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Ball Four, by Jim Bouton, was a ground-breaking book at the time it was published in 1970. Up until then, sports books always read along the lines of what a great guy Babe Ruth was; and they were pretty much a waste of paper. Bouton pulled no punches in discussing incompetent coaches and baseball groupies, and he revealed that some of his teammates with the Yankees (Elston Howard is the example that comes to mind) were not such nice people.

You shouldn't get the idea from this that Bouton has some sort of axe to grind. On the contrary, it's clear that he loves the game.

Ball Four is of particular interest to Pacific Northwest fans because it focuses on Bouton's 1969 season, and he spent more than half of it with the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots existed for only one season before they were relocated to Milwaukee and renamed the Brewers. Bouton was traded to the Astros in mid-season, and this gave him some still-relevant insights on the differences between the American and National Leagues.

Ball Four contains a great deal of useful advice for any serious ballplayer. Here's a quote worth remembering: "You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."

More extensive review by Robert Christgau: Bouton Baseball