Dirk Hayhurst's Blog
Words and thoughts still trying to make it to the big leagues...Minor League…err… High School Survival Tip?
Mr. Hayhurst, I am a 16 year-old ball player from Wisconsin. Baseball is a huge part of my life, and I really loved your book… I’m am a pitcher myself, and have encountered some new adversity in these last few months. Like you, I don't throw all that hard and...
Minor League Survival Tip #55. Stop Trying to Strike Everyone Out
Contact is your friend. College and high school may have been about showcasing your power arm, but the name of the game in pro ball is getting outs in an efficient, consistent manner. If you’re going to do that, you have to end your romance with the strikeout, and...
Baseball: The Worst Thing That Ever Happened to You.
There is swearing in professional baseball, not to mention fighting, drinking, drugs, cheating, affairs, pornography, gambling, abuse, lying, stealing and just about everything else that would make your mother weep if she found out you were doing it. Naked. I wont...
Minor League Survival Tip #30. The GM Game
The GM Game. You sit idly in the bullpen with nothing to do. You’re tired of hustling the locals with quarter toss games. Verbal sparring with drunks has lost its fun. Even the thrill of scouring the stands for hot chicks via your handy-dandy bullpen binoculars is...
Personal Reflection / Becoming Someone.
I was asked to write this as the personal reflection for my senior seminar portfolio for graduation... I wanted to share it with you. Becoming Someone. Unlike many who write this personal reflection, I have the luxury of writing about life in college from the...
Minor League Survival Tip #7. Bad Outing Recovery
When you pitch great it’s easy to walk into the weight room and knock out your postgame maintenance. Heck, sometimes you come into that weight room charged up and raring to do twice as much. You feel like superman, riding out the adrenaline of the game, marinating in...
How to get Your Book Signed
How to get your book signed: Step 1: At the time of writing this, I am (or was?) a Durham Bull. However, team affiliations in baseball are a fickle thing and change often. I could easily be some other mascot by the time you get around to reading this. To better keep...
Minor League Survival Tip #9. Noise Canceling Headphones.
I’m going to give you three scenarios that all have something in common. Can you figure out what? Scenario 1: Locker rooms are loud, obnoxious places full of multiple conversations in multiple languages, each trying to be heard at the other’s expense. Flourishing card...
Throwing Strikes in Extended
My lovely wife, and camera woman, came to visit me this past week while I weathered my sentence in extended spring training. Extended, as we in the biz call it, is not exactly the most fun place in the baseball world. For starters, it's the bottom rung of the...
Minor League Survival Tip #35. There is Always a Window
We’ve all been there: the sky is gray and lumpy, rain is coming down in buckets, the countryside is speckled with standing puddles. It’s been non-stop precipitation all day, and if you were a betting man you’d put your chips on a weather assisted off day. As you watch...
Minor League Survival Tip #7. Ritual VS Routine
Everyone gets ready for a game differently. Everyone’s body has different demands, be it heat and stretching, or Red Bull and Advil. Learning what your body needs to perform at it’s best is an integral part of the professional sports craft, and after years of playing...
Minor League Survival Tip #3. Understanding Your Teammates
Most hitters would say all pitchers are moody, primadonna’s with psychological defects. Most pitchers would say position players are type A jar-heads who only worry about what they can club. As crazy as it sounds, both diagnoses are true, at least to a degree. Every...