• The Bullpen Gospels

  • Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran
  • By: Dirk Hayhurst
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (371 ratings)

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The Bullpen Gospels  By  cover art

The Bullpen Gospels

By: Dirk Hayhurst
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about The Bullpen Gospels

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an amazing find!

This book was included free with my account. I’m a so-so baseball fan. So, I gave it a try, and... OMG!!! Even if you’re not into baseball ball this is an awesome listen. An autobiography of a minor league baseball player (who eventually goes major) that’s less about baseball and more about the most interesting group of people who play it. Very well written and expertly read (by the legendary Ray Porter) there’s nothing to complain about. Don’t hesitate to listen to this book!!! I’m going to be looking up other books by Hayhurst. I’m all about it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A perfect seague from Ball Four

If you enjoyed Ball Four, this is a more modern version. The writer takes you through the baseball season as a minor league player. The difference is he's a little more graphic in the telling of the typical locker room humor I guess you would see in most sports clubs. You can't help but laugh, knowing there are grown men in the world still doing things when most of us were 15. The big winner is the narration. Ray Porter has quickly become my favorite voice artist.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hayhurst Paints the Picture of Life in the Minors

I remember first reading an article by Dirk Hayhurst in Baseball America magazine. I instantly loved his conversational style and that story is in here about the little boy stricken with liver cancer that depicted a meaning to why I idolize those who play baseball for money. This book is skillfully brought to life by Ray Porter whose voice takes on a malleable tone and brings to the forefront the guys that never made it to the big leagues, but were characters enough.

If you are a baseball fan, you will not find a better feel for how things are for minor league players. No money, a high level of loneliness and their lives outside of baseball always seem to be just outside the clubhouse door. This is the best example of what it is like to be a player at the minor league baseball level.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story

great story on the day to day life in the minor league lol funny

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story in Baseball

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Storytelling

I wasn't sure about this book because I thought it was another Ball Four ripoff but it didn't feel like that at all. It was a very good book and it offered a very interesting and entertaining telling of Minor League Baseball.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good book, better listen.

The best audiobook performance I've ever heard. the stories are good, but whereany books make it difficult to remember who is who, the inflection and affectations make the people come to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great story about more than baseball.

What a find! This book is about a lot more than baseball, and I enjoyed every second of it.

I found myself interacting with the story throughout and I think that is the highest complement I could give.

Would highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Ugh. Baseball’s answer to The Sorrow and The Pity.

This book was a throughly depressing listen/read. Then again, reality is never uplifting to begin with. This was a story of a below average minor league pitcher and his family who broke down because of the ravages of life. The author’s teammates were more interesting. The author can write, but only when he’s in pain. Boring book, but a way to pass the time.

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