Columnist Steve Carp: Time heals all wounds after all

A FEW YEARS AGO, I was in the Sports Shop in Philadelphia, and on the rack was a 1969 Seattle Pilots jersey with No. 56.

"How much?" I asked the salesman.

"Buck-twenty," was the reply.

For some strange notion, I thought it was a bargain, so I grabbed it and left the store smiling. To be honest, the jersey has never seen much wear. One night, I wore it out to Cashman Field and Stars general manager Don Logan said, "Nice uni." But for the most part, it has hung in the closet.

Then the news came that the New York Yankees were inviting Jim Bouton back for their annual Old-Timers Day. Suddenly, that Pilots jersey meant something again.

Bouton, who wore No. 56, was a member of that American League expansion franchise which lasted just one year before moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers. A pitcher who was below .500 for his career, save for one exceptional season when he went 21-7 for the 1963 Yankees, Bouton is best known for his writing.

In 1970, Bouton penned "Ball Four," which was an expose of baseball's greed and took the game's all-American image to task. It was the first sports "tell-all" book, a tome that went behind the scenes to give fans a look no sportswriter of the day would dare give.

Today, fans are disappointed if they don't read some dirt in the paper. But in 1970, talking about clubhouse life in public was taboo. And taking on the establishment was unthinkable.

Suffice to say, Bouton quickly found himself ostracized. He left the majors in 1970 shortly after the book appeared, made an aborted comeback in 1978, then retired for good.

He has been persona non grata at Yankee Stadium for nearly three decades. All because he told the truth that Mickey Mantle would come to the ballpark with a hangover after spending a night on the town, among other things.

Ironically, it took another piece of writing, this from his son Michael, to get Bouton back to the Stadium. On Father's Day last month, Bouton's son wrote a guest column in The New York Times, saying it was time to let go of the past.

The piece must have moved Yankees owner George Steinbrenner because he finally gave the OK for Bouton to return to the Bronx after all these years.

Old-Timers Days are banal events for the most part. Former heroes sporting pot bellies and receding hairlines get polite hands while Hall of Famers like Joe DiMaggio get their well-deserved standing ovations. It's supposed to be the kind of day where we wax nostalgic and talk about the way it used to be, long before there were stadiums with a McDonald's inside charging $4 for a quarter-pounder.

Saturday, Jim Bouton, a 62-63 pitcher with a lifetime ERA of 3.57, will be introduced to a sold-out Yankee Stadium. He'll likely get a DiMaggio-style welcome.

I too, will cheer him while wearing his No. 56 Pilots jersey along with a Yankees cap. But my cheers will be for his courage to write one of the best and most insightful books you'll ever read, and for his ability to rise above the pettiness of the last 30 years.

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