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More copies of this ISBN:Ball Four 20TH Anniversary Editionby Jim Bouton
Staff Pick
Baseball Season is upon us. I-CHI-RO! I-CHI-RO! Youngsters, you really need to read Ball Four by Jim Bouton. A season in the bigs with the expansion Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers for those that don't know.) Joe Schultz, Sal "The Barber" Maglie and the rest of the Pilots wacky gang eat "greenies," swill beer, and go "Beaver shootin'." Bowie Kuhn tried to have the book suppressed and many of the cast of characters no longer speak to Bouton, but hey, the truth never hurt anybody. One of the heroes of Ball Four is Johnny Sain of "Spahn, Sain and pray for rain" fame. Sain is also prominently featured in The Head Game by Roger Kahn. Kahn's book chronicles the perennial battle between hitter and pitcher from a pitcher's perspective and is a fascinating view of the subtle strategies, such as the brush back and spitball employed by pitchers throughout the ages. Any baseball book by Kahn is a joy. Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:When Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, players and sportswriters were thrown into a state of shock. Stunned. Scandalized. The controversy was front-page news. Sportswriters called Bouton a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a "social leper." Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force the author to sign a statement saying that the book wasn't true. One team actually burned a copy of Ball Four in protest. And Bouton is still not invited to Old-timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. Fans, however, loved Ball Four and serious critics called it an important document. It was also very popular among people who didn't ordinarily follow baseball, because Ball Four is not strictly a book about baseball, but one about people who happen to be baseball players. And it's hilariously funny. For the twentieth-anniversary edition of this historic book, Bouton has written a new epilogue, detailing his career as an inventor, his battles with the Wrigley Company over bubble gum, his take on the Pete Rose controversy, and how baseball looks two decades after he changed its public image forever. Review:"A book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact it is by no means a sports book" David Halberstam Review:"Ball Four is a people book, not just a baseball book." Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times Review:"A great book, wildly entertaining, worth reading every two or three years." Rob Neyer Review:
"The new epilogue alone is worth the price of the book." Frank Deford What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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