Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 11
- Points
- 430
Oddball Blue Jay writes bestseller, and it's no joke
Three years ago, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst was sleeping on his
gun-toting grandma's floor, dealing with his capital-D dysfunctional family and
thinking about quitting minor league baseball. Today he's not only with a big
league organization, he's the New York Times' best-selling author of
"The Bullpen Gospels," a page-turning memoir that is drawing rave reviews.
Subtitled "Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran," the book is not
your cliché sports book; it's not a sleazy tell-all, or a ghost-written "rise to fame
and fortune" story. It's gritty, honest to a fault and laugh out loud funny. In short,
it's a great read -- whether you're a ball fan or not. Speaking to CTV.ca from Hudson,
Ohio, Hayhurst is having real problems containing his excitement about the book's
release, and finishes most of his answers with a "Sorry, dude, I don't mean to ramble,
it's just so amazing."
"It's unbelievable, flat out unbelievable, where do I start?" he said when asked about
learning of his best-selling status earlier in the week. "Its overwhelming . . . how did
this happen?"
It's a good question. Hayhurst would be the first to tell you he's the furthest thing from
a superstar like Roy Halladay, and just one of the hundreds of anonymous relief pitchers
who struggle to find a role on a ballclub each year. "The Bullpen Gospels" follows the
pitcher's struggles during his time with the San Diego Padres system in 2007 and a
constant theme is self-doubt and managing the expectations set by yourself and others.
"I wanted to write a book for people who are afraid, who doubt, who wonder. Baseball is
just a vehicle for that," he says of his book.
It's also a raw piece of non-fiction, and Hayhurst has little issue showing his flaws and
embarrassments to the reader, whether it's screaming at his 91-year-old grandmother
or a bout of the most evil case of food poisoning ever put to paper.
"All of us, no matter what sport it is we love . . . have this tendency to put athletes on
an unrealistic pedestal," Hayhurst says. "There are these unrealistic expectations, and
no one can live up to that. "The only thing I could do is tell the truth and the truth is,
who the hell is Dirk Hayhurst? I'm not important, and I know I'm not important."
Who is Dirk Hayhurst?
If there is a reason for a ballplayer with an undistinguished career (to this point) to be
able to land a best-seller, it is in Hayhurst's ability to make his dream of playing in the
big leagues remarkably relatable to us regular folk with our ordinary lives. Minor league
baseball, after all, can feel like a dead end job. The pay sucks, the bosses keep promoting
the wrong guys for no good reason and there's always some hotshot kid that has you
looking over your shoulder. Fortunately, most of us don't have employment with public
statistics that say exactly how good we are doing at our jobs.
"I was going to live a big-league dream life. What the hell happened? Where were all the
millions? Where were the luxury cars? Where was my first-class jet to paradise? Where
was my dignity," Hayhurst writes early in his book. "Instead, my career has crash-landed
me on the floor of Grandma's sewing room. If this is a dream come true, then dreams come
packed in mothballs, smell like Bengay and taste like lard-flavored turkey leg."
Hayhurst originally began writing his book in the form of a blog called "Non-Prospect Diary"
for BaseballAmerica.com in 2007. Coming on the heels of tell-all books like Jose Canseco's
"Juiced," Hayhurst says his writing was originally treated with nothing but hostility from his
fellow ballplayers who thought he was going to sell them out.
"Now matter how hard you tried to explain that's not your agenda, no one believed you," he
said. "It sucked, man, at the time I thought I was either going to get beat up or released for
my writing. "Looking back, I can't believe I stuck with it. I guess it's because I thought I had
nothing to lose."
Hayhurst says that eventually that attitude began to change when fellow players read his
work and he's received nothing but positive feedback about his book from former teammates.
"Its vindication . . . because I didn't have to ruin anyone's career to make a buck," he said.
Beware the Garfoose
Some of the above description may make the book sound heavy. It is, but it's also peppered
with Hayhurst's witty observations and face-palming laughs about the ridiculous antics of minor-
leaguers with too much time on their hands. But little compares to the Garfoose, a "fire breathing,
magically empowered, indestructible, wifi enabled, half giraffe half moose" creature, as described
on Hayhurst's webpage.
Spawned in Hayhurst's brain by a combination of boredom and sugar, the Garfoose "is the
protector of the sacred Baseball Grove where the world's most perfect baseballs are found,
hanging in bunches upon baseball trees." The Garfoose has become a popular cult figure
among ball fans, and Hayhurst has been signing autographs with a drawing of the exotic
creature in recent years. "It can't imagine any other fanbase on Earth taking to that as
willfully and joyfully as the Canadian fanbase. I think that's great. I love it and the
Garfoose loves people too," he says with a laugh.
Hayhurst says he hopes to make the Garfoose the face of a charity soon. Hayhurst is
extremely active on Twitter using his @thegarfoose account, and fans are encouraged
to go there to find out more on both the man and the myth.
Hayhurst on Canada
Hayhurst was signed to the Blue Jays organization in 2009 to a minor league contract
and appeared in 15 games for the Jays later in the season, putting up a solid 2.78 ERA.
He promises he's not sucking up, when he says he loves the city. "Canadians have a
great sense of humour, they really do," he adds. "I feel like the Canadian fanbase, and
readers there, have accepted me a little more than their American counterparts would."
Unfortunately, Hayhurst suffered a significant setback this year when he underwent shoulder
surgery in February, putting him out for four to six months. He has yet to begin throwing,
he says. "It just doesn't heal fast enough . . . I've been looking to be a baseball player since
I was a little boy and I just had a chance to break out of camp with the big club . . . and I'm
hurt," he said. "Is rehab going okay? Yeah. Does it suck to be injured? Absolutely.
"Its kind of a heartbreak but the book has been fantastic for distracting me from all of this.
I'd be way more depressed if I didn't have that."
"The Bullpen Gospels" is available now in fine bookstores near you. Hayhurst will be signing
books and chatting with fans at two venues on April 12 before the Jays home opener. At noon
he will be at the Blue Jays team store in the Eaton Centre and at 4 p.m. he will be at Chapters
at 126 John St. in Toronto
Three years ago, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst was sleeping on his
gun-toting grandma's floor, dealing with his capital-D dysfunctional family and
thinking about quitting minor league baseball. Today he's not only with a big
league organization, he's the New York Times' best-selling author of
"The Bullpen Gospels," a page-turning memoir that is drawing rave reviews.
Subtitled "Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran," the book is not
your cliché sports book; it's not a sleazy tell-all, or a ghost-written "rise to fame
and fortune" story. It's gritty, honest to a fault and laugh out loud funny. In short,
it's a great read -- whether you're a ball fan or not. Speaking to CTV.ca from Hudson,
Ohio, Hayhurst is having real problems containing his excitement about the book's
release, and finishes most of his answers with a "Sorry, dude, I don't mean to ramble,
it's just so amazing."
"It's unbelievable, flat out unbelievable, where do I start?" he said when asked about
learning of his best-selling status earlier in the week. "Its overwhelming . . . how did
this happen?"
It's a good question. Hayhurst would be the first to tell you he's the furthest thing from
a superstar like Roy Halladay, and just one of the hundreds of anonymous relief pitchers
who struggle to find a role on a ballclub each year. "The Bullpen Gospels" follows the
pitcher's struggles during his time with the San Diego Padres system in 2007 and a
constant theme is self-doubt and managing the expectations set by yourself and others.
"I wanted to write a book for people who are afraid, who doubt, who wonder. Baseball is
just a vehicle for that," he says of his book.
It's also a raw piece of non-fiction, and Hayhurst has little issue showing his flaws and
embarrassments to the reader, whether it's screaming at his 91-year-old grandmother
or a bout of the most evil case of food poisoning ever put to paper.
"All of us, no matter what sport it is we love . . . have this tendency to put athletes on
an unrealistic pedestal," Hayhurst says. "There are these unrealistic expectations, and
no one can live up to that. "The only thing I could do is tell the truth and the truth is,
who the hell is Dirk Hayhurst? I'm not important, and I know I'm not important."
Who is Dirk Hayhurst?
If there is a reason for a ballplayer with an undistinguished career (to this point) to be
able to land a best-seller, it is in Hayhurst's ability to make his dream of playing in the
big leagues remarkably relatable to us regular folk with our ordinary lives. Minor league
baseball, after all, can feel like a dead end job. The pay sucks, the bosses keep promoting
the wrong guys for no good reason and there's always some hotshot kid that has you
looking over your shoulder. Fortunately, most of us don't have employment with public
statistics that say exactly how good we are doing at our jobs.
"I was going to live a big-league dream life. What the hell happened? Where were all the
millions? Where were the luxury cars? Where was my first-class jet to paradise? Where
was my dignity," Hayhurst writes early in his book. "Instead, my career has crash-landed
me on the floor of Grandma's sewing room. If this is a dream come true, then dreams come
packed in mothballs, smell like Bengay and taste like lard-flavored turkey leg."
Hayhurst originally began writing his book in the form of a blog called "Non-Prospect Diary"
for BaseballAmerica.com in 2007. Coming on the heels of tell-all books like Jose Canseco's
"Juiced," Hayhurst says his writing was originally treated with nothing but hostility from his
fellow ballplayers who thought he was going to sell them out.
"Now matter how hard you tried to explain that's not your agenda, no one believed you," he
said. "It sucked, man, at the time I thought I was either going to get beat up or released for
my writing. "Looking back, I can't believe I stuck with it. I guess it's because I thought I had
nothing to lose."
Hayhurst says that eventually that attitude began to change when fellow players read his
work and he's received nothing but positive feedback about his book from former teammates.
"Its vindication . . . because I didn't have to ruin anyone's career to make a buck," he said.
Beware the Garfoose
Some of the above description may make the book sound heavy. It is, but it's also peppered
with Hayhurst's witty observations and face-palming laughs about the ridiculous antics of minor-
leaguers with too much time on their hands. But little compares to the Garfoose, a "fire breathing,
magically empowered, indestructible, wifi enabled, half giraffe half moose" creature, as described
on Hayhurst's webpage.
Spawned in Hayhurst's brain by a combination of boredom and sugar, the Garfoose "is the
protector of the sacred Baseball Grove where the world's most perfect baseballs are found,
hanging in bunches upon baseball trees." The Garfoose has become a popular cult figure
among ball fans, and Hayhurst has been signing autographs with a drawing of the exotic
creature in recent years. "It can't imagine any other fanbase on Earth taking to that as
willfully and joyfully as the Canadian fanbase. I think that's great. I love it and the
Garfoose loves people too," he says with a laugh.
Hayhurst says he hopes to make the Garfoose the face of a charity soon. Hayhurst is
extremely active on Twitter using his @thegarfoose account, and fans are encouraged
to go there to find out more on both the man and the myth.
Hayhurst on Canada
Hayhurst was signed to the Blue Jays organization in 2009 to a minor league contract
and appeared in 15 games for the Jays later in the season, putting up a solid 2.78 ERA.
He promises he's not sucking up, when he says he loves the city. "Canadians have a
great sense of humour, they really do," he adds. "I feel like the Canadian fanbase, and
readers there, have accepted me a little more than their American counterparts would."
Unfortunately, Hayhurst suffered a significant setback this year when he underwent shoulder
surgery in February, putting him out for four to six months. He has yet to begin throwing,
he says. "It just doesn't heal fast enough . . . I've been looking to be a baseball player since
I was a little boy and I just had a chance to break out of camp with the big club . . . and I'm
hurt," he said. "Is rehab going okay? Yeah. Does it suck to be injured? Absolutely.
"Its kind of a heartbreak but the book has been fantastic for distracting me from all of this.
I'd be way more depressed if I didn't have that."
"The Bullpen Gospels" is available now in fine bookstores near you. Hayhurst will be signing
books and chatting with fans at two venues on April 12 before the Jays home opener. At noon
he will be at the Blue Jays team store in the Eaton Centre and at 4 p.m. he will be at Chapters
at 126 John St. in Toronto
