"First among Yankee pitchers in 1963 for effectiveness was Jim Bouton, the Newark (N.J.) sharpshooter whose overwhelming motion makes his curve look like a wounded snake. Some feel that Jim will have to modify his delivery if he intends to stay clear of arm and shoulder pains.
He was 21-7 with a 2.53 ERA and certainly acted like one of the new group of pitching stars crowding the horizon of the American League. Jim's consistency made him that much more difficult to defeat and seldom was he driven from the mound in the early innings."
-Don Schiffer, Major League Baseball Handbook 1964
"At 25, right-hander Jim (Bulldog) Bouton appears headed for a long and successful career with the Yankees. Last season he emerged as a 21-7 pitcher, with a fine 2.52 ERA in his first season as a member of the starting rotation. As a rookie in 1962, he finished with a 7-7 mark and a 3.99 ERA. Groomed throughout his minor league career in the Yankee organization, he grew up only a few miles from Yankee Stadium - in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His hobby is oil painting."
-Dave Anderson, 1964 Major League Baseball Handbook
"In the opinion of most baseball observers, Jim Bouton is the best Yankee right-hander to come down the pike since Vic Raschi was fogging them past American League batters in the early 1950s. A crew-cut, likable 25-year-old, Bouton posted a sensational 21-7 record in 1963- his second season in the major leagues.
There's no divergence of opinion among Bouton's teammates. They all sing his praises as an athlete and competitor. Catcher Elston Howard calls him a bulldog. 'He's a winner,' says the man who himself won the American League MVP award last season. 'When he's behind he bears down all the harder. He's a battling bulldog,' adds Howard.
Says Yogi Berra, Jim's erstwhile teammate and now his manager: 'Bouton is all competition. He fights a batter as good as any kid I ever saw.'
'He throws that big curve like Pascual,' says Mickey Mantle. 'And his fastball is better than Pascual's.'
The six-foot, 175-pound right-hander's rise to the top has been rapid. Jim was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in nearby Ridgewood until he and his family moved to Chicago when he was in his teens. He attended Western Michigan University, majoring in finance, but succumbed to the lure of a $30,000 Yankee bonus contract before getting his degree. Bouton spent three years in the minors, then was brought up to New York in 1962. He broke even in 14 games, gaining priceless experience.
Bouton, who used to experiment with trick pitches, credits ex-Yankee pitching coach Johnny Sain with giving him some invaluable advice. 'Sain told me my four or five pitches were all right, but that none of them were outstanding,' Jim says. 'He urged me to concentrate on my fastball and curve- which I did. They're still the pitches I get big hitters out with.' "
-Bill Wise, 1964 Official Baseball Almanac
"Youthful right-hander Jim Bouton from Ridgewood, New Jersey arrived at major league stardom in a hurry. In 1961, Jim posted a 13-7 record at AA Amarillo. He won major league status as a spot starter and long relief man in '62 with a 7-7 record that included winning the longest game in point of time in baseball history plus an opening start shutout over Washington. Jim lost seven games for the third straight year in 1963. But that was all that was similar to his previous years.
When arm ailments forced Ralph Houk to make some changes in his pitching rotation last summer, Bouton was ready. He starred as a long relief man, then got and made good on his chance as a starter.
The personable 25-year-old won 21 games and recorded a team-low earned run average of 2.53, second only to Gary Peters' 2.46 with the White Sox. Jim hurled a pair of two-hitters among his six shutouts.
As Yankee fans know, Jim Bouton is a versatile person, too. An amazingly amusing and able impersonator and entertainer, Bouton also is a talented artist. As relaxation, Jim paints canvases with oils and watercolors. And for variation, he works on jewelry, setting stones in gold and silver.
But it's the fastball, clever curve and the added slider that has brought success to Bouton on the mound. A colorful performer, he throws hard, frequently losing his cap after releasing the ball.
Despite a brilliant 1963, Jim Bouton fans are sure is future is still ahead of him."
-The New York Yankees Official 1964 Yearbook
"Coming to the fore as the Yankees' right-handed ace in 1963 was Jim Bouton, who captured 21 victories while dropping seven for the Bombers during his sophomore year in the major leagues.
Bouton also came through with a nifty 2.53 earned run average, fourth best in the junior loop. In 249 innings, Jim whiffed 148 and issued 87 passes.
Ironically, what was perhaps Bouton's best-pitched game of the entire campaign was one he lost. It occurred in the third game of the World Series, when Jim dropped a 1-0 heart-breaker to Don Drysdale, though he pitched a neat four-hitter. The only run of the entire contest came in the very first frame on a walk, wild pitch and ground single through the middle which skipped off Bobby Richardson's shin.
The 25-year-old Bouton, a native of Newark, New Jersey who now resides in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife and infant son, spends most of his spare time painting. Not houses, but with watercolors and oils. The six-foot, 174-pound right-hander also designs costume jewelry, a hobby which his wife has taken up.
Jim joined the Yankee organization in November 1958 while still a student at Western Michigan University, where he was taking a business course.
After compiling a 3-8 combined mark with Auburn and Kearney in 1959, Bouton moved up to Greensboro where he was 14-8 in 1960. A 13-7 record with Amarillo in 1961 earned him a chance with the parent club in 1962. Needless to say, Jim made good, finishing his rookie campaign with 7-7 and a 3.99 ERA, being used as both a starter and reliever. On June 24, 1962, Bouton became the winning pitcher of the longest game in history, seven hours, 22 innings, at Detroit, with the Yanks emerging victorious, 9-7."
-1964 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook
Signed by Yankee organization, November 11, 1958.
Pitched 7-hit shutout in first major league start, winning 8-0 over Washington, May 6, 1962.
Winning pitcher of longest game in American League (7 hours, 22 innings), final score 9-7, at Detroit, June 24, 1962.
Hurled two 2-hitters (1963) ... first on May 12 at Baltimore, his first start of year, winning 2-0 ... second on August 27 against Boston, going eight innings without allowing a hit, before Russ Nixon singled in 9th inning, winning 5-0.
Won pennant-clinching game for Yankees in 1963, September 13 at Minnesota.
21-game winner for Yankees in 1963, his second season in major leagues ... combined with Whitey Ford to give Yankees two 20-game winners in one year, first time since 1951 when Eddie Lopat was 21-9 and Vic Raschi was 21-10.
Tied for second most wins in the American League (21) with Camilo Pascual; teammate Whitey Ford led league (24), 1963
Second in the American League in shutouts (6); Ray Herbert led league (7), 1963.
Had lowest ERA on the Yankee staff (2.53), 1963.
-1964 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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