'Ball Four' Will Take You Out To The Ball Game (from Sunday News TV Week, October 17-23, 1976) NEW YORK - Baseball turns from national pastime to national funtime, with the new comedy series 'Ball Four' on the CBS Television Network. With former major league star Jim Bouton in the lead as a flakey relief pitcher on a team of highly individualistic players, 'Ball Four' is seen Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. between 'Good Times' and 'All in the Family.' The program can be seen locally on WLYH-TV 15. Based loosely on Bouton's best-seller, 'Ball Four' focuses on the exploits of the mythical Washington Americans who find fun and games in such diverse places as locker rooms, hotel lobbies, airplanes and apartments. The americans have a great deal of time on their hands between games - time to fret about the problems of money and fame (especially lack of both), marriage and striking out - both on the field and off. In the pressure cooker of big league play, the players find release in intense 'jock' humor rife with hilarious pranks and elaborate practical jokes. RUNNING WAR Bouton appears as Jim Barton, former pitching star fighting to hang on in the majors. He loves baseball, but is not wild about all of his fellow players and has a running war with both his manager and his team's owners. Also starring are Jack Somack as 'Cap' Capogrosso, the Americans' manager who warns his players not to throw the ball into the dugout where 'somebody could be seriously hurt;' Marco St. John as Plunkett, a hot tempered redneck hurler who is Barton's nemesis, except when he needs verbal help with the girls; Bill McCutcheon as a cliche-spouting coach named 'Pinky,' who also acts as stool pigeon for his manager; Jaime Tirelli as Lopez, a marginal utility player from Panama whose wit shines through his marginal English; and Sam Wright as Travis, a cool black superstar on the move to make a name in show biz. Former Oakland Raider star Ben Davidson is seen as the strong and silent bullpen catcher Benjamin Rhinelander. The 6'8, 225 behemoth is called 'Rhino' behind his back and 'Sir' to his face by his 'respectful' teammates. Though Rhino loves his mom dearly, he's also been known to stuff a heckling teammate into the luggage rack of the team bus and has prior interests in anything he can eat or break. The nation's capital provides the fertile backdrop for this varied batch of fun-loving athletes. They share their numerous troubles and occasional triumphs with a full compliment of fans, wives, sweethearts, con men, politicians and reporters. 'Ball Four' is about a baseball team, but it isn't always about baseball. FOR THE RECORD Jim Bouton pitched for the New York Yankees from 1962 to 1968. He won 21 games in 1963, and 18 in 1964 along with two World Series victories. A sore arm turned him into a relief pitcher in the National League from whence he retired in 1970. After setting down his experiences to outraged reaction in 'Ball Four' and its sequel, 'I'm Glad You Didn't Take That Personally,' Bouton turned to television. As a sports reporter for WABC-TV and WCBS-TV in New York from 1970 to 1976, Bouton blended his outspokenness with an inside knowledge of athletes. In 1974 he had a small but important role in Robert Altman's film, 'The Long Goodbye.' 'Ball Four' is a CBS production tapes at the Videotape Center in New York. Don Segall is the producer with former sports columnists Marvin Kitman and Vic Ziegel joining Bouton as writers.