Dirk HayhurstReseñas

Good baseball story; annoying personal life story. I enjoyed hearing about the pressure and inside stories of the big leagues, but found it hard to believe that the author was still a virgin before he got married, and so was his wife. The story in the beginning of the book, about his trying not to lie to her about the porn in the locker room, was annoying. It's porn. It's baseball. What did she think happened in the locker room? There was a little too much religion going on, but baseball wise it was full of funny and interesting details.

Man, Dirk Hayhurst can fucking write! Whether a baseball fan or not it doesn't matter, read these books!

I don't even know what to say...what a life this guy has led, pros and cons...and still a hell of a writer...

Holy hell, Dirk is one hell of a writer. I really feel appreciative that I had a chance to sit down with him at the team hotel in Scranton when he was pitching with the Durham Bulls. He is an amazing, one of a kind guy. I just really wish I had read the book before I talked with him. After reading the book, you forget that this guy is only 30yrs old. His life experiences have really given him the insight and wisdom I can only compare to those old wise men that you see in movies, you know, where someone climbs a mountain to see an old guy who looks like he is wrapped in a towel, with his long unkept hair and facial hair to match. Dirk really has a unique view on life, and his perceptiveness to glean the knowledge that he has from his experiences really is bar none. This book is a baseball book only in theme, it really is a book about life. If you can't gain a valuable life lesson from reading this book, then you really weren't paying attention. Dirk told us that he has another book on deck that he is almost finished with, and I, for one, will be first in line when I hear that it is released. He really has an amazing way with words and this book will cause you to run the gamut of emotions. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, you have to read this book!

Dirk was pitching for my Toronto Blue Jays when this book came out. I was greatly anticipating it and it did not disappoint. There were funny stories of minor league life but what made the book come alive for me was the documenting of the dark side - the poverty, the fear of being released, the cruel ways players sometimes treat each other.

He took a lot of flack from his fellow players when he wrote this, although he doesn't name any names. (A couple later revealed themselves when the book was successful.) I'm very glad he didn't let himself be intimated to silence. I'm grateful for the window into this rarefied world.

My husband recommended this to me and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This had me feeling just about every emotion. In fact, I found myself laughing aloud multiple times throughout the book as well. This also had a phenomenal narrator for the audiobook as well. His zeal and vocal inflections helped to bring the stories alive. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has been part of a sports team, but also, anyone who loves sports or can relate to sports. This story was so much more than about a guy who was in minor/major leagues. Stay away if you dislike vulgarity!

A season of minor-league baseball from a relief pitcher's point of view.

Another great book by Mr. hayhurst.

I LOVED this book-I laughed so much reading this! An honest look at a season in the minors and baseball in general. The writing and storytelling is fantastic!
Pick this book up!

Keith Olbermann, who I sometimes enjoy, says this is "One of the best baseball books ever written." Someone else, I can't remember who, says Hayhurst is the best writer in baseball. I beg to differ. It's not poorly written, but the writing just didn't do it for me. I like baseball, but I'm not a rabid fan. Maybe if, like Olbermann, I were, it might have made a difference. This was a free book: I received it as a first-reads win, for which I am grateful. Nonetheless, I recommend this book only for the real baseball fan.

Keith Olbermann, who I sometimes enjoy, says this is "One of the best baseball books ever written." Someone else, I can't remember who, says Hayhurst is the best writer in baseball. I beg to differ. It's not poorly written, but the writing just didn't do it for me. I like baseball, but I'm not a rabid fan. Maybe if, like Olbermann, I were, it might have made a difference. This was a free book: I received it as a first-reads win, for which I am grateful. Nonetheless, I recommend this book only for the real baseball fan.

I didn't write down my thoughts on this when I first read it, but I recall enjoying it very much. Having gotten to know many a minor league player, I well know that 90% of all bullpen pitchers are insane, but in a very fun way. He captured the nature of things extremely well.

This fictionalized coming-of-age memoir follows Hayhurst from the off-season after The Bullpen Gospels ends, through the next season. In this year he meets and marries a wonderful girl, reconciles with his family, and fulfills his lifelong professional ambition of pitching in the Major Leagues. A sometimes painful, often funny, and deeply personal look at the baseball life.

OUT OF MY LEAGUE by Dirk Hayhurst
This book is written by and spoken from Dirk's point of view as he is the one going through all of it.
Talk of him growing up in his family where his dad would help him by coaching in baseball. Over time it's all Dirk wants to do.
Being in the minor league hasn't amounted to a big pay check and because of what he shows on the mound he is moved to the major league where things turn around ten fold for him.
Liked how he handled the let down of losing a game and that others could see it also.
Love the guy talk and pranks along the way. A man would super really love this book as they could relate more to the things that happen. I just like baseball so the story line was interesting to keep me reading through 400 pages.
A plus was the romance to Bonnie and how the book and season follows her as well in every day life.
Besides traveling to different new places to me, there is also a lot I was able to learn. The most funnier things were the beer bag and princess knapsack.

Dirk Hayhurst acknowledges in his author notes that OUT OF MY LEAGUE is not a baseball tell-all. His point is not to “smear his fellow players or air the sport’s dirty laundry”. He also doesn’t focus on the sport’s technicalities which makes the book enjoyable by all, not just baseball fans. Even so, there are plenty of tales of the bizarre and funny happenings, the diverse personalities in the clubhouse, the odd rituals and the tremendously different lives of minor and major league players. He shares entertaining anecdotes as well as heartfelt personal stories. Hayhurst is an anomaly among the players because of his personal moral beliefs and takes a lot of grief for it. He plays along to get along with the rookie hazing but doesn’t let peer pressure cause him to compromise his beliefs. His courage in this is inspiring. He is starkly honest about his flawed relationship with his family and his personal insecurities. He shares the sweet tale of meeting, courting and marrying his wife, Bonnie. At times laugh out loud funny and at others almost depressing, the book is entertaining from start to finish.

Rating: 4.0

Heat Rating: Mild: Mild detailed scenes of intimacy, mild violence or profanity.

Reviewed By: Jeanne Stone-Hunter for My Book Addiction and More

Out of My League is Dirk Hayhurst’s second inside-baseball look at what it is like for those thousands of young men around the country whose only goal is to break into the big leagues. Only a small percentage of college baseball players manage to get to, much less past, A-Ball, and then only a small percentage of that lucky bunch will ever play major league baseball for any length of time. Despite these long odds, some players still find it so impossible to walk away from the game that they will spend the better part of a decade chasing their dreams. Failure most often follows from a lack of talent or physical ability, but sometimes it results from something the player cannot control, such as a career ending injury or getting stacked up inside an organization that has no room for promotion after it has been earned.

Baseball memoirs are, of course, usually written by players with name recognition. These players are so talented that, although the details will differ, their stories are somewhat predictable. What makes them most interesting is the little peek they allow the rest of us into their world – the more honest and revealing they are, the better. Dirk Hayhurst is not a player with a lot of name recognition working for him. Hayhurst spent several years in the San Diego Padres organization before getting his short-lived shot with the big club. His baseball skills, rare as they are, could only carry him so far – good enough to earn him his major league shot, but not good enough to keep him there once he made it. Surprisingly, this is exactly what makes Out of My League such an interesting baseball book.

Hayhurst’s account of his quest is a frank one, one in which he reveals things about his immediate family (parents, brother, and disastrous grandmother) that cannot have pleased any of them. Especially in the book’s first half, he spends as much time describing what goes on in the offseason as he does what he experiences during that year’s six months of baseball. This is both a strength, and a weakness, of the book. While it provides insight into the offseason financial struggles so many long term minor leaguers struggle with, Hayhurst’s recollections finally become a bit tedious, leaving the reader as happy to see the beginning of the next season as Hayhurst himself must have been to see it arrive. But without these insights regarding his relationships with his family and his fiancé, some of the decisions Hayhurst makes during the season would be mystifying. As it is, they still left me shaking my head at times.

Particularly fascinating, I think, is what Hayhurst expresses about what it is like for a rookie to join the big club: the awe these players feel for their surroundings, the everyday perks available to them, and the veteran players on the field with them. Players like Dirk Hayhurst meet good guys, bad guys, and more than a few jackasses along the way. Thankfully, he has decided to share his story (and that of countless players like him) with the rest of us.

Rated at: 3.5½

Two new baseball books have arrived at our library. Bottom of the 33rd, by Dan Barry and The Bullpen Gospels by Dirk Hayhurst.

The Bullpen Gospels has been called, “One of the best baseball books ever written.” and “Hilarious, poignant, a really enjoyable read.” It’s a New York Times Bestseller, so it must be good. And perhaps it is funny, to those who have lived the life of a minor league ballplayer. But it wasn’t funny for me.
Read the rest of my review at: http://booksmoviesandgames.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/double-play-two-new-baseball...

I won this book in a contest and didn't have any expectations about it but I absolutely loved it! In this biographical work, Dirk Hayhurst takes you through the last few years of his baseball career in the minor leagues when he starts to question whether it’s worth it to spend another year fighting to stay in the minors just to keep his dream of playing in the big leagues alive.
In between his moments of introspection, Hayhurst vividly describes the good, the bad and the ugly of life in the minors. He hilariously describes the shenanigans of his teammates, members of that particular breed of savages also known as baseball players. I couldn’t help laughing out loud while reading, much to the consternation of my fellow bus riders.
This book made me realize that not every player instantly becomes a major leaguer with multi-million dollar contracts. Most guys have to work at it and many never make it at all. Also, there’s no glamour in the life of a minor league player, it’s hours of bus travel, bad food and sometimes even worse accommodations.
All in all, you don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book. Hayhursts’s account is much more than a book about baseball. It’s a book about choices, personal identity, friendship and family. It’s a book about life.

If he pitches as well as he tells yarns, Hayhurst's a natural for the Hall of Fame

I can't say it's "the best baseball book ever written", but it is an entertaining read.