The Bullpen Gospels

Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran

By: Dirk Hayhurst

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Upon its release, The Bullpen Gospels was a direct hit to the New York Times best seller list. With comparisons to Jim Boutons’s Ball Four, The Bullpen Gospels is slated to be a classic of the genre.

From the humble heights of a Class-A pitcher’s mound to the deflating lows of sleeping on his gun-toting grandmother’s air mattress, veteran reliever Dirk Hayhurst steps out of the bullpen to deliver the best pitch of his career—a raw and unflinching account of his life in the minors.

Whether training tarantulas to protect his room from thieving employees in a backwater hotel or absorbing the gentle mockery of some not-quite-starstruck schoolchildren, Hayhurst reveals a side of baseball—and life—rarely seen on ESPN.

©2010 Dirk Hayhurst (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the best baseball books ever written.” (Keith Olbermann)

“Hilarious, Poignant, a really enjoyable read.” (Bob Costas)

“Dirk Hayhurst has written a fascinating, funny and honest account on life in the minor leagues. I loved it.” (Tim Kurkjian, Senior Writer, analyst/reporter ESPN television)

Incredible

Very well written and a wonderfully told story! I enjoyed every minute of it! I love baseball, but this book was so much more than a baseball story!

Funny, bawdy, and thoughtful

Ray Porter's performance perfectly captured Dirk Hayhurst's humor, fear, sarcasm, sadness, & love during his struggles both in minor league baseball and in life. Some of it made me laugh out loud. Since the subject matter is men in their 20s, the humor is occassionally puerile and vulgar, but not enough to spoil Hayhurst's engaging tone, anecdotes, and characters. I deliberately did not look up Hayhurst's career stats or personal information because I wanted the plot to tell me about his success or failures. And I won't tell you, either.

Grand Slam!!!

Very well written and very well read book! Lots of highs and deep lows! Fun listening!!!

so much more than baseball

The baseball stories I came for were there and what I expected to hear and brought a smile to my face, what I didn't expect was to to learn about life. about what is important and how we all come to that point at a moment in our own lives. How to deal with frustrations and work though the struggles. fun, entertaining and great narration.

Great Story in Baseball

It’s a very real look into people in baseball, specifically minor leaguers. Definitely worth a read/listen. Great story.

Outstanding book very well written

Dirk Hayhurst is outstanding. A life lesions book that happens to be about a journey through the minor leagues of major league baseball. My son played college baseball and told many of the same types of stories. Some of the funniest stuff I have ever read. The ending ties it all together. I will continue to recommend this book to anyone who will listen.

A great baseball read

What did you love best about The Bullpen Gospels?

Not your typical story of boy made good through sports. Hayhurst's self doubt and his ability to overcome it makes for a much more interesting story than the sophmoric pranks of minor leaguers. However, some of the antedotes about his teammates had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bullpen Gospels?

The spiderman incident and Hayhurst's revenge with a real spider

Any additional comments?

While it appears that Hayhurst's career as a pitcher may be over (I don't think he is pitching in the 2012 season), I cannot wait to read and hear more from him in the future whether it is about baseball or other topics. I find his humor and self exploration to be honest and refreshing.

GREAT Baseball book better story...

I have been through a number if baseball books this year including Ball Four. This was a great book start to finish. The narration was incredible and the story was even better. I am surprised this book hasnt received more attention...

Honest and open

Some tough chapters at times. Not because they were poorly written in any way just his life. You can really feel the emotions whether they are good or bad. Overall a pretty good view inside the life of a MiLB player.

best narrated fratire

I have over 50 Audio books under my belt. This was by far the best narrated. The reader's voices enhanced this fratire beyond its means