Bigger Than the Game

February 1, 2014
A revealing yet occasionally tedious, seasonlong account of a major league pitcher on the outs. Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Hayhurst (Out of My League, 2012, etc.) began what would be his final season in 2010 training "like a beast" and anticipating the publication of his book, The Bullpen Gospels, on opening day. However, he had to win over skeptics who believed anyone who wrote from the inside violated the locker room code and therefore could never be trusted as reliable. Furthermore, talking to the press corps during spring training to garner publicity for his book caused teammates to question his motives, particularly a cocky, malicious pitcher who nicknamed him "Media," and encouraged several teammates to turn against him. Hayhurst wanted to prove he belonged, but he started the season relegated to the training room on the 60-day disabled list with an arm injury--and it only got worse. The combination of prolonged pain and social ostracism made him panicky, and the author admits, "it was a delicate balance of trying to get healthy physically and not unraveling mentally into some anxious, why-am-I-not-healthy mess." Rarely does an athlete admit publicly to feeling anxious, afraid or depressed, but Hayhurst candidly shows readers that he was fraying both emotionally and physically. (One line sums it up nicely: "Arm pain can make your whole life hurt.") However, the author draws out his emotionally honest story with unnecessary, lengthy accounts of interactions with coaches and trainers, as well as intimate conversations with his wife. Several chapters devoted to his rehabilitation program lend no insight or deeper understanding of his pain. A flawed yet unique, personal story of an athlete's anguish at the end of his career.

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February 15, 2014

Most observers credit Cardinals and Reds relief pitcher Jim Brosnan with originating the baseball tell-all with his The Long Season (1960) and Jim Bouton with kicking the genre up several notches with his Ball Four (1970). In both cases the player-authors were accused of violating "the sanctity of the clubhouse" by revealing many of the not-so-positive sides of their teammates. Both were established major leaguers. Hayhurst was far from established when his The Bullpen Gospels (2010), detailing a season in the minors, was published. Thus he earned even less of a pass on being a tattler than did his predecessors. Now Hayhurst chronicles a season in hell, upon being picked up by the Blue Jays for the 2010 season and being treated as a pariah by teammates as he tries to battle back from a debilitating injury. At times funny, it is more often a sober story of someone who defies convention and is living with the consequences. VERDICT He's a former pitcher with a career major league record of 0-2, but Hayhurst gets a "W" with this one.--Jim Burns (JB), Jacksonville P.L., FL

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