What Bouton is most proud of is the role “Ball Four” played in the 1975 Andy Messersmith arbitration case, which ended the reserve clause and started free agency. You could hear the crack of the bat at batting practice.” When I went to ballparks like the Polo Grounds, it was like a holy place. “They’re pounding you with advertising from the moment you walk in the stadium,” he says. If the batter chooses not to step in, that’s his problem.” “If you want to step out, fine, but the pitcher can pitch the ball. “Get into the batter’s box for Chrissakes and stay there,” he says. “I would eliminate Velcro - that would eliminate 45 minutes right there,” he says. “I promise this will be the last time,” he says.Īs commissioner, Bouton also would cut down the times of games. Told that the book has already been updated numerous times, Bouton laughs. He wants a blue ribbon panel of trainers, coaches, and doctors appointed to determine what impact PEDs have on baseball and then adjust the statistics accordingly.īouton promises more details in an updated “Ball Four: The Final Pitch,” which will soon be released in trade paperback, he says. “So I’m calling myself Kenesaw Bouton Landis.”
“It boils down to this: One strike and you’re out,” says Bouton. The man who revealed the widespread use of amphetamines (“greenies”) by baseball players says he has the solution to the PED problem in the game.
Perhaps he’d be a good choice to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. They were throwing stuff, food, and I had to dodge bottles, cans, you name it.’’īouton still loves baseball.
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