Jim Bouton American baseball player and writer. Date of Birth: 08.03.1939 Country: USA

Biography of Jim Bouton

Jim Bouton was an American baseball player and writer. He was born on March 8, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, USA. During his high school years, Bouton began playing baseball for his school team. Initially, he struggled and was even nicknamed "Bouton the Benchwarmer" because he spent most of his playing time on the sidelines. This was due to his experimentation with the "knuckleball" pitch as a pitcher, which often negatively affected the game results. However, Bouton never lost faith in himself and continued playing baseball after enrolling at Bloom High School.

In 1962, Bouton's professional career took off when he was invited to play for the "New York Yankees" team. Prior to that, he had played for the "Seattle Pilots" and the "Houston Astros." During his time with the Yankees, Bouton showcased decent performance, although he was not a frequent player on the field. In 1963, he was selected for the All-Star team. However, as he grew older and faced frequent hand injuries, Bouton returned to throwing "knuckleballs."

In 1968, Bouton was sent to the minor league team "Seattle Angels," where he stayed for a short period. Soon after, he decided to retire from sports. In the same year, Bouton represented America on the Olympic Committee at the Olympics in Mexico. Around the same time, he met Leonard Shecter, a sports writer, and they discussed baseball extensively. Shecter advised Bouton to write a book.

In 1969, Bouton's book titled "Ball Four" was published. It was a humorous and candid depiction of the lives of baseball players, offering an inside look into the sport. The book received significant attention, despite receiving criticism from many sports authorities. It became a bestseller and later became a part of the American literary canon.

In 1970, Bouton became a sports commentator for the New York television channel "WABC-TV" and later switched to "WCBS-TV." In 1973, he appeared in the film "The Long Goodbye," which revolved around baseball. In 1976, an attempt was made to adapt his book into a television series, but it was canceled after a few episodes. Afterward, Bouton wrote several more books as continuations of his first one and attempted to make a comeback in professional sports.

In 1978, he joined the "Atlanta Braves" team and played a few games. Bouton was married twice. He had two children, Michael and Lori, from his first marriage to Bobby Bouton, which ended in the mid-1980s. He then married Paula Kurman.