Jim Bouton on The Controversial Impact of His Book

Jim Bouton on The Controversial Impact of His Book | The Dick Cavett Show

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3 жыл бұрын

American baseball player Jim Bouton discusses the mixed reviews of his book 'Ball Four' from the baseball community.
Date aired - June 18th 1970 - Jim Bouton
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
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Пікірлер: 92

@MarkRoberts-bj2me 3 жыл бұрын

Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" was written fifty years ago and back then it did stir up quite a bit of controversy. When read today, it's more touching and personal than it is scandalous.

@adamdorgant9454 9 ай бұрын

You’re right about that!!!

@stardustgirl2904 4 ай бұрын

Why does he look like Aaron Eckhart ❓❓❓❓❓❔❔❔❔❔❔❔❔❔❔❓❓

@thedjc100 3 жыл бұрын

I can’t stop watching the clips.

@StevenBohnel 3 жыл бұрын

You and me both

@user-br3bw7wr2l 3 жыл бұрын

Who doesn’t love Dick though ?

@acctadmin4073 3 жыл бұрын

@@user-br3bw7wr2l prudes

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

Me too!!!!

@stardustgirl2904 4 ай бұрын

Why does he look like Aaron Eckhart ❔❓❔😮

@georgevincent1834 8 ай бұрын

Cavett is one of the greatest interviewers of all time. Great questions, quick wit, and he seems to really do his research. The best.

@saulschlapik6818 3 жыл бұрын

"After that came Dick Cavett. I'd heard he was great about reading books of the authors who came on his show and I was prepared for a good in-depth interview. Instead I got a very superficial few minutes during which it became painfully plain that Cavett hadn't done his homework either." - Jim Bouton; "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally" sequel to Ball Four.

@TWS-pd5dc 3 жыл бұрын

I read that too. He complained that 1. Johnny Carson wouldn't book him on his show because "I didn't go on it first". 2. Merv Griffin drove him nuts saying 5 minutes before the show "Listen, I haven't read your book, what would you like me to ask you?". Bouton was totally self-centered. Joe Pepitone had mixed feelings about him but did say when they were in the minors that when a player would make an error that cost Bouton getting the win he would whine about "if the 2nd baseman hadn't made an error I would have had the win" etc. Bouton himself admitted in Ball Four that in high school and little league he would scream at a kid who made an error. Textbook definition of a "me first" player. Ball Four was a good book but parts were very judgmental and clearly he knew that the gossip parts would mean high sales. He cloaked his greed and narcissism behind "well I told the truth". Yes, HIS truth.

@marknan5352 3 жыл бұрын

Read it in early 70,s. Sure did open my eyes. But hey , the truth is the truth. Well done jim.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

I know Right, it was great to read and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!!

@paradiddle5150 3 жыл бұрын

Crazy to think Janis, Jimmy and Jim Morrison were still alive when this aired on television.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

I know Right!!!!

@3rdmm 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks mr. Cavett! That book is still great fun.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

Yes it was!!!!

@Green28142814 3 жыл бұрын

a.k.a. Terry Lennox in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye.

@adamdorgant9454 Жыл бұрын

Yes, now that you mentioned it!!!!

@stevenyourke7901 2 жыл бұрын

When I was a kid, I rooted for the Yankees and I remember Jim Bouton when he was a star pitcher in 1963 and 1964. He threw so hard with an overhand delivery that his cap would fly off his head all the time. He had those two great seasons but then suffered a sore arm in 1965 that effectively ended his career. He hung around for a few more years, and then wrote Ball Four.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, now that you mentioned it, I loved reading Ball Four, it was a great book to read, and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!!!

@doomservice 3 жыл бұрын

Brilliant man and beyond cool. What other ballplayer can say they were in a Robert Altman film?

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

You’re right about that!!!!!

@ronmackinnon9374 2 жыл бұрын

'The Long Goodbye' starring Elliot Gould, 1973. Jim was nice enough to attend a screening of that at the Film Forum in New York about 2007, and I got to shake his hand.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

@@ronmackinnon9374 Good to know, I enjoyed reading Ball Four, it was great to read and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!

@ncooty 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting that it seems no one said what he wrote was untrue, just that it was possibly unflattering. There will always be people who think they're entitled to flattery, and only flattery.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed Ball Four, it was a great book to read, and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!!

@KOSMICKEN09 2 жыл бұрын

Very good comment - the Truth hurts

@GraemeCree Жыл бұрын

You're wrong there. Bowie Kuhn claimed it was non-specifically untrue, and tried to get Bouton to sign a document saying so.

@amandam1137 Жыл бұрын

@@GraemeCree oh since bowie kuhn said so...

@GraemeCree Жыл бұрын

@@amandam1137 Your claim was that nobody disputed it. I'm not saying Kuhn was right, only that he did claim that something or other in it was untrue.

@jmad627 3 жыл бұрын

Ya know among the many things "Ball Four" provides is that it’s the only history, oral history at that, of the Seattle Pilots who only played for one season before being sold to Milwaukee, business man, thus giving birth to the Brewers. The American League granted Seattle the expansion Mariners in order to settle a lawsuit stemming from the Pilots being sold and leaving town. My dad's cousin Fritz Peterson was roommates with Jim when they were both on the Yankees, and he’s all over this book. I must’ve read it at least fifty times.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

Good to know!!!

@samuelbarrett5648 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, that's cool! If I gave you some questions for your dad's cousin, could you get them to him and let know his answers? I've been doing research on baseball in the 60s, which I see as the golden age of baseball, so I always try to hear from anyone who played in that era about the questions I have about that time.

@georgesetzer5283 2 жыл бұрын

Ahhhh Yes the infamous Fritz Peterson. He and his buddy Mike Kekich swap wives I think in 73!!!

@ronmackinnon9374 2 жыл бұрын

I know, that's some irony - a team only exists for one season, and over the course of that season one of its players just happens to produce maybe the best-known baseball book ever.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

@@ronmackinnon9374 I know Right, it was great to Read, and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!

@jeffthewhiff 2 жыл бұрын

One of the only books I have ever read where I would just burst out laughing :) Not many books will do that and it is a great book!

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

I know Right, and the many Quotes are just Laugh out Loud Funny to read!!!

@georgevincent1834 2 жыл бұрын

Joe Pepitone's book makes BALL FOUR look like a Hardy Boy's story.

@jeffthewhiff 2 жыл бұрын

@@georgevincent1834 I will have to read Joe's book sometime. It sounds like it would be very interesting!

@georgevincent1834 2 жыл бұрын

@@jeffthewhiff It is. Also check out Bill Lee's book, THE WRONG STUFF. Also very funny.

@jeffthewhiff 2 жыл бұрын

@@georgevincent1834 George, I actually have read the Bill Lee book; "The Wrong Stuff" and it was really funny too!

@jamesanthony5681 2 жыл бұрын

Jim Bouton was 31 when he appeared on the Cavett program. Many of the sportswriters were as outraged with Jim Bouton and Ball Four as some of the ballplayers. 'How dare he write this book?', some of the older writers said. As Bouton explained, many of the writers were an extension of the public relations departments of the major league teams, often getting their hotel rooms and meals paid for by the big league clubs.

@tomitstube 3 жыл бұрын

landmark book. we lost mr. bouton last year. 2019. mr. bouton wasn't your typical "ball player", who he describes in hilarious detail. holds up well 50 years later.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

You’re right about that!!!!!!

@georgevincent1834 8 ай бұрын

Joe Pepitone's book was way better. Plus Pepitone was a much better and well known player than Bouton.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

Loved Ball Four, it was a great Book to read!!!!

@mrlafayette1964 3 жыл бұрын

I'm reading it now,it's honest and humorous. We've all wondered how our sports idols are when they're off the field.

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

@@mrlafayette1964 You’re right about that, it was great to read and laugh out loud funny, but it also talked about just how difficult it was to make a living at Baseball in General back then!!!

@ronmackinnon9374 2 жыл бұрын

@@adamdorgant9454 It even includes references to Marvin Miller and the early days of the Players Association.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

@@ronmackinnon9374 True!!!!

@ronmackinnon9374 2 жыл бұрын

Here they're just talking about what the book had to say about ballplayers and their sex lives. But maybe at least as scandalous was what he revealed about how widespread the use of amphetamines among ballplayers was - 'greenies.'

@TheBigjohn527 2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if Willie "Pops" Stargell got his nickname because of it earlier. "Pops" was truly en vogue in 1979. Also Willie Mays liked his speed to be liquid in a small cup. "Say Hey" might of been in Bouton's book, but I don't remember.

@sclogse1 3 жыл бұрын

A friend made a wonderful imaginative film about Brother Theodore. There's a short clip from him on Cavett, being himself. Amazing life. Do you have the whole interview?

@charleswinokoor6023 3 жыл бұрын

The first pro baseball game I saw was at Fenway Park in 1965. Bouton pitched and won. I think he pitched seven innings. Great fastball and the cap falling off his head. Final score was 5-2.

@ronmackinnon9374 2 жыл бұрын

If h e still had a great fastball, he hadn't hurt his arm yet. After that, he had to switch to the knuckleball.

@adamdorgant9454 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for Sharing, and I enjoyed reading Ball Four myself, it was great to read, and Laugh out Loud Funny, and manager Joe Schultz was quite the character in it!!!!

@user-nw6qp1ki2n 3 жыл бұрын

Gone those days ... when books were read 🤷🏻‍♂️

@janeporter818 3 жыл бұрын

So true

@shiftyfitter 3 жыл бұрын

People still read books, don't judge the rest of us by your own low standards.

@jadezee6316 3 жыл бұрын

@@shiftyfitter lol...very true

@adamdorgant9454 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, now that you mentioned it!!!

@725jenks Ай бұрын

Casey Stengel when asked about players on him team caught drinking whiskey said they win more games than guys that drink milkshakes. He also said players having sex after a ballgame is not the problem. The problem is when they spend all night going out looking for it.

@MostlyBrenda 3 жыл бұрын

Bouton died last year, age 80.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed the book Ball Four, it was great to read and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!!

@damianop100 21 күн бұрын

What a handsome man!

@Renegade4rebels 3 жыл бұрын

He’s forty haha.... amazing

@anthonyfoutch3152 3 ай бұрын

Jim really didn't write Ball Four. He had a ghost writer that put all of Jim's notes together. Lots of books are written this way.

@jacksmith5692 3 жыл бұрын

I used to e-mail Jim on his website and he always wrote back and was a class act. The BS here is no different from the censure-ship now we see from the likes of Twitter and Facebook. The first amendment is for everyone and not just for some.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

True!!

@elliyahugenesove9777 3 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know about a "Dick Cavett" that featured (I believe) Mickey Mantle, umpire Lou(Tom?) Gorman and another ball player. Where Mantle told Cavett that they had started to put "showers for two" in the locker rooms ? (And he believed him)

@Gannooch 2 жыл бұрын

i have nothing against the other celebs that were on this show but is this channel ever going to show the Dick Cavett shows where he interviews Jackie Gleason or Art Carney? How about any Honeymooners actors that were a part of the main cast?

@chadtellevik5479 2 жыл бұрын

I’m reading this now for the first time. It was a different time then. Not a big deal by todays standard. Canseco take the cake.

@adamdorgant9454 Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed reading Ball Four myself, it was great to read, and Laugh out Loud Funny!!!!

@stardustgirl2904 4 ай бұрын

Today we don't even have standards! 😭

@domxem5551 2 жыл бұрын

And anything Bouton told quickly fades away with the steroids era.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

True!!!

@lailamerran201 3 жыл бұрын

Every clip I watch reminds me of the colossal, boring incompetence of Dick Cavett as a talk-show host. It continues to astonish me that this guy was on television for so many years. So, so many wasted opportunities.

@schmittyhanrahan8126 3 жыл бұрын

These are lazy and banal questions from Cavitt. I doubt he read much if any of the book. Many consider Ball Four one of the top sports book written. It is a very funny insiders look. I would it recommend to anyone.

@RobDog65 3 жыл бұрын

@@schmittyhanrahan8126 Cavett in fact did NOT read the book, and Bouton-despite the courtesy he shows Cavett here-was really burned up about it. The only talk show host who actually read it AND interviewed Bouton was, of all people, David Frost.

@adamdorgant9454 2 жыл бұрын

@@schmittyhanrahan8126 Agreed!!!