Former Major League pitcher Jim Bouton shared his struggle to overcome local corruption and bring town baseball back to Pittsfield, Mass., in a lecture Wednesday in Carpenter Hall.
Bouton and Chip Elitzer '69 attempted to resurrect a vintage baseball park in Pittsfield but repeatedly faced opposition from local bankers, the local newspaper and local politicians in the pockets of both groups, Bouton said. All wished instead to build a new stadium in order to entice the Pittsfield Mets to stay in town.
Bouton chronicled his experience in a self-published book, "Foul Ball." The book was released before the project ultimately failed due to insufficient investment.
"The 'good old boys' hated Bouton's plan because it would put a stake in the heart of a proposed $18.5 million baseball stadium -- an all too familiar story," reads Bouton's website.
After the book was published, Bouton was invited back to continue his project but faced opposition again, this time from the carpenters' union, and the project collapsed.
Bouton's goal was to "restore one of the last ballparks," from before the time when "teams were held hostage by big migrant team owners."
For Bouton, baseball was a way to resurrect community spirit.
"We were going to restore town ball -- with uncle Harry, the milkman, guys who lived here, as opposed to some kid from Florida or the Dominican Republic who stays for one summer and then goes somewhere else," Bouton said.
Many Pittsfield commercial interests, however, were not pleased with the project. One of the major problems, according to Bouton, was that they were raising their own capital for the project, an act the banks were not pleased with.
"If you did that, who would you be beholden to?" Bouton quipped.
The local newspaper also opposed Bouton's project because they owned the land the new ballpark was to be built on and stood to earn a considerable profit, Bouton said.
Bouton condemned city leaders for being influenced by the interests of the banks and the newspaper, among others.
"Politicians are not running the town," Bouton said, "other people are."
Bouton highlighted the successful events the ballpark hosted while the revival was being planned. The park hosted a vintage baseball game that was broadcast on ESPN. Players played the game with old rules and old-style equipment.
"It was basically a four-hour advertisement for Pittsfield," Bouton said.
Enthusiasts throughout the country play vintage baseball with historic rules and equipment. There are 150 or so such teams around the country, Bouton said.
It was important to Bouton for Pittsfield to have a vintage baseball team, considering the town's long relationship with baseball. During his presentation, he pointed to a document from 1791 he found in the town hall, which revealed Pittsfield as the possible birthplace of baseball. The document made national news as well as the front page of the International Herald Tribune.
But local opposition continued to stall Bouton and Elitzer's renovation. "People were angry at us from the book," Bouton said.
Bouton has pitched for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves. He also wrote "Ball Four," a controversial diary of the 1969 major league baseball season.
