Jim Bouton, the legendary Yankees pitcher and author of Ball Four, died yesterday at the age of 80.
I had the honor of interviewing Bouton for a website that I used to run called American Polymath. In addition to being a fantastic interviewee, Bouton was generous with his time and couldn’t have been more gracious to a young sportswriter.
Below I present my interview with Bouton in full, as it appeared in July 2009 on American Polymath. Rest in peace, Jim, and thanks again.
In the first of our monthly interview series, American Polymath editor Clayton Trutor chats with Jim Bouton, author of the greatest book ever written about baseball, Ball Four (1970).