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1. I have a Jim Bouton story. It happened in 2008 when I was in New York to write about the closing of old Yankee Stadium for WestJet magazine.
2. I went to 2 games, tried to get into press box, but someone in the PR department said, 'To be honest, you would have had to book three years ago.' I went early and visited Monuments Park, then sat in the cold May sunshine and watched and wrote what I could.
3. WestJet wanted quotes from some players about the park, but I just ended up talking to fans and sketching what it was like to be there in its final days. The story had a big hole in it: no Yankee voices.
4. The next day I went to the Modern. A man with his wife came up to me and said, 'Excuse me, but you seem like the most interesting person in this whole gallery. You remind me of the guys who used to run Vampire Records.' I had no idea what that meant, but I took the compliment.
5. As one does.
6. Later that night, I saw in the Village Voice that the Film Forum was having a Robert Altman retrospective and that 'Thieves Like Us' was playing at 9. I'd never seen it, so I snarfed a Ray's slice and headed to the area around Christopher Street.
7. Buying my ticket, I noticed a sign above the kiosk and magic-marketed letters that said: TONIGHT SPECIAL GUEST: JIM BOUTON. I thought it was unusual before I discovered that Bouton was actually in the film. He'd be intro'ing it then doing a Q&A. I had my Yankee.
8. I bought popcorn, took a seat and the film screened. It's a riot, that one, all goofy Elliot Gould suspense, shot through the Cali haze. Bouton gets blown away into a pool and later he talked about being tethered on impact and lifted off his feet while still holding his drink.
9. The lights came up and people asked questions. Jim was a little grey at the temple, and well-built but with a gentle manner. The crowd were erudite NYC Altman film nerds, who wanted to know about process and shooting technique and what it was like to work with him.
10. Jim answered everything thoughtfully, with good nature. I didn't know if it was my place to ask a baseball question, but I needed my quote. I put my hand up and he chose me. I stood up and said, 'With the closing of Yankee Stadium, I wonder if you have a favourite memory.'
11. He smiled and said, 'I'm so glad someone finally asked a baseball question,' perhaps relieved that he didn't have to talk any more about film technique, and maybe a little confused why no one already hadn't.
12. He talked about what a disgrace it was that they were tearing the building down, and how ownership was greedy, 'Like always, only after more money. They don't care about the fans or getting them close to the game.' He sighed then started into his memory.
13. 'It had to have been my first start at Yankee Stadium. I pitched the front end of a doubleheader. I got there at 7 am in the morning thinking I would be the first person there, but the Yankee trainer beat me to it because I think it's where he slept.
14. I walked the first three batters I faced, loading the bases. Manager Miller Huggins had his front step up on the dugout the whole first inning. My brother told me he was in the stands smoking cigarettes with both hands. I went to 3-1 on the fourth batter...
15.... when the umpire called a high fastball strike 2. I got him out and then induced a groundball. I got out of the inning and went the distance and won my first start. The relievers were busy the whole game, up and down, up and down waiting for me to explode.
16. They asked Huggins about my game and he said, 'If he goes like that we'll need a new bullpen by June.' I walked back through the dugout down the hallway into the clubhouse where the players had laid down a pathway of towels to my locker.
17. When I came in, I saw that Mickey Mantle laying the last one down. It was something.'
18. I talked to Jim a few times on the phone after that, trying to get him up here for an event or two, but it never worked out.
19. He struck me as a good guy who would talk to and engage anyone, and he had nice things to say Baseballissimo. AND he gave me my quote, and a great story. It's too bad he's gone. We could use more rebels with heart and people who stand up to authority and take chances in life
20. He was a fine writer, so we lose another one of those, too. RIP Jim.
