# Jim Bouton's passing, and the Billy Graham rule **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355 "2019-07-20T17:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/21 "2019-07-21T18:34:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Never said it was successful or even intended to be. It looks like it was to cover the derrières of the club. In other words, for appearances, not to avoid the transgressions. Glad we’re in agreement. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/22 "2019-07-21T18:46:27Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Bouton described a sign on the wall in the locker room which read, “What you do here, what you say here, let it stay here”… You forgot the final line: “…when you leave here.” I can’t tell you what I ate for dinner two days ago, but this line from this book I read almost 50 years ago will inexplicably be in my brain until I draw my last breath. mmm ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/23 "2019-07-21T19:02:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Bouton related that Schultz swore constantly, and his favorite obscenities were “shitfuck” and “fuckshit.” 😃 There are two lines I have always remembered for no reason I can explain. “\*shitfuck \*and _fuckshit_” “Yeah, suuure.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/24 "2019-07-21T19:27:37Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > There are two lines I have always remembered for no reason I can explain. > > “\*shitfuck \*and _fuckshit_” > > “Yeah, suuure.” I had forgotten “Yeah, suuuure”, but my friend and I used that for years. I still use _shitfuck_. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/25 "2019-07-21T19:36:33Z")
Well, dammit! Now I’m gonna have to learn to read and check out that book. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/26 "2019-07-21T21:09:03Z")
Bouton started his comeback with the independent Portland Mavericks in 1975. He was instantly the star of the team. Not being an MLB farm team was a rarity then. So a lot of oddball people. There is a documentary about the Mavericks called _The Battered Bastards of Baseball_. I’m planning on watching it someday. One of the players played all 9 positions in one game. I think it might have been Bouton. One of the lasting effects of the M’s is Big League Chew. Created by a pitcher and a bat boy in a kitchen. Bouton helped pitch the product to Wrigley. The current Portland area team, the Hillsboro Hops, did a lot of stuff last season honoring the M’s. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/27 "2019-07-21T21:23:37Z")
Let’s go pound some Budweiser! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/28 "2019-07-22T11:05:57Z")
“My name is Ted fucking Williams and I’m the greatest hitter in baseball.” I read the book when I was 13. My eyes opened so hard. Great book. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/29 "2019-07-22T21:19:00Z")
I actually only got around to reading Ball Four earlier this year, but I was favorably impressed with it. Jim Bouton was a smart guy, and had a good eye for giving people what they didn’t know they wanted. He’ll be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/30 "2019-07-23T15:03:58Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Bouton started his comeback with the independent Portland Mavericks in 1975. He was instantly the star of the team. > > Not being an MLB farm team was a rarity then. So a lot of oddball people. There is a documentary about the Mavericks called _The Battered Bastards of Baseball_. I’m planning on watching it someday. It’s on Netflix. Bets parts are Kurt Russell talking about his dad, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/31 "2019-07-23T16:55:08Z")
I think this book really opened my eyes to how much bullshit is otherwise written. And I’ve been leery of “official” pronouncements ever since. It has seemed like a never ending war over who will control the narrative versus getting the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/32 "2019-07-24T15:31:39Z")
This reminds me of [It Ain’t Cheating If You Don’t Get Caught](https://www.amazon.com/Aint-Cheating-You-Dont-Caught/dp/0140116524) by Dan Gutman, who oddly enough also writes children’s books. It has plenty of anecdotes about methods baseball players use to cheat or get a slight edge, and also accounts for their myriad superstitions. The movie _Major Leagues_ may have used it for source material. There were a few stories about batters being told by the umpire “I got a plane to catch” and he’d call borderline balls as strikes. I tend to think any batter who strikes out would use that story. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355/33 "2019-07-24T18:09:00Z")
Fave Bouton line, probably from the sequel I’m Glad You Didn’t Take it Personally. Something along the lines of “One of my life’s ambitions has always been to have a tax bill I could bitch about” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-boutons-passing-and-the-billy-graham-rule/837355.md?page=1)