The beloved baseball classic now available in paperback, with an
updated epilogue by Jim Bouton When Ball Four was first published
in 1970, it ignited a firestorm of controversy. Bouton was called a
Judas, a Benedict Arnold, and a "social leper" for having violated
the "sanctity of the clubhouse." Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn
attempted to force Bouton to sign a statement saying that the book
wasn't true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn't read the book,
denounced it. The San Diego Padres burned a copy in the clubhouse.
It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else,
however, loved Ball Four, and serious critics called it an
important document. Fans liked discovering that the athletes they
worshiped were real people. Historians understood the value of the
book's depth and honesty. Besides changing the public image of
athletes, the book played a role in the economic revolution in
professional sports. In 1975, Ball Four was accepted as legal
evidence against the owners at the arbitration hearing that led to
free agency in baseball, and by extension, in other sports. Today
Ball Four has taken on another role-as a time capsule of life in
the sixties. "It is not just a diary of Bouton's 1969 season with
the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros," says sportswriter Jim
Caple. "It's a vibrant, funny, telling history of an era that seems
even further away than three decades. To call it simply a 'tell-all
book' is like describing The Grapes of Wrath as a book about
harvesting peaches in California."
General
Imprint: |
Turner
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2014 |
First published: |
April 2014 |
Authors: |
Jim Bouton
|
Foreword by: |
Paula Kurman
|
Dimensions: |
224 x 152 x 38mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
508 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-63026-034-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-63026-034-7 |
Barcode: |
9781630260347 |
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