing his perspective on how baseball has changed since the last edition was released.
recommended by 10 people
sourced from public statements
Aaron Gleeman
“Damn. Jim Bouton. "Ball Four" is the best baseball book ever written. It blew my 13-year-old mind and I've read it every few years since. It always holds up. Meeting him at a SABR convention in Seattle is something I'll never forget. An absolute legend.”↗
Peter King
“RIP Jim Bouton, author of “Ball Four,” the greatest sports book of all time.”↗
Kyle Boddy
“"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." — Jim Bouton If you haven't read Ball Four, well, you really need to. Best baseball book ever written. Yes, that includes Lords of the Realm.”↗
Chris Wesseling
“Some favorite sports books: The Game, Dryden The Summer Game, Angell The Breaks of the Game, Halberstam Wait Till Next Year, William Goldman Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand A Fan’s Notes, Exley The Sportswriter, Richard Ford Fever Pitch, Hornby Ball Four, Bouton Cheers 🍻”↗
