Jim Bouton died last week.
The former major league pitcher compiled a very respectable record playing for the Yankees, Pilots, Astros, and Braves.
![](https://heardeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Jim_Bouton_1963.png.jpg)
But what really put Jim Bouton on the map, as it were, was his 1970 insider’s book called “Ball Four.” It was kind of outrageous at the time — probably awfullu tame by today’s standards — but it established Bouton as somebody more than just another jock.
I met him 25 years ago this week, after he’d published a baseball novel called “Strike Zone.”