* Ball Four: The gift that keeps on giving

The Hardball Cooperative now features a “book club” to discuss those watershed titles on the national pastime.

This month, they take up the classic Ball Four.

A few excerpts from the essay by James Bailey.

Ball Four changed both baseball and sportswriting, as Bouton went where most had feared to tread. He named names. He spilled secrets about baseball’s unofficial hobby of “beaver shooting.” He spoke about amphetamine usage. Even worse, he wrote about Mickey Mantle playing with—gasp—a hangover.He pissed off a lot of people.
Ball Four made us all insiders. We had access for a full season to what goes on not just in a big league clubhouse, but, more importantly, in a big leaguer’s head. We learned that Bouton faced many of the same concerns that we did. He worried about deposits on his apartment when he was sent to the minors, about seeing his wife and kids, about getting busted for being late to work. And about failing.
Bouton’s revelations are no longer juicy. Greenies don’t grab headlines when today’s players have been outed for steroid use. We all know players chase girls and stay out late drinking.So why do we still read it?Because it’s still funny. The stories hold up on their own merits 40 years later. You’re going to laugh when you read it, the first time or the fifth. And it doesn’t matter if you never saw Gary Bell or Steve Hovley play. They’re still the good guys. You might not know Fred Talbot from Fred Flintstone, but when you read Ball Four he’ll remind you of a two-faced jerk from your office or softball league.

Here’s a piece on Ball Four from earlier this year via The Onion’s AV Club.

Ball Four changed both baseball and sportswriting, as Bouton went where most had feared to tread. He named names. He spilled secrets about baseball’s unofficial hobby of “beaver shooting.” He spoke about amphetamine usage. Even worse, he wrote about Mickey Mantle playing with—gasp—a hangover.

He pissed off a lot of people.