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cacestbon 's review for:
The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran
by Dirk Hayhurst
Very disappointing. I was looking forward to reading this book, as it received heavy praise from respected sports writers. Clearly, though, my expectations were way off.
This book really isn't about baseball at all. Hayhurst spends very little time talking about what it's like to be a minor league *player*. Instead, he focuses on what he and his teammates do and talk about when they're in the clubhouse/on the bus. Almost everyone is referred to by nicknames, so you have no idea who anyone really is, and the concrete baseball things -- game details, differences in playing in high-A and AA, Hayhurst's own evolution as a pitcher -- are glossed over. And since Hayhurst reveals what I try to ignore about my favorite baseball players -- namely, that most of them are intellectually incurious and unapologetically misogynistic -- I found most of the book neither engaging nor humorous. (It also didn't help that his editor apparently refused to rein in his metaphor use.)
When Hayhurst actually focuses on baseball stuff, like his descriptions of spring training, minor league ballparks, etc., the book zipped along. Sadly, those sections were rare.
This book really isn't about baseball at all. Hayhurst spends very little time talking about what it's like to be a minor league *player*. Instead, he focuses on what he and his teammates do and talk about when they're in the clubhouse/on the bus. Almost everyone is referred to by nicknames, so you have no idea who anyone really is, and the concrete baseball things -- game details, differences in playing in high-A and AA, Hayhurst's own evolution as a pitcher -- are glossed over. And since Hayhurst reveals what I try to ignore about my favorite baseball players -- namely, that most of them are intellectually incurious and unapologetically misogynistic -- I found most of the book neither engaging nor humorous. (It also didn't help that his editor apparently refused to rein in his metaphor use.)
When Hayhurst actually focuses on baseball stuff, like his descriptions of spring training, minor league ballparks, etc., the book zipped along. Sadly, those sections were rare.