Well my fine friends, I don't know how to thank you, but thank you. I turned this thread over to the folks at Baseball America and they are 1) embarrassed that they don't do a better job at editing things and 2) have agreed to treat me like an actual writer by granting me a paycheck! Victory! Now I can afford rent AND food!

And in all honesty, this is my first year writing anything other then Communications Studies papers. I swear. My professors would tell me the same things you do: "watch your grammar, and be more concise." Believe me, I am working on it. My competitive nature makes me push hard to be the best writer I can be. I love the classic books, they are where I draw a lot of inspiration from, the imagery and the axioms. The Count Of Monte' Cristo is still one of my favorite reads, and French Novels are verbose- so it may be a while until I get the concise part down!

Also, I will be writing more, I promise. Originally my idea was to make a book and to this point I have recorded 6 full hand written notebooks, 5 hours of Dictaphone notes, 1,500 pictures, 6 hours of video, 500 pages of MSword, and the articles you have so graciously read. That is from this season, alone.

Your comments, criticisms, compliments, have helped me greatly! Thank you all!

Yours in baseball,

Dirk Hayhurst (just a minor leaguer)

Dirk, that's fantastic! Congratulations! I look forward to reading more of your work.

I'm the father of two beautiful young women and they turning out the way they have is a greater feeling that I ever had when I imagined my dreams being fulfilled.

They 18 yet John?


And in all honesty, this is my first year writing anything other then Communications Studies papers. I swear. My professors would tell me the same things you do: "watch your grammar, and be more concise." Believe me, I am working on it. My competitive nature makes me push hard to be the best writer I can be. I love the classic books, they are where I draw a lot of inspiration from, the imagery and the axioms. The Count Of Monte' Cristo is still one of my favorite reads, and French Novels are verbose- so it may be a while until I get the concise part down!

Take it from the BBTF crowd: Needs more snark.

Glad I caught this thread, and glad I know about the Non-Prospect.

Thanks Dirk! Your stuff is good. Keep at it.

Digg Link

Someone dugg this already, go digg it if you want people to know about it.

Jeff, deJesus, just so you know, I think you are right. I am not that good at this, and certainly nothing special because of it. I don't take it as an insult by any means.

You shouldn't. I think both Jeff and I enjoyed the entry quite a bit -- it was heartwarming. I just thought some of the comments were a bit overly effusive.

Hey, a Golden Flash from Canton, and a survivor of the Blizzard of '07 too. Welcome, Dirk!

Dirk is a naturally gifted writer who is very readable and whom I will follow closely. I wouldn't exactly call him a Pulitzer-caliber writer like some here seem to be implying, but why does that matter? He's really good, better than most, better than a great many professionals, and I like reading him. As far as I'm concerned, that's all I care about. Not his quality of writing compared to professional writers or anything else.

Dirk, if you're still reading this thread -- Please keep writing. You're a tremendous talent.

Forget whether or not the writing is good...the content is outstanding. I just appreciate Dirk for having a realistic perspective on his place in the world, and that's good for him whether he works in the bullpen or anyplace else.

Today a package showed up for me at my locker. I contained cards for many of the players on the team from various years. The letter that came with it said "I read your stuff online and you seem like a nice person, I was hoping that you would get all these cards signed for me, and send them back."

My card was not included.

A great moment in my minor league career.

HA! Look at the bright side...you've got your next column. Good luck in the finals.

I turned this thread over to the folks at Baseball America and they are 1) embarrassed that they don't do a better job at editing things and 2) have agreed to treat me like an actual writer by granting me a paycheck! Victory! Now I can afford rent AND food!

I don't know, Dirk... if you're looking for rent and food, writing may not be the way to go.

All seriousness, congratulations. And if you're looking for well-written player memoir, Brosnan's The Long Season is where I'd start- relief pitcher in the 50s and 60s wrote it, and it is tremendous. Thought of it as I read your piece.

Dirk,

I read all of the articles and enjoyed them all.

You provide insight into a life that many of us wished we could have had, only most of us lacked the "gift", as you referred to it in the Canton newspaper article.

Thank you for sharing,

Dave