Ball Four (TV series)

Ball Four was a short-lived American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1976. It was based on the controversial and best-selling 1970 memoir of the same name by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton. The series followed the fictional Washington Americans, a struggling baseball team, and focused on the antics and personal lives of the players, particularly pitcher Jim Barton (played by Jim Bouton himself).

The show attempted to capture the irreverent and behind-the-scenes perspective that made Bouton's book so popular and groundbreaking. However, it significantly toned down the more explicit and controversial content of the book in order to be suitable for network television. This sanitization, along with a perceived lack of humor and weak writing, contributed to the show's poor reception and cancellation after only five episodes.

The series also starred Jack Somack as manager Al Michaels, Bill McCutcheon as coach "Birdie" Byron, and Lenny Schultz as bullpen catcher 'Rhino' Rhinelander. Despite its failure, Ball Four is notable for its attempt to bring a more realistic and adult perspective to the sports sitcom genre, although many considered it a pale imitation of the book that inspired it.