Ball Four

Ball Four was a Syndication network sitcom series created by Marvin Kitman, Vic Ziegel and Jim Bouton (who also starred in the show), based on Jim Bouton's 1970 book of the same name.

The show aired from September 22 to October 27, 1976, lasting for one season & five episodes. It was produced by Time-Life Television.

Plot
The series centered on the lives of the Washington Americans, fictitious minor league baseball team.

Cast

 * Jim Bouton as Jim Barton
 * Jack Somack as "Cap" Capogrosso
 * David James Carroll as Bill Westlake
 * Ben Davidson as "Rhino" Rhinelander
 * Bill McCutcheon as Coach Pinky Pinkney
 * Lenny Schultz as Lenny "Birdman" Siegel
 * Marco St. John as Rayford Plunkett
 * Jaime Tirelli as Orlando Lopez
 * Samuel E. Wright as C.B. Travis

Broadcast History
"Ball Four" aired at 8:30 PM Eastern time, which was during the Family Viewing Hour, an FCC-mandated hour of early evening "family-friendly" broadcasting.

Consequently, the show's writers had some trouble with the network's "Standards and Practices" in their attempt to portray realistic locker room scenes, especially the language used by the players.

Pseudo-profanity (such as "bullpimp") was disallowed, while the words "horse-crock" and "bullhorse" were approved.