Jim Bouton was a MLB pitcher who in 1971 wrote “Ball Four” the first tell-all sports book. Previously, sport books were whitewashes, portraying the athletes as grown up Boy Scouts who went to bed early and never drank anything stronger than milk. Bouton talked openly about the players’ boozing and girl-chasing. A memorable quote from a player who was asked by a pretty girl whether he was married: “Yeah. But I’m not a fanatic about it”.
For revealing all this, Bouton was hated vociferously by most players, and not a few fans. In the “Mad Guide to Political Types”, Mad magazine asserted that conservatives were “disgusted with Jim Bouton”, and tellingly, not the ballplayers who were behaving immorally.
Bouton’s recent passing came around the same time as the news that two candidates in Mississippi’s gubernatorial race practiced the so-called Billy Graham rule: a man never allows himself to be alone with a woman other than his wife. Some have criticized the rule as archaic and sexist, and others have suggested that a such a rule might really be for show, to cover up previous and ongoing transgressions.
I was reminded of a passage in “Ball Four” in which Bouton recounted that his team had a similar rule. While on the road, players were not allowed to be seen in hotel lobbies with any woman other than their wife. A player had recently breached the rule, and protested that the woman was his sister. Management clarified that even sisters were covered by the rule. Bouton rolled his eyes at the hypocrisy in the face of all the open philandering. He noted, “They didn’t say anything about good-looking mothers. I’d better check - I’ve got one”.
If you haven’t read “Ball Four”, it’s a great read.
RIP Jim Bouton.
PS: I owe my SDMB screen name to Bouton: after writing “Ball Four”, Bouton retired from baseball, but made a comeback years later. Players hadn’t forgotten “Ball Four”: warming up one day on the mound in Cincinnati, he was addressed by Pete Rose from the Reds dugout. Rose registered his disapproval of Bouton’s literary venture: “Fuck you, Shakespeare!”.
Mods, I couldnt’ decide where to put this – it has elements of Cafe Society, The Game Room, and Elections, so I put it here. Move if you see fit.
Of course in golf except in a few cases there are no team events so everyone is on their own with no rules to worry about.
