When I was a sports copy editor at a newspaper in northern New Jersey for part of the 1990s, Bouton pitched in a semi-pro league. He would call the copy desk and ask for scores whenever there were big games on the schedule. I've always thought that kind of competitiveness was pretty admirable.
There aren't many former baseball players with whom I'd really value the chance to have dinner and talk, but he's definitely one of them.
Edited to add: Before one of our games at San Antonio in the Texas League, there was an old-timer's game that featured some pretty big-name players. The only guy whose autograph I asked for was Gary Bell, and that was solely because of Ball Four.
Last edited by Rob D.; 05-07-2010 at 07:40 AM.
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