Ball Four

The Final Pitch

By: Jim Bouton

Narrated by: Jim Bouton

Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Ball Four: The Final Pitch is the original book plus all the updates, unlike the 20th Anniversary Edition paperback.

When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries.

Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four. Fans liked discovering that athletes were real people--often wildly funny people. Many readers said it gave them strength to get through a difficult period in their lives. Serious critics called it an important document.

David Halberstam, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on Vietnam, wrote a piece in Harper’s that said of Bouton: “He has written… a book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact that it is by no means a sports book.”

In 1999 Ball Four was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the “Books of the Century.” And Time magazine chose it as one of the "100 Greatest Non-Fiction" books.

Besides changing the image of athletes, the book played a role in the economic revolution in pro sports. In 1975, Ball Four was accepted as legal evidence against the owners at the arbitration hearing, which lead to free agency in baseball and, by extension, to other sports.

Today Ball Four has taken on another role--as a time capsule of life in the 60s. "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 four decades. To call it simply a "tell all book" is like describing The Grapes of Wrath as a book about harvesting peaches in California."

©1970, 1981, 1990 Jim Bouton (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact it is by no means a sports book." (David Halberstam)

" Ball Four is a people book, not just a baseball book." ( The New York Times)

" Ball Four is out in a new e-book edition, available on Kindle. It also is available as an audio book, read by Bouton himself, through audible.com. The only thing better than reading Ball Four again might be listening to Bouton read it to you." (R. A. Dickey, columnist and senior writer for ESPN.com.)

A guilty pleasure from my youth.

If you could sum up Ball Four in three words, what would they be?

Baseball told realistically

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jim Bouton?

Only if he reads the sequel

Any additional comments?

I like the personal aspect of the book as told by the guy that lived it, the sound fluctuates a bit, but it's tolerable. The story is fun and entertaining.

Still Holds Up Decades Later

I was fortunate enough to purchase and read and autographed copy of the original BALL FOUR when it was published and always enjoyed re-reading it over the years when I needed a good laugh.

Jim Bouton was the pitcher for the Yankees in the first major league game I attended as a youngster in the early 1960’s at Fenway Park when they faced the Red Sox. I couldn’t tell you who pitched for the Sox but Bouton was always a favorite as were the Yankees at the time.

I read subsequent books written by Jim and enjoyed them all.

Listening to this updated version of the saga had me hooked from the first pitch as well and the Seventh Inning update in which Jim tells about the effects of his daughters untimely death tore my heart out. How he was able to record his words on tape is beyond me. He shared his soul with us in that segment.

My one regret is not having a chance to interview or just meet “The Bulldog” Jim Bouton.

Listening to this audio version will have to suffice.

I hope Jim and his fellow legends of baseball Rest In Peace.

Awesome!

Not only a must read for every baseball fan but also anyone who loves a heartwarming and soul-searching story.

A really good read

Yes, I did love 💕 it. It was a very personal diary of a season in the life of a professional baseball player.

Jim Bouton had three outstanding seasons with the New York Yankees and then had arm trouble and was not nearly as successful through the rest of his career. He continued to play at the major league level for several more years for the love of the game and the comradeship he enjoyed with the other players. He tells about many funny things that happened both on and off the field.

He even came back for a year after several years of retirement. He bumped around in the minors and was finally called up to pitch in the major league at the end of that season. He continued to play at the amateur level through his 50's.

This is a great book about baseball culture, but it turns into a very compelling story of his own very personal struggles and character development as he grew older. I highly recommend it for anyone, but especially for baseball fans who followed the game and the players who played through the 1960s and 1970s as there are a lot of familiar players mentioned.

Couldn’t put it down!

This book ranks in my top 3—maybe it’s number 1. I just loved it! Listening to Jim read the book and the follow ups made it amazing. I highly recommend even to those who are ambivalent about baseball.

A book like this comes around rarely

I’ve read thousands of books.

I’ve never read a book I enjoyed any more than Ball Four. It should be read by everyone, not just sports fans.

I’ve read it at least a half-dozen times. But having Jim Bouton himself narrate it was powerful beyond words.

RIP, Bulldog.

Excellent Narration.

The book as a whole is a great listen but what really got me was Jim's change of voice while narrating. Chuckling at the funny bits, Choking up at the sad bits, emulating the voices of others in the book, and of course singing the songs contained within.

Love, laughs and truths in a book

Should be required reading for all ages. Genuine and perfectly read by the author. Refreshing to hear a truthful opinion about America's Game and raw emotion about life.

Better than the book

I read and enjoyed the book 40 years ago. Much better havin Jim read the book with the updates. Outstanding!

Historic, iconic, first of its kind…what can you say?

First of its kind, one of a kind, amazing book about the greatest sport! Bouton took us inside the locker room way before anyone else did so. People hated him for it, people loved him for it. Bouton himself does an amazing job reading the book, and you can hear the emotion in his voice as he recalls events while reading. It’s an emotional, amazing book.