"Once the baseball leaves your hand, the rest is out of your control. I knew what would happen this year about as well as a gambler knew what would happen before he let the dice go. The trouble was, this year, I had the biggest bets of my life on the table, and I couldn’t afford to lose…"

After six years of laying it on the line in the minors, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst hopes 2008 is the year he will break into the big leagues. But every time Dirk looks up, the bases are loaded with new challenges, on and off the field: a wedding balancing on a blind hope, a family in chaos, and paychecks that beg Dirk to ask, “How long can I afford to keep doing this?”

Then it finally happens—Dirk gets called up to the Majors, to play for the San Diego Padres. A dream comes true when he takes the mound against the San Francisco Giants, kicking off forty insane days and nights in the Bigs—with a big paycheck, bigger-than-life personalities, and the biggest pressure he’s ever felt.

Like the classic games of baseball’s illustrious history, Out of My League entertains from the first pitch to the last out, capturing the gritty realities of playing on the big stage, the comedy and camaraderie in the dugouts and locker rooms, and the hard-fought, personal journeys that drive our love of America’s favorite pastime.

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The Learned Owl

"Once again, Dirk Hayhurst brings readers into a world they rarely see: the hardscrabble world of minor-league baseball. It is a world full of political drama, financial stress and daily heartache. These are players you rarely hear about, players who rarely become rich or famous. Most, in fact, face the same kinds of struggles as the rest of us.”

—Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports.

“Hayhurst isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. He has a genuine gift for telling the stories of his life in such a way that they reveal profound truths. I find his writing both entertaining and thought provoking… unlike his fastball.”

—Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays All-Star

“If they ever open a Players/Authors Hall of Fame next to the larger one in Cooperstown, Dirk Hayhurst will be a first ballot electee.  Out of My League contains enough laughs and terrors to keep any baseball fan – or just any person – riveted. A fun read.”

—Keith Olbermann, MLB Blogs

“Extraordinary experiences, plenty of ‘dirty laundry’ . . .  Hayhurst creates forward momentum and we want him to succeed.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Honest, insightful, fascinating . . . Hayhurst does a great job of letting us see the inside of baseball’s most elite level through his eyes.”

—The Score.CA

“Hayhurst has done it again. I was blown away by every page, every chapter, every twist, every turn. I kept thinking that if I could only pitch as well as Dirk can write, I might have more Cy Youngs than Greg Maddux.”

—Jayson Stark, ESPN

"A must read"

—David Price, Tampa Bay Rays, Cy Young Winner.

“This book quickly grabbed my attention span and kept me interested until its very end. Hayhurst does a wonderful job of describing the physical and emotional struggles players go through. This is not just a great baseball story, it is an insightful life story and one I strongly recommend you pick up.”

—Jason Collette, Baseball Nation

“By the time you finish Out Of My League — which is so compulsively readable and enjoyable that it could be the same day you start – you’ll feel like you’ve just sat with an old pal who clawed his way into the bigs and couldn’t wait to tell you everything about the experience. Apparently it’s not enough for him to be a major league pitcher; Dirk has to be a fantastic writer, too. This is because God is cruel and unfair. You, however, are lucky: you get to read Out Of My League.”

—Matt Fraction, Marvel Comics

“The most candid portrayal of life as a professional athlete I’ve ever seen.Out of My League is a must for anyone who has dreamed of making the Major Leagues and has wondered what they missed.”

—Michael Dolan, Athlete's Quarterly

“Derek Jeter may get the fame because he plays the game right. Dirk Hayhurst deserves the fame because he plays life right.”

—Zach Summers, The Good Point.

"Dirk Hayhurst has done it again. His second book is a good as, if not better than is first. Turns out he's a starter and a closer."

—Tim Kurkjian, ESPN

"Dirk Hayhurst Writes about baseball in a unique, Observant, insightful, poignent and hilarious."

—Bob Costas

"The best writer in a baseball uniform."

—The New York Times