Click here to buy a copy of Ball Four: The Final Pitch When it was first published in 1970, Ball Four ignited a firestorm of controversy that raged far beyond the boundaries of baseball. Everyone from players and team executives to journalists and broadcasters had a mostly negative opinion about Jim Bouton's nearly 500-page expose'. Ball Four, however, was loved by the majority of the fans who bought tickets to watch their diamond heroes. Even people who rarely followed baseball devoured the hilariously funny and revealing book. In fact, during its 30-year life, Ball Four has sold more than five million copies worldwide. For the new edition of this historic book, Jim Bouton has written a highly entertaining epilogue, reflecting upon his life at the age of 60, the traumatic death of his daughter, and the heartwarming invitation from the Yankees to play in his first Old-Timers' Day game since his exile from the club. Click here to buy a copy of Ball Four: The Final Pitch Reviews of Ball Four Submit a review of Ball Four and we'll add it to this page. Click here to write a review. One of the 10 Most Important Books Reviewer: Jay W. from Durant, IA Edition: Ball Four - the original (1970) I received a copy of "Ball Four" from my brother in 1983. My brother told me that he had checked out a copy of the book in 1970 or '71, when he would have been 7 or 8 years old. He thought the book was the coolest thing he had ever read, but one night, after he had fallen asleep, my father picked up the book and took a look at what his young son was reading. The book mysteriously disappeared after that (years later, my father would do the same thing when I was reading "The Shining" as an 8 year-old) and my brother didn't get another copy until 12 years later, when he was 20. After my brother had read it, he handed it off to me. Every few minutes, he would come into my room after I had busted out laughing yet again at one of the funny scenes in the book. To this day, I would still rate "Ball Four" as one of the ten most important books I have read and I still manage to reread it every year during spring training--to my surprise, I read somewhere recently that I am only one of a fairly large group of people who admit to doing the same. I have read several other behind-the-scenes books: Feinstein's books, Golenbock's books, Bill Lee's Book, etc., but none compare with the original. I have noticed on your site that there is a 2000 update to the book. I look forward to reading it and I hope Bouton is keeping himself healthy so that he can keep us posted on the doings of all the erstwhile Pilots. Best wishes to you, Jim. Is Ball Four about Pitching? Reviewer: Ron Z. from Cranford, NJ Edition: Ball Four - the original (1970) In June of 1975, the 8th grade class of St. Catherine's in Elizabeth, N.J. was asked to give autobiographical information which would be put into a graduation leaflet. When it came to the part about "Favorite Book" I didn't need to think twice about it. I was 14 then and had to tell the nuns "Ball Four" was a book about pitching (thanks to the cover photo it worked). It's also a book that generates a thought process when you approach a situation. It's a book about about reason in an unreasonable world. It's a book about work and family and how they are all related. It's a fantasically funny book with a serious message-or is it the other way around? I'm now 39 years old and read this book yearly, only now I have to tell my daughter it's a book about pitching. Looking Through Jim's Eyes Reviewer: Gaines J. from Jefferson City, TN Edition: Ball Four - the original (1970) Ball Four is the greatestbook in the history of sports. It's not just a book about a season of baseball, but a book about a man's life. It's not the diary of Anne Frank, but when you're not cracking up, you're truly moved. For example, when he refers to his adopted son, it really touches you. This book is real, it's not W.P. Consella"s "Shoeless Joe" or "The Natural" -- it is the real deal. This is no novel - it gives the cold hard facts of the life of a baseball player. It opens the locker room doors and lets the fans in. At 14, I truly understand and appreciate the the way Jim Bouton allows us to look through the eyes of a professional ballplayer. What is Good and Right About Baseball Reviewer: Steve G. from Ft. Lauderdale, FL Edition: Ball Four - The Final Pitch (2000) Ball Four-the final pitch exemplifies what is good and right about our national past-time. This edition of the book brings us back to the essence of what the game represents. The relationship that is sacred between parents and thier children and how baseball brings us back to the closeness and sincerety of our youth and the simple joy of life. Jim Bouton allows us into his family life and lets us share his joy and despare regarding his special gift from son Michael on fathers day and the tragic loss of daughter Laurie. The one constant that allows some solace and joy is its connection with our great game of baseball. Bouton again peaks our interest with allowing us to fall in love with the aura of the game and its special connection with family. Ball Four Put a Human Face on the Game Reviewer: Nick R. from Marietta, GA Edition: Ball Four - Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990) Ball Four is one of those books I think every sports fan should read. It has been on my shelf (when I am not re-reading it) since 1971 and I hope my children read it. This was the first time I was able to view sports heroes as people rather than unapproachable fictional characters. This put a very human face on the game. I believe it should be required reading for sports fans everywhere. Ball Four Changed the Game Reviewer: Aaron L. from Keswick, Ontario Edition: Ball Four - Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990) Bouton's accounts of how the national pastime was spent on and off the field allow us all to see that ball players are just that and that they have lives. It also gave us an idea of just how the game was run. Jim was not affraid of what the owners were going to say or do, but because of his personality he had to raise some shit! It was a great book and I haven't watched a ball game the same way since! Ball Four is an American Odyssey Reviewer: Ricky C. from Bowling Green, KY Edition: Ball Four Plus Ball Five (1980) I was fourteen years old the first time that I read Ball Four. God only knows how many times I've read it since then and I am unashamed to declare it my favorite book. It gets you a lot of befuddled looks, though. Upon initally reading the book, I immediately identified with Bouton's intellectual yet endearingly adolescent wide-eyed (or is that ass-eyed?) view of life. Bouton is the consummate thinker. He wants to know WHY things must be a certain way, why the pre-existent order must be maintained. This is the essence of the young mind, which possibly explains why this book continues to capture the imaginations of young minds everywhere. And it is somehow comforting to know that some fresh mind will soon pick up an old dog-earred copy of Ball Four and then launch himself for the first time into the confines of Sick's Stadium, absorbed in a timeless world inhabited by Gene Brabenders and Fred Talbots. The Seattle Pilots are more than a mere baseball outfit, they are our family, classmates, co-workers and friends. I once had an Algebra teacher that was about as helpful as Sal Maglie. I used to know a kid that looked like Fred Gladding. Ball Four is at heart an American odyssey. I'm glad we all got to be (and indeed still are) passengers on the ride. Smoke 'em inside, Jim. Jim Bouton Showed Us All the Truth Reviewer: Joe C. from Bowling Green, KY Edition: Ball Four - the original (1970) There are certain moments in life that we all remember. These moments are remembered because they represent a turning point, a change, from the way we understood the world before this event to the way we understood it afterwards. Generally, people think of revolutions or assassinations. But literature works the same way. And "Ball Four" was certainly one of the great turning points in my life. It isn't the side-splittingly funny stories that make "Ball Four" important. Although they are there. It isn't the birds-eye view of major league baseball, eye-opening though it is. It isn't the opportunity to be transported to a different historical and cultural era (I wasn't born until a decade after "BF"), magical though it is. What it is, or was, especially to a barely teenaged kid from Kentucky who grew up practically worshiping baseball from his living room, is an unmasking. Baseball players are people, Bouton tells us. Just like you, except maybe less mature and more insecure. And in the end, that is the main thing that I took from "Ball Four". "Ball Four" made me realize that these sturdy, stoic men, these generally unanimated actors on the stage of baseball, weren't inherently different than I was. The gods are mortal after all, Bouton tells us. And while I don't eat, drink, and breathe baseball anymore; while I can't tell you the batting averages of anybody in either league anymore, my childhood crush on baseball did not wither in the light of Bouton's truth tales, it grew and became genuine love. Understanding love- understanding because I knew the truth! Understanding because Jim Bouton showed us all the truth, once upon a time not so long ago. One of My Favorite Books of All Time Reviewer: Doug G. from Fairport, NY Edition: Ball Four - Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990) Ball Four, which I first read in 1977, remains one of my favorite books of all time. I've owned each of the three editions that have been printed to date. The locker room humor was titillating to me as a teenager. Since then, I've enjoyed the book for its honest portrayals, good and bad, of the ballplayers. The inconsistent and irrational behavior of the management of the team was an early foreshadowing of "Dilbert." And Jim Bouton's resiliance through the years (losing his fastball, never exactly fitting in with the culture of baseball, having his marriage come apart, beating the odds and coming back to the majors, losing his daughter, and finally making it back to an Old Timers Day) is something I find inspiring. Oh, and the locker room humor still cracks me up almost a quarter century later. For laughs, and for inspiration, I highly recommend this book. Bouton Has Been Unjustly Criticized Reviewer: Kent L. from Plano, TX Edition: Ball Four - Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990) Simply put, Ball Four is the best SPORTS book ever written. Jim Bouton's honesty and knack for visually re-creating real life baseball situations is quite remarkable. Bouton was a fine baseball player who genuinely loved the game, but he is an even better writer. By today's standards, Ball Four would be considered a well written honest look at athletes and sports in general. Because he was revolutionary and wrote the book in 1970, Bouton has been unjustly criticized. No one today would question his honesty. In fact, some may say he was honest, but held back on more things he could have enlightend us with. It is rare at anytime to read a book that makes you laugh out loud as Bouton does, and at the same time educate you as to what life is really like as a professional athlete. Ball Four was written with true honesty and love for the greatest game of all. I will always use the book as a reference in everyday life. I wish Bouton would publish the 1000 pages or so he had before the book was edited down. Bouton Allows the Reader to Walk in His Shoes Reviewer: Dave K. from San Francisco, CA Edition: Ball Four - Twentieth Anniversary Edition (1990) Ball Four is a fantastic account of the inner workings of Major League Baseball. From the politics surrounding the expansion Pilots clubhouse to the struggle to stay out of the minors, Ball Four gives readers a unique perspective into baseball. Bouton allows the reader to walk in his shoes with honest discussions of the game, his pitching, and life in general. The biggest take away to the novel in my mind is how all the baseball stars are just regular guys trying to make a living. I Know a Great Book When I See One Reviewer: Lorrie W. from Columbia, SC Edition: Ball Four Plus Ball Five (1980) First let me say this--I don't even like baseball that much! I'm a girly type, age 30something, but I KNOW A GREAT BOOK WHEN I SEE ONE. This isn't a book about BASEBALL--it's a book about a fascinating, hilarious, frustrating and enigmatic group people. Written with the eye of a true sociologist, it is also just drop dead HILARIOUS--and unpretentious. Jim Bouton must be one of the must honest and straightforward writers on this planet. He strips away the myth of the invincible, godlike jock and shows that they are simply people--and often very insecure at that. A great book!!!