Many of you will remember my recent post in which i described the friendship one of our readers, frank wanner, developed with the famed yankee shortstop, frankie crosetti, during crosetti s retirement years. The words ball four are anathema to the ears of pitchers, but they turned out to be music to those of james alan bouton, a product of new york and chicago born on march 8, 1939, in newark, n. In 1969, he became the 3rd base coach for the illfated seattle pilots, the milwaukee brewerstobe immortalized in former yankee pitcher jim boutons book ball four, in which it was joked that, due to his being the 3rd base coach for the teams of dimaggio, berra, mantle and maris, crosetti must have dealt out more pats on the ass to homerun. Traded by san francisco pcl to the new york yankees for a player to be named later and 3 players.
A book deep in the american vein, so deep in fact it is by no means a sports book david halberstam ball four is a people book, not just a baseball book. Joe dimaggio, frank crosetti, tony lazzeri, bob seeds. Commissioners, executives, players and sportswriters were thrown into a state of shock. Ball four by jim bouton jim boutons ball four, which major league baseball viewed as akin to a bomb flung into their living room by a traitorous freak when it was published in 1970, has become respectable. Baseball players are smarter than football players. Jim bouton, quote from ball four the day he is out of baseball will be the day he starts to think about what comes next.
But now ball four is considered a classic in fact its the only sports book on the new york public librarys list of the greatest books of the 20th century. Italic season totals indicate player led all major leagues. The book that changed baseball fifty years ago, a young pitcher won his first major league game for the new york yankees. Frank crosetti yankees single signed al baseball ball beckett bas auto price. J im boutons ball four, which major league baseball viewed as akin to a bomb flung into their living room by a traitorous freak when it was published in 1970, has become respectable. Ball four might be the greatest baseball book ever written. Jim bouton 1970 i dont know which is the most important book ever written about baseball, but the most important for me and multitudes of others will always be ball four. Its not just that the new york public library included ball four among their books of the century in 1996 the only sports books so honored or that one of boutons old. Photo credit getty images frank peter joseph crosetti also known as the crow was born on october 4. It is possible that frank crosetti s thoughts about jim bouton ran along the same linesor boutons about crosetti. In ball four bouton tells of a shouting match he had with crosetti when both were still with the yankees, cro as a coach and bouton as a pitcher. Tony lazzeri is 82 and living in a retirement home in issaquah. The kid went white, turned to his coach, frank crosetti.
Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world. Bouton was born in newark, new jersey, the son of gertrude vischer and george hempstead bouton, an executive. Jim bouton remembers the 1964 world series fox sports. Frankie crosetti society for american baseball research. He got one hit in each game, the game four hit being a threerun home run in the first inning that after one additional run gave the cubs a shortlived 41 lead that they eventually relinquished. Bouton claimed turner his pitching coach with the yankees from 1966 to 1968 was a frontrunner, who only wanted to be associated with successful pitchers. It wasnt high literature, but, unlike many other books written by professional athletes. Frank crosetti, the smoothfielding shortstop and thirdbase coach who was a presence in yankee pinstripes for 37 consecutive seasons, the longest stretch of anyone in franchise history, died. Get scores, news and notes in your inbox every day. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. In the series the yankees defeated the new york giants in six games, to win the first of four consecutive world championships. Bouton also detailed his comeback in a 10th anniversary rerelease of his first book, titled ball four plus ball five, as well as adding a ball six, updating the stories of the players in ball four.
The final pitch is the original book plus all the updates, unlike the 20th anniversary edition paperback. Ball four was the first wartsandall account of major league baseball, an institution that thrived on its cleancut image, but it was just one of many books from that era that revealed the reality behind the slick image of some of our most beloved institutions. Bouton authored the baseball book ball four, which was a combination diary of his 1969 season and memoir of his years with the yankees, pilots, and astros. There are 19 items in this vintage 19601969 showcase. Former yankees pitcher jim bouton plays not my job boutons classic baseball memoir ball four, first published in 1970, is just out as an e book. Albie pearson ball ballpark baseball batting average bert ellison bill brooks holder career catcher championship cheso clubhouse compiled earl averill excellent fans fastball fielder five games four fourth place frank frankie crosetti gibson governors cup gus suhr hal rhyne ss harry heilmann hitter hollywood home runs ike caveney infielder joe. After a while the crow had collected so many rings that the yankees started giving. I first read it as a kid many times, and again as an adult many times. Turner was criticized by jim bouton in his book, ball four. Then, joe walked to the plate, scooped a handful of dirt and spent. Its not just that the new york public library included ball four among their books of the century in 1996the only sports books so honoredor that one of boutons old teams, the new york yankees. Some of crosetti s ways a bit tight, especially with the ball bag and baseballs were chronicled in boutons book, ball four. Make offer only known mike gonzalez single signed baseball 19121932 d. Ball four was the title of his book his first book, mind you that turned the baseball world on its ear in the summer of 1970.
Frank peter joseph crosetti october 4, 1910 february 11, 2002 was an american baseball shortstop. Its also available for football, basketball and hockey. The redesign was done to make the web experience more user friendly, as well as to make the mobile and desktop versions more compatible. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field. Correction, ball four might be the greatest sports book ever written.
Frank crosetti, 91, a fixture in yankee pinstripes, is. Reading and rereading ball four has been, to quote neil young at the bands last waltz, one of the pleasures of my life. The process of reliving ball four is getting more poignant for bouton with the passing of many key characters in the book. Bouton was called a judas, a benedict arnold and a social leper for having violated the sanctity of the clubhouse. Nevertheless, the pilots secured a place in baseball history because the teams travails were described in humorous detail by pitcher jim bouton in his classic book, ball.
Jim bouton ball four rosettabooks sports classics johnny blanchard wade blasingame curt blefary wally bock len boehmer. If you would like to submit one, simply write an article below and press the submit as biography button. Nicknamed the crow, he spent his whole seventeenyear major league baseball playing career with the new york yankees before becoming a coach with the franchise for an additional twenty seasons. The new york yankees sent julie wera 1931 to san francisco pcl to complete the trade. Ball four a revolutionary tale of inside baseball, warts. Bouton, of course, experienced crosetti not only in ny, but also during.
Counting only wins as a player, yogi berra had ten 1947, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 61, 62. He was part of a world series championship his first year in the big leagues as the yankees completed a fourgame sweep of the chicago cubs in the 1932 world series two days shy of crosettis 22nd birthday. Joe dimaggio had nine, and four other yankees bill dickey, phil. Amazingly he still sits four rings behind the true king of rings, yankees shortstop and coach frankie crosetti who 17 times was a world series champion. The 1969 seattle pilots were the only edition of the expansion seattle pilots to play in the pacific northwest. The guys at calpine on the ave have a ton of stories and opinions related to stockton sports history. Jim boutons ball four, which major league baseball viewed as akin to a bomb flung into their living room by a traitorous freak when it was published in 1970, has become respectable. It has also, alas, been the burr under my saddle for 40 years.
Frank crosetti s secrets of baserunning and infield play frank crosetti on. When ball four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Alfonso soriano yankees cubs single signed mlb baseball ball beckett bas auto. Frank crosettis secrets of baserunning and infield play. What bouton accomplished with ball four was to tear the cover off of professional sports by exposing the tangled core underneath the canned responses to interviews, the hagiography of sports heroes, and the mundane existence of living out of a suitcase for six months. Frankie crosetti interesting stories about famous people. Probably more heartbreaking for me than anyone else. Tony lazzeris son recalls days of babe ruth, lou gehrig. Today, the pilots are best known for being the team that pitcher jim bouton who won 39 games in 1963 and 64 for the yankees, plus 2 more in the 64 world series was on in 1969, thanks to his book ball four, a diary of that season. Crosetti was oldschool, bouton new school, if you will. Christopher lehmannhaupt, the new york times when ball four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt.
He made a spectacular catch in each game, robbing frank crosetti of a home run in game two and lou gehrig of a circuit clout in game four. We always welcome your input, so let us know what you think. Fielding stats are a combination of official records and retrosheet. Jim bouton yankees ball four single signed al baseball ball psadna auto price. After finishing in last place in the al west, they moved to milwaukee, wi before the start of the 1970 season. His winding return to the majors was chronicled in a book by sportswriter terry pluto, the greatest summer. Getty for several decades from the 1920s to the 1960s, frankie crosetti was a household name for the new york yankees, serving numerous different roles, including starting shortstop. Jack saltzgaver, monte pearson, earle combs, jumbo brown, red rolfe. Frank demaree society for american baseball research. In 37 seasons as an infielder and thirdbase coach for the yankees, frank crosetti was on the field for 23 fall classics, of which new york won 17.