![]() ![]() No, not to become a major league baseball player. It helped solidify the path I wanted to follow in life. They were just people, with all the foibles and follies of your next-door neighbor. No longer would they seem any different than you or me. No longer would they seem unapproachable. The posters on the wall took a whole new meaning as I read about the hijinks of Mickey Mantle, Gary Bell and others through Bouton’s easy-to-digest book. For a 16-year-old, baseball-playing and loving boy, it was life changing. ![]() Bouton’s book, about his less-than-a-season with the expansion Seattle Pilots, was released while I was in high school.The 80-year-old, who died yesterday, opened a door behind the scenes with his uproariously funny “Ball Four,” and it’s not closed since. Jim Bouton didn’t put much of a mark on baseball as a pitcher, winning 62 games in 10 big league seasons. ![]()
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