![]() Hardcore drinking was not just after the games but sometimes before and during them. Diary of a Ballplayerīouton talked openly about ballplayers drinking too much. The book he would write would open the doors of major league clubhouses for all to see. ![]() He decided he would keep a diary of his experiences during that season, hoping to write a book. He was given a chance to extend his big-league career with it when he was invited to spring training with the Pilots in 1969. Unable to throw his fastball without pain, Bouton turned to the one pitch he could throw without putting a strain on his ailing right arm-the knuckleball.īouton had toyed with throwing the knuckler early in his career, but he’d never been able to master it. He would only win nine more games for the Yankees before being sold to the Seattle Pilots in 1968. An arm injury in 1965 derailed his career. ![]() Knuckleball Rebootīouton won forty-five games in his first three seasons in New York. Bouton’s real lasting impact on baseball came not because of his fastball but because of his pen. He posted a lifetime record of 62-63 in parts of ten major league seasons. He was a twenty-game winner in 1963 and helped lead New York to American League pennants in 19. ![]() Former New York Yankees’ pitcher Jim Bouton passed away, on Wednesday, at the age of 80. ![]()
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