Total Page : 340
Publisher : Citadel Press
Publication Date : 2010 04 01
>> Sorry It s a minor league book about baseball
I was anxious to read this book after the incredible hype from Keith Olbermann Now having read the book and the reviews which precede me on Amazon I am compelled to write to say that my copy of the book apparently didn t come with the Kool Aid If you know anything about professional baseball Bullpen Gospels didn t enlighten in any way Yes the minor leagues are low budget operations populated by players who are chasing a dream and fighting disappointment You know that from watching Bull Durham Because the author changed the names of his teammates and coaches there is no insight into anyone in this string of anecdotes Frankly unless you are a member of Dirk Hayhurst s family or a teammate who wants to guess which made up character is modeled after him I can t think of a reason to buy this book
>> Major League All Star Read
I used to absolutely love Dirk Hayhurst blogs on Baseball America so I was anxiously awaiting the release of his book The Bullpen Gospels He does not disappoint with giving us a glimpse of life in the minor leagues all the ups and downs the camaraderie between players the pranks they play on each other and the hope that springs eternal about making it into the show What I wasn t expecting in this book was the look into his personal life and the family struggles as Dirk questions his desire to continue his path in baseball Dirk does a wonderful job bringing all of his experiences together in a heartfelt at times laugh out loud hilarious book I m so excited to continue to follow Dirk and I hope this book is just the beginning of a long writing career after the major league baseball days are long over I ll be buying this book for all my sons and relatives this year
>> Don t Judge This Book by Its Cover
It is easy to glance at the cover and topic of this book and to superficially log it mentally as yet another entry in the cascade of sports books written by former sports icons or wannabes But no inside the game memoirs begin by painfully detailing the reality of living on the floor of a hateful grandmother s sewing room a lifestyle that is nevertheless infinitely preferable to actually living in the demilitarized zone Dirk Hayhurst calls home
Even a casual baseball fan particularly one who follows minor league professional ball with any degree of interest will be entertained by the book s play by play of the on and off field exploits of a bunch of post adolescent boys who earn a meager income by throwing baseballs instead of french fries Hayhurst vividly and hilariously describes the details and tribulations of the remaining 21 hours each day that he and his team is not committed to fulfilling the public s limited vision of what happens between the baselines
Yet despite the theme of the book baseball simply serves as the backdrop against which Hayhurst unfolds and unveils the personal pain he endures compliments of a father who has abdicated his responsibility of caring about anything anymore least of all holding a family intact For Hayhurst the minor league system is less an inconvenient stop on the way to San Diego Toronto or any other glistening gem of a big league park and lifestyle than it is a means of escape from a far worse life outcome Many other grown men have to deal with the type of violent dysfunctional family life that Hayhurst shares with us about his But they stay in their difficult homes work at their difficult jobs and don t have the relative luxury of escaping on noisy stinky buses to some dilapidated minor league town a continent away
For Hayhurst the journey through the minors itself becomes the prize any greater glamorous outcome is gravy Exposing the seedy steroid laced naming names side of professional sports is commonplace and tiresome in sports literature today But using this literary category as a way to exorcise personal demons while entertaining a generation of baseball fans is novel and refreshing and Hayhurst accomplishes it with class sincerity and honor
Click Above Or Below To See More Detail >>> The Bullpen Gospels Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran
