Book Review: The Bullpen Gospels

There is something to be said about a good baseball book and when you can find one that deals with failure, it makes it even better. “The Bullpen Gospels” is a book written by former major league reliever Dirk Hayhurst, looking at a pivotal part of his career while in the minor leagues. While a number of baseball books delve into the successes of its players, this book also takes a hard look at what it is like as a player trying to achieve his dream while coming up through the minor leagues

The book begins as Hayhurst is struggling with his future. He’s coming off of a lackluster finish to a season and is unsure how long he wants to continue trying to reach his dream of being a big league pitcher. He does a great job of letting us wander into his mind as he deals with what his future has in store. You really get a window into how something as major as “confidence” can play into a player’s success or failure. Hayhurst is dealing with a floundering career, a lack of confidence and a non-existent support system.

While the focal point of this book is Hayhurst’s struggle and attempt to reach the big leagues, the aspect of the book that really grabs you is his description of minor league life and the relationships with his teammates. Whether it is the lewd jokes, the grizzled coaches or even a bus trip from hell, listening to stories about the grind of a baseball season really puts into perspective how unattractive the minor leagues can be. While some of the names are legit and left as is, there are a number of players whose names were changed for one reason or another. If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to live a season chasing your baseball dream, this is a nice view into that scenario.

You also find out how Dirk evolves as a pitcher and allows himself to not worry about his performance on the field. While his struggles are in the forefront at the beginning of the book, his success is thrown in as almost a side note as the book progresses. The deeper you get into this book, the more you realize it isn’t as much about what happens on the baseball field as much as it’s a look into the thinking pattern of a player trying to avoid the repetitiveness of a long baseball season.

Overall, I loved the book. I’ve always had a fondness for locker room stories and a deeper look into not just the game of baseball but the nuts and bolts of what makes the game. My favorite part of the book was Dirk’s interactions with Trevor Hoffman, someone who Hayhurst had looked up to for years. These visits not only gave a nice insight into how his mind works, but also how someone like Hoffman can be viewed one way as a player and another as a person.

If you are looking into an honest look into what it is like climbing the ladder of baseball’s minor league system and the ups and downs that are met along the way, this is for you. Some have said this is the best baseball book since Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four” and while I can’t vouch for that (I haven’t read the classic Bouton book), I will say that Hayhurst is a great writer and has woven a baseball tale that will entertain you. If you would like to give it a read, here is a link to the book on Amazon and he has written two other books, here and also here. While his career was a short one, Hayhurst has made sure that it will live on for years to come. The book is worth your time and should make you even more excited for baseball season to begin.