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An Insider's Baseball Journey

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Opening Day for Major League Baseball is Sunday.

Red Sox-Yankees. Then Braves-Cubs. Diamondbacks-Padres. Tampa Bay-Baltimore. And the season is on.

For relief pitcher Dirk Hayhurst, the path to the big leagues - the majors, “the show” - wasn’t exactly a fastball.

Hayhurst fought his way up through the minors. He played for the Fort Wayne Wizards, the Portland Beavers, the Mobile Bay Bears and more.

Now he’s made it — with the Toronto Blue Jays.  And he’s telling the story of that long climb.

This Hour, On Point:  The Bullpen Gospels, with Dirk Hayhurst.Guests:

Dirk Hayhurst joins us from Kent, Ohio.  A pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays (currently on the disabled list), he's the author of "The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran." He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2003 and played for six years in the minors. He writes a blog for BaseballAmerica.

Read an excerpt from from "The Bullpen Gospels."

Mel Antonen, baseball reporter for USA Today. He's been covering spring training this year.

This program aired on April 1, 2010.

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