Patricia Nell Warren writes a terrific story on Jim Bouton, the author of "Ball Four." He is a true pioneer in sports and says it's about time for a gay player in baseball. Check it out.

A correction and a comment.

The article states that "Dave Pallone had made himself infamous with some unpopular calls and disputes on the field, notably a 1988 nose-to-nose with Pete Rose. Pallone added to his unpopularity by continuing to work during a strike of the umpires’ union." Actually, Pallone debuted in the majors as a replacement umpire in 1979. When the union returned to work he was retained by major league baseball. This, combined with what many perceived to be his less-than-skillful umpiring (I know I never thought he was very good long before I learned he was gay) caused his unpopularity.

On the item in the book regarding the "kissing game" played by the Seattle Pilots players ("You ambushed a guy and kissed him before he knew what was coming. The idea was to kiss, but not be kissed") -- if this is all that is in the book regarding homosexuality, it's quite a stretch to consider this part of "gay sports history." This seems to me to be a very homophobic game, not something that necessarily reflects actual homosexuality or even homosexual leanings. It reminds me of what I read about the recently released movie "Waiting." This line is from a review that appeared in Philadelphia Weekly: "It's also about a game in which various characters attempt to show each other their testicles. If the display is unwittingly glimpsed the voyeur gets kicked in the ass and pronounced 'a faggot.'"

Patricia replies:

Your reader isn't taking into account what a bombshell this passage was in 1970. It impressed me so profoundly that I referred to it three years later in The Front Runner. Plus it created the platform for Bouton to make further statements about gay athletes in ensuing years.