 Paperback edition | |
| Author | Jim Bouton with Leonard Shecter |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Baseball |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | World Publishing Company |
Publication date | June 1970 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 371 (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-02-030665-2 |
Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing the Knuckleball in the Big Leagues is a book by Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton, edited by Leonard Shecter and first published in 1970. The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. Bouton also recounts much of his earlier baseball career, spent mainly with the New York Yankees.[1]
The book was controversial for divulging many unflattering facts about the sport and its players; baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn attempted to discredit it and label it as detrimental to the sport. It is considered a landmark in American sports literature, and was the only sports-themed book included on the New York Public Library's 1996 list of Books of the Century, under the category "Popular Culture & Mass Entertainment".[2][3] It was also included on Time's list of the 100 greatest non-fiction books published since the magazine's founding in 1923.[4]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
sabr-ballfourwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Neyer, Rob. "'Ball Four' changed sports and books". ESPN.
- ^ "The New York Public Library's Books of the Century". The New York Public Library.
- ^ "All-TIME 100 Nonfiction Books". Time. August 16, 2011.