Dirk Hayhurst

Dirk Hayhurst.

The Person.

Born in Canton, Ohio in 1981, Dirk grew up in the small town area of Canton South where he attended Canton South high school, home of the Wildcats. Though Dirk now makes his home in Hudson, Ohio with his wife, Bonnie, Dirk’s family remains in Canton South.

Dirk holds a degree in communication studies from Kent State University, where he is also a member of the athletic hall of fame. He’s also Kent Sate’s all time innings pitched leader, strike out leader, and two time recipient of the coveted Steve Stone award. He was MAC pitcher of the year his senior year, 2003, and a 3 time All Conference honoree. He was also honored with an Outstanding Student Athlete Role Model award in 2003, an award he tired to replicate in his professional career by winning the Community Player of the Year award when pitching for the Portland Beavers in 2008.

The Dirk of today is a polymath of sorts, trying his hand at all manner of things from baseball lessons to candle making. Websites, blogs, speaking, writing, Garfoose taming and baseball playing are only the tip of the iceberg. Dirk is a staunch believer that what you do does not define you, but you define it. In that sense, he dabbles in, and occasionally excels at, a viaritey of things, often garnering the reaction, “You’re not the typical athlete, are you?”

The Player.

Dirk was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 8th round of the 2003 amateur player draft. He signed as a senior in college at Kent State University, put his communication degree on hold, and set off to the fabled Northwest League to become a Eugene Emerald.

After 6 years of toiling in the minors, playing for the Eugene Emeralds, Fort Wayne Wizards, Lake Elsinore Storm, Mobile BayBears, San Antonio Missions, and Portland Beavers, Dirk emerged in the big leagues with San Diego to start against the San Fransico Giants on August, 23, 2008. His performance in that start was unremarkable, but the story between the two aforementioned dates is not.

Dirk started recording his minor league adventures in 2007 in the belief that if he didn’t make it to the big leagues, at least he could write down some of the life experiences he had while trying to get there. Maybe form them into a book? The result was the capturing of stories and experiences spanning the deserts of the Cal League, the snowy peaks of the Pacific Coast League, and beyond the baseball field itself to the warn and traveled roads of real, raw life. In short, the result was a self discovery no string of stats could explain. However, if it’s simple career stats you’re interested in, you can find them here.

At the end of the 2008 campaign, Dirk was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays where he spent parts of the 2009 season in the Bigs. All the of the 2010 season was spent on the disabled list, rehabbing shoulder surgery. Healthy once again, Dirk came back for the 2011 season as a Tampa Bay Ray, and played for their Triple A affiliate, the world famous Durham Bulls. Dirk is presently a free agent and hopes to make it back to the big leagues soon.

The Writer.

Dirk started his literary career on the floor of his grandmother’s basement. Since, he’s written in minor league tour buses, flooded hotel rooms, red-eye twin-prop flights, small town bullpens, and even on the occasional big league jet.

Dirk’s work was first featured at baseballamerica.com, where he wrote The Non-Prospect Diaries (now The Bullpen Gospels, in connection with his book), a blog about the other side of the baseball dream. At the time Dirk had no idea he would someday become a big leaguer, and the column was Dirk’s way of keeping perspective in the midst of all the crazy things he encountered on the minor league trail. As it would happen, The Non-Prospect Diaries became so popular he was approached by several newspapers, including that of his home town, The CantonRepository, where he began a column called The Bullpen Gospels. Only one year (and several thousand readers) later, Dirk was not only knocking on the door of the big leagues but in discussions to write a book as well.

Dirk’s first book, The Bullpen Gospels, came out on March 30, 2010 and was met with a surge of acclaim from all manner of key figures, such as Keith Olbermann, Bob Costas, Jayson Stark, Tim McCarver, Tom Verducci, and several esteemed print sources like, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Boston Globe, and the list goes on. You can read more reviews about Dirk’s book on the Book’s page, or order it at all fine book sellers.

Dirk’s second book, Out Of My League, is slated to hit shelves in 2012.

The Speaker.

In 2009, Dirk started his third professional career as a public speaker, doing motivational talks based on the touching message outlined in his first book, and reinforced with his experiences as professional athlete, Christian, and husband. While it is commonly accepted that most professional athletes are experts at talking about one key thing: themselves; Dirk’s message is an everyman’s tale easily related to and not hinging on pomp or titles. From weathering the fallout of family dealing with alcohol abuse and suicide, to stepping on a big league mound for the first time in front of tens of thousands, Dirk not only has an amazing set of experiences but a gift to share them in an articulate and edifying way. Since beginning his career as a speaker, Dirk has spoken to sports teams, church congregations, businesses, and convention attendees. To contact him about speaking at your event, check the Speaking page.