The Switch
Cidu Bill on Feb 25th 2010
In 1972, New York Yankees ace pitcher Fritz Peterson and Yankees not-quite-ace Mike Kekich traded wives (and families and homes and dogs). Peterson and Kekich’s wife are still together to this day, while things didn’t work out so well for the other couple.
This was still back in the day when stories like this could be kept relatively quiet.
Ben Affleck now owns the rights to the story, and he might star in the film along with Matt Damon. Now, as much as I’m a non-fan of both Affleck and Damon, and I hate the two of them together, I am absolutely first in line to see this.
Filed in Ben Affleck, Bill Bickel, Fritz Peterson, baseball, movies | 8 responses so far
Kate C Feb 25th 2010 at 03:25 pm 1
I swear I read about this incident in the book Ball Four, but the timeline seems off. That book was published in 1970.
I have no idea whether this will be a comedy or a drama, but, like you, I’m very intrigued by it. I am kind of amused by the idea of Boston’s most famous actors making a movie about the Yankees.
Ben Feb 25th 2010 at 03:29 pm 2
Bouton was definitely friendly with Peterson when they were both with the Yankees. I think he might have written about the wife swap in one of his “what I’ve been doing since Ball Four” updates to later editions.
Cidu Bill Feb 25th 2010 at 03:45 pm 3
That’s what I thought as well, Ben. what’s funny is that I have a friend who’s in his late 50s, HUGE Yankees fan all his life, and he knew nothing about this. Apparently this all became public, and then the newspapers just shut down the story.
If this were today, of course, both Peterson and Kekich would be on television apologizing to the public.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat Feb 25th 2010 at 05:16 pm 4
I was about twelve years old when the swap happened and I still recall it quite clearly. Jokes about the “trade” and even a wire story, complete with a picture of the happy couples on vacation together before the swap.
This is apparently not as unusual as it appears. One of the daughters who lived in our house before we bought it did the same thing, although in this case it was with the neighbors down the street. Husbands just grabbed their clothes and took them to their new house. Both couples were named “Smith”, so I guess that simplified things a little.
paperboy Feb 25th 2010 at 06:50 pm 5
A film?? Haven’t they already made a reality-show about it?
Jeff S. Feb 25th 2010 at 10:16 pm 6
Weird lifestyles continue today –
Wayne Bridge, a left back for England’s National team, stepped down off the team because star John Terry had an affair with Bridge’s fiancee and got her pregnant (and terminated it). Apparently, the story is much bigger than Tiger Woods in England. Terry has had “lots of off-the-field troubles.” Terry comes from a very tough part of London and had a rough background. Bridge is no longer with his fiancee and Terry is reconciled with his own wife.
Tom T. Feb 26th 2010 at 07:07 am 7
If this happened today, I think they’d make a reality show out of it and have camera crews chronicling the highlights of the new families’ lives.
Frank the curmudgeon Feb 26th 2010 at 12:12 pm 8
You wrote Your Cheatin’ Heart about
A gal like my first ex-wife
You Moan The Blues for me and for you
Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life.