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‘Ball Four’ author, ex-Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton dies at 80

Ex-Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton was a 20-game winner, won two World Series games, spent 10 years in the big leagues — and made a bigger impact with a pen in his hand than a baseball.

The author of the groundbreaking hardball tell-all Ball Four died Wednesday (July 10, 2019) after suffering with a brain disease linked to dementia, friends of the family said. He died in the Great Barrington, Mass., home he shared with his wife Paula Kurman after weeks of hospice care. He was 80.

Mr. Bouton also had two strokes in 2012.

Mr.