Dirk Hayhurst's Blog

What do players play for? A great question, and, depending on when you ask a player during his career, it can be answered in many different ways…. I remember my first and only Spring training with the Rays. I got a big league camp invite, which meant I got treated like a human being instead some mutation fresh off the wastelands. At least for the first month, anyways, then it was back—back you filth, back—to the minors. In my short stint as a quasi Rays big leaguer, I got to sit at...

Ever wonder what the difference, psychologically speaking, is between a team that is winning and a team that is losing? Simply put, it’s belief. It used to be that I didn’t like that answer. Belief, meh, it feels like you’re saying if we join hands and chant around a campfire, we’ll win more. I can think back to the my little league days when I got beat up on the pitchers mound and I’d mope—yes, I was a whiner, even back then—and team mothers, adorned with team colors and hats...

If you get caught stealing signs in baseball—the original baseball data theft—your baseball punishment is a fastball to the ribcage. If you steal second base when your team is up ten runs, you also get a fastball to the ribcage. If you steal another player’s roster spot by taking PED’s, then get caught, it may take awhile (the guy you beat out has to make it to the big leagues first) but, you guessed it, a fastball to the ribcage. Clearly, baseball understands the concept of corporal...

Recently someone from my hometown got drafted and a slew of people—many i’ve not talked to in decades—came out of the woodwork, asking if I’d talk to the young man about what to expect on the professional journey. Short answer: Bad locker rooms, peanut butter and jelly, and hard, small, coach bus seats.   Long answer: The defining quest of your life, distilled into a series of numbers that the untold masses will use to errantly measure your value as a human being.   As far as that first...

Firing John Gibbons will most likely change nothing for the Blue Jays. If you don’t already know this simple truth, then you are probably one of the fans out there who wants to be mad at something and you don’t really care what that something is. Yet, even if John Gibbons gets the axe, the chances that any ship-righting impact would stem from it are slim to none, with that “slim” being more coincidence than substance. That’s not to say managers don’t have some modicum of impact....

Shots of temples, beaches, and a lot of beautiful people.

Day one in India, over. Travel time to get here was about 36 hours in total with flight, layovers, and standing in lines factored in. I’m still jet-lagged, but here is what I can tell you from my short time in country: First, in India, size does matter. I mean that in terms of car size, mind you. Our tour bus pulled out of the hotel, directly into a traffic stream, and no one in the on coming traffic stream seemed to care. Cars kept flowing around the bus until its surface area...

What do the Blue Jays need right now? A left fielder. What did they get? A broken down, soft-tossing left hander. Go Jays! With all do respect to former two time Cy Young winner Johan Santana, he ain’t what he used to be. However, he is what the Blue Jays would like him to be. Cheap, potentially useful, and full of old war stories to entertain the kids with. If you look back over the years, the Blue Jays have a real soft spot in their heart for players of great previous success because of...

I other news, Michael Saunders was in good spirits at the start of spring training. His calm, and generally quiet demeanor is a much needed balance to the lively, spark plug that is Jose Reyes, and upbeat, cheerleading styles of Russell Martin. He’s the quiet player’s role model, a trait he credits to Griffey Jr., and other veteran Mariners who spoke up only when needed. Given what we know of Saunders’ desire to prove himself here with the Jays, he looks to be an over-achie— and he’s...

I like Zaun. I honestly do. That doesn’t mean I don’t know what he is, or how he is, it just means that, all things being equal, I do respect what he’s done in the game and find him personable, honest, and—despite what anyone might think considering his comments on hazing—a caring guy. Sure, he’s rough edged, gritty, blunt, and matter-o-fact on air. He can also be that way in real life. My point being: what you see is what you get with Zaun. He comes off on air as a...

In a few days I’ll be off to India for my international MBA sanctioned business trip. I’ll tour some local and multinational businesses, including KPMG and Ford India. I’ll see the sights, meet the local government officials in charge of vetting international businesses and regulating local ones. And, of course, I’ll haggle in the market place, and wander in shoeless awe through majestic temples and palaces. I’m pretty excited for the experience. I only wish...