"A true picture of baseball." -Tim McCarver From the humble heights of a Class-A pitcher's mound to the deflating lows of sleeping on his gun-toting grandmother's air mattress, veteran reliever Dirk Hayhurst steps out of the bullpen to deliver the best pitch of his career-a raw and unflinching account of his life in the minors. "A rollicking good bus ride of a book." -Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated "Funny and honest. I loved it." -Tim Kurkjian, senior writer, ESPN The Magazine, and analyst/reporter, ESPN television "Bull Durham meets Ball Four." -Rob Neyer, ESPN.com "If Holden Caulfield could dial up his fastball to 90 mph, he might have written this funny, touching memoir. He might have called it 'Pitcher in the Rye.' " -King Kaufman, Salon Whether training tarantulas to protect his room from thieving employees in a backwater hotel or absorbing the gentle mockery of some not-quite-starstruck schoolchildren, Hayhurst reveals a side of baseball-and life-rarely seen on ESPN. "Fascinating...a perspective that fans rarely see." -Trevor Hoffman