Ball Four: Twentieth Anniversary Edition by Jim Bouton (1990)
from the book cover

When Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, players and sportswriters were thrown into a state of shock. Stunned. Scandalized. The controversy was front-page news.

Sportswriters called Bouton a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a "social leper." Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force the author to sign a statement saying the book wasn't true. One team actually burned a copy of Ball Four in protest. And Bouton is still not invited to Old-timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.

Fans, however, loved Ball Four and serious critics called it an important document. It was also very popular among people who didn't ordinarily follow baseball, because Ball Four is not strictly a book about baseball, but one about people who happen to be baseball players. And it's hilariously funny.

For the twentieth anniversary edition of this historic book, Bouton has written a new epilogue, detailing his career as an inventor, his battles with the Wrigley Company over bubble gum, his take on the Pete Rose controversy, and how baseball looks two decades after he changed its public image forever.

Take a look at these other Jim Bouton books:

Ball Four 1970

Ball Four Plus Ball Five (1980)

Ball Four: Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990)

Strike Zone

I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally

I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad