RIP Jim Bouton

IIRC it was "All right you married guys, look horny."

 

If that's the deal, I'm glad his suffering is over.
And while I think Pete Rose is a reprobate and a Neanderthal, that's a pretty good line.

 

Same here. There also was a 10 year old boy bouton pulled out of the stands and sat in the bullpen for an inning. Always wondered what happened to him.

 

Just remembered. Mantle shows up for a day game where he's been promised a day off. Shows up hungover beyond description. We go to the late innings and Houk calls him in to pinch hit. Mantle hits 450 foot homer, circles bases to thunderous cheers. Touches home, goes into dugout, collapses and says "those people will never know how hard that really was."

 

Found this link, in which an SABR member found a newspaper ad with Donald Dubois and Fred Talbot posing together. Talbot’s not exactly all smiles.

The Holy Cow! October 2018

 

Fred Talbot went 10-12 for the 59-103 1965 Kansas City A's. He had some talent.

 

Yeah, but come on: Bouton went 39-20, plus two World Series victories, in two outstanding seasons before his shoulder blew out. Bouton had real talent, and it had to be so frustrating to work like a bullpen after-thought after being a star pitcher on the Yankees in the early '60s. Fred Talbot never came close to that stature.

 

Where did I compare Talbot to Bouton? I said he had some talent, to win 10 games on a 59-win team, and wasn't always some expansion-team schlub. Of course Bouton was better in his prime.

 

You didn't compare; I did. I do see your point, though,
but Talbot never did much on a bigger scale like Bouton did.

 

No question. I remember watching Bouton's two starts in the 1964 series. He was nails, and he was in the 63 series too, losing 1-0 to Drysdale.

 

Jim Bouton Was Baseball’s Misunderstood Evangelist

 

Dammit! Rest in peace, Mr. Bouton.

I won my first fight with a boy* over "Ball Four." Donnie Schmidt wanted both "Ball Four" and the Time-Life book that described Aztec ritual sacrifice. I'd already read about the Aztecs and held the book hostage so I could get my wiggly little fingers on Bouton's book. Donnie told me we could trade and tried to grab the Aztec book from me without handing over Bouton. I socked him in the gut, grabbed "Ball Four," and ran to the checkout desk.

Sixth grade was a battlefield, man.

*only fight ever