RIP - Jim Bouton

Jim Bouton, the 1960s' Yankees' pitcher who gained wider fame as the author of "Ball Four", passed away on July 10, 2019 at age 80.

(custom 1969 Seattle Pilots card by Steve @ WhiteSoxCards.com)

Bouton played for the Yankees from 1962-68. His best season was 1963, when he posted a 21-7 record and made the All-Star team.

After one more good season in 1964 (18-13), his career rapidly declined. He spent much of 1967-68 in the minors, then returned to the majors as a relief pitcher for the Pilots and Astros in 1969, along with his journalism duties.

He retired after a disastrous 1970 season, then made a (mostly minor-league) comeback in 1975 and again in 1977-78.

NBC News obituary

New York Times obituary

New York Times story

SABR
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Yankees' All-1960s Team (Pitchers)

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Last week I posted a column about the All-1960s Yankees' Batters. Here now is the pitching staff.



Pictured above are the top 6 pitchers (by innings pitched), plus #9 (Steve Hamilton) and #10 (Hal Reniff).

I don't have a card for #7 Bill Stafford, and I have bypassed 1968 Rookie of the Year Stan Bahnsen for 2 reasons: He only had 2 significant seasons with the Yankees in the 1960s (whereas all the other pitchers had at least 4), and I also wanted to have some relief pitchers represented (Hamilton, Reniff).

(Click to enlarge)

This chart shows innings pitched and games started for those pitchers who had 200 or more innings pitched for the Yankees in the decade. Next to their name is the number of years with the Yankees (in the 1960s), and the number of significant years (50 or more innings pitched in a season).

(see: Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry, Jim Bouton, Hal Reniff)

(If anyone wants the entire list of 62 players, send me an email through my profile page.)
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MLB Network: Jim Bouton interview; 1967 review

Tuesday night at 9:00, Bob Costas will interview Jim Bouton, former Yankees and Pilots pitcher, and author of Ball Four.


On Wednesday night, the 1967 season is the subject of a Baseball Seasons episode.