[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I sent Bouton an autograph request as a kid. He was kind enough to answer all of my questions and included a few extra cards in the return envelope. We had an ongoing correspondence for a few years. The Bouton I got to know through letters is definitely the exact same fellow who wrote those great books. Very down-to-earth, unassuming and would not for a minute consider himself better than anyone else. If you run into him again, I'm sure he'd be delighted to spend a few minutes in conversation.

I recall that Bouton was trying to sell his original "manuscript" of Ball Four two or three years ago. As he outlined in the book, it consisted of scribblings on loose paper, napkins and coasters. He wanted $1,000,000 for the grouping if I recall correctly. It's anyone's guess as to actual hammer price, but I would be surprised to see those notes fetch more than in the very low five-figure range. $25K would be a stretch, but you never know.