Few players in the history of the game were more colorful more fun-loving and more controversial than pitcher Jim Bouton who in his 80 years lived an incredible life. A star in his second season Bouton posted a 21-7 record for the 1963 Yankees with a 2.53 ERA. He followed that up with an 18-13 record in 1964 leading the league with 37 starts and winning both his starts in the 1964 World Series. An arm injury in 1965 hampered his career however and by 1968 he had revived his career as a relief pitcher appearing in 57 games for the 1969 Seattle Pilots in their debut season before being part of a late-season trade to the Astros. It was during the 1968 season that sportswriter Leonard Schecter approached Bouton with the idea of writing a season-long diary. Bouton began chronicling his 1969 season with the Pilots - unlike baseball diaries that had been published previously however Bouton's book Ball Four was a legendary story that did not whitewash the off-the-field activities of players including their drunken behavior drug use and personal gossip. The book ruffled featuers throughout the game causing Bouton to be an extremely controversial figure. Bouton retired after the publication of the book but continued a career as a sportscaster eventually attempting a comeback with the 1978 Atlanta Braves. He continued pitching in semipro leagues and was a player and executive with the Vintage Base Ball Federation a 19th Century rules league. He was also one of the inventors of Big League Chew bubble gum. Presented here is a gorgeous flannel uniform jersey and pants from Bouton's last season the 1970 season with Houston. The year Ball Four was released it was certainly a distracting year for Bouton as he appeared in 29 games with a 5.40 ERA amidst the considerable controversy stirred up by the book. The jersey is a gorgeous Rawlings size 42 flannel exhibiting signs of heavy use all the proper tagging identifying the jersey and pants as his 1970 road greys in place. The uniform has been safely tucked away in the collection of Bouton's fellow broadcaster Ted Patterson who sadly passed away as this auction was being prepared. Bouton signed the tail in his distinctive signature in blue fiber tip marker. Jim Bouton died in 2019 after a life of baseball. In thinking of Ted and of Jim Bouton I realized that Jim Bouton is the author of one of the greatest quotes about baseball there ever was. It applied to his career it applies to Ted and in a way it applies to every one of us that goes through auction catalogs rehashing our memories of the game adding special pieces to our collection. The quote goes like this: You see you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the t