Ball Four, Plus Ball Five: An Update, 1970-1980 [Paperback]

Jim Bouton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Stein & Day Pub (July 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812861469
• ISBN-13: 978-0812861464
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,905,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best sports books ever, vilified when first released now understood to have been good for baseball, March 24, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ball Four, Plus Ball Five: An Update, 1970-1980 (Hardcover)

When the book "Ball Four" first came out in 1970, it created a major sensation. For it was the first sports book that presented athletes in any light other than as the shining, pristine hero. There had been a tradition in baseball that books "written" by athletes were not to ever mention the dubious escapades of the players. "Ball Four" tore off that veneer, exposing some very questionable activity. What was amazing was that no one ever really disputed what Bouton was saying, only that he had no right to say it. In my opinion, in writing this book, Bouton did baseball and the country a great service.

In "Ball Four", Bouton openly talks about Mickey Mantle's alcohol problems. The fact is that Mickey died an early death from liver disease that was a consequence of his heavy drinking. His life after baseball was largely a miserable one after he retired. In one of his last statements, Mickey said "Play like me, don't live like me." The recent and repeated scandals over extensive steroid use in major league baseball clearly demonstrate that the people who run the game still don't understand the situation. Bouton himself openly talks about getting better performance through chemicals. On page 45, he writes "Baseball players will take anything. If you had a pill that would guarantee a pitcher 20 wins but might take 5 years off his life, he'd take it."

Before I read this book, I had read many sports books, both fiction and non-fiction. Unfortunately, once I read it, I understood that many of those labeled as non-fiction should have been labeled as fiction. Reading it did not turn me off on baseball; that was done by the subsequent nonsense and denials about drug use and gambling in the game. One wonders if we would even have heard about them if it were not for the "writings" of Jim Bouton.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best baseball book i ever read!, July 24, 2001

By 

robert w. blauvelt (columbus, ga United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ball Four, Plus Ball Five: An Update, 1970-1980 (Hardcover)

this book is an account of jim bouton's 1969 season with the seattle pilots/houston astros. when i began reading it, i couldn't put it down! an insightful behind the scenes look often told with great humor.

4.0 out of 5 stars Ball Four, plus ball 5, May 16, 2011

By 

xcstrand - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ball Four, Plus Ball Five: An Update, 1970-1980 (Hardcover)

Excellent! I missed this book when it first was published, and on the recommendation of baseball historian John Thorn who listed it as one of the best baseball books ever written, I recently purchased and read the book. Very interesting and fun to read an insiders view of teammates, managers, and coaches, along with his description of the very open use of "performance enhancers" common-and legal- at the time.