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.)

The Only Man Who Could Tell It...

My story is almost exactly like a previous reviewer. I probably read Ball Four for the first time when I was around 15 and listened to Jim Bouton's reading at age 48. And I've read it numerous times in between. Only Jim can do this story justice. Sure, there are editing issues (at one point, there's about 30 seconds of Jim obviously turning pages as well as a couple of abrupt edits). But when you hear him laugh at his funny stories and cry while discussing the death of his beloved daughter Laurie, you know it's genuine. Whenever he talked about Laurie, the car got a little dusty, I have to admit. He's right, if you've been a fan for years, you are family. The only thing I wish is that they added his follow-up book "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally" to this. I've read that a couple of times over the years and it would fit well. But, otherwise, a great reading of a great book by a great man!

Baseball fans everywhere!! Listen to this one!

That the author read this really lent so much more to the content. He made himself laugh AND cry. Hated to hear it end. Thanks Jim! You rock!

Wow would be an understatement...

I was ten years old in 1969, so I didn't read this book until the mid seventies and the only thing I remember about it was that Jim Bouton criticized my hero, Carl Yastrzemski. I guess it's safe to say I wasn't too happy...

Anyway, I commute an hour to work everyday, so I've become a tremendous fan of audio books - as a good book will allow me to escape the tedious chore of driving I have to do, and in-between my Jack Reacher novels and 'The Equalizer' novels, I went shopping for some baseball themed audio books written about the players of the sixties and seventies. I smiled at the fact that Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" was available because I knew this time I could truly appreciate the book, but I must say "The Final Pitch" version of Ball Four, which provides much more insight and a wrap to his life, I got a ton more than I had ever expected.

This time (thanks to my memories of a baseball card collection & simply being older) I knew the names Jim talked about... getting a kick out of Gary Bell and that ole Pilots manager... and found myself living his life through his eyes... and yeah, there was a ton of out loud laughing... and I was awestruck at how incredible he performed during his 1978 comeback... but near the end of this tremendous audio book I found myself heartbroken at his (and his family's) loss.

Jim Bouton passed away last year and to be honest, I don't recall even knowing about it. I don't follow the game of baseball like I used to when Yaz played... but thanks to YouTube I got to view a ton of great stuff about Jim Bouton and even watched his comeback to the Yankees old timers game in 1998.

I found this book incredibly interesting and truly appreciated the ride... and now I appreciate Jim Bouton more than ever before. Not necessarily for his prowess on the pitching mound (after all - Yaz hit 3 homeruns and batted over .300 against him in 19 at bats,) but because of the human being he was... and I can't recommend this book enough...

Good "re-read" of an old favorite

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

I had read this book in high school but wanted to refresh my memory. I forgot most of it and enjoyed the author's reading of his own story. You can feel his emotion as he reads. He chuckles when he recalls a funny story, and exhibits pain when he tells a sad one.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ball Four?

A reminder of what sports and baseball used to be. It was before free agency and the boom in salaries in all sports. They struggled over $500 a season.

Have you listened to any of Jim Bouton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Somewhat. It's a long book and I usually only listen on my 30 minute commute to work and back. However, I did find myself sitting in my driveway now and then wanting to finish a few of the stories.

Any additional comments?

I think Jim Bouton is more famous for the book than for his pitching record. Few remember that he won 20 games in a season for the Yankees or actually pitched in the World Series.

Brilliant and sad and so very human

I have read Ball Four at least 10 times and was excited to hear Jim do the narration. I had no idea how much I would enjoy hearing his voice brung the 1969 Seattle Pilots alive. As a 12 year old I saw Jim pitch that year in Anaheim. Little did I know how much his book would impact my life.

The section on the loss of his daughter is devastating and yet so very poignant. I love you, Jim Bouton.

Absolutely, a must read!

I honestly feel like I'm part of Bulldogs family after finishing the book. A must read.

Better Than the Original!

I decided to go back and read Jim Bouton's iconic 1970 novel, "Ball Four." So when I went to Audible to download it, I was delighted to discover that Jim Bouton himself was the reader. And I also learned that I would be listening to the updated version, which included all of the updates he had added whenever they re-published the book.

What a treat.

It doesn't always work well when the author does the reading, but Bouton was a terrific reader. You felt you were sitting down in the living room and listening to his stream of consciousness as he talked about his career and especially his 1969 year with the Pilots and Astros - then as he updated the book in his several epilogues. He laughed as he was telling a funny story, and you knew no one else could read it quite the same way.

With the good comes the bad, however; in his last chapter (which is why the newest version is called "Ball Four: The Final Pitch"), he talks about the sudden death of his 31-year old daughter, Laurie, who was rear-ended in a fatal car accident. Jim could barely get the words out as he recounts those horrible hours, days and year afterwards. I challenge any of you to keep a dry eye as he struggles to read his own words. Or when the Yankees finally ask him back - after 28 years in "exile" - to the annual Old Timers Game at Yankee Stadium.

So if you get the same notion - to go back and read the book - make sure you get the latest edition. And I guarantee you will not be disappointed if you listen to the audio version instead.

Sorry I didn't get to see Jim pitch

The author did a really good job as the narrator. Being a Red Sox fan I was not knowledgeable about most of the Yankees so the book left me disappointed that I never saw Bouton throw his knuckler.
The latter part of the story left me teary eyed.
Jim, you will be missed.

One of the best on Audible

I guess it’s a baseball book, but really it’s about ambition, failure, success, loss, and being alive. It’s about being on the outside when you wish you were an insider, and making the choice to stay true to yourself when it would be easy to bow. Read by the author, it’s a hugely moving performance - countless laughs, and a few big cries. Great.

One of the best listens ever

I loved this book. As a matter of juxtaposition, when I started listening to this, i had just shut off the book by Nick Offerman. Wow what a contrast. I couldn't finish Offerman's book because it was so bombastic, self-congratulatory an self-lauding. This, by contrast was thought-provoking and inquisitive. From a baseball book! I came to love this guy from listening to him tell his story. What a humble individual who has a lot of very sensible methods of thinking about the world. I wish there were more like him and i wish he was still alive so I could email him and tell him how much his book makes sense --maybe even more now, 50 years after it was written. How many books get more relevant with age. Rest in peace Mr Bouton and I hope your legacy of meaningful self-examination no matter who you are lives on as a legacy.