I actually read and finished a book - Out of My League by Dirk Hayhurst

It was about a week ago I bought Out of My League by Dirk Hayhurst for $11.99 on iTunes - since I'm sort of a luddite, so I need to continue to use my ancient iPad [the very first one] on a regular basis, before I even start thinking of getting the latest version.

I used to read Hayhurst's minor league exploits in a Baseball America blog, though I didn't get his first book - I was excited at the idea of downloading an entire book as an impulse buy since I still had about $13 left in my account that I hadn't spent in about a year.

I want to say the parts where Hayhurst reaches the Major Leagues is where Out of My League starts picking up the pace - in the Major Leagues, Hayhurst is in charge of the beer bag [during travel days] and the candy bag during games.

It's more than a little fascinating reading about the entirety of what Hayhurst has to stock and care for in the bag – to keep for his bullpen mates.

He goes into detail about how the guys are able to get an edge with what's provided and I can see where he probably got some resistance from teammates - once they found out he was writing a book.

After six years in the minors, Hayhurst realizes how lucky he was to make good with a call up to the Major Leagues - as is though, he also realizes he isn't a top prospect, so it hits him hard when he feels like he needs to perform and can't coax himself to find the success he did in Triple-A.

Hayhurst is utterly frustrated over the unwritten rules for rookies and finds he doesn't know how to act with veterans seemingly watching his every move - he seems to think his pitching coach was a dick to him and even his Triple-A teammates now in the bigs on the 2008 San Diego Padres team he sort of chronicles don't seem to be the same guys he played with just several months before.

In the last part of the book, Hayhurst goes finally goes a little batty, chewing up and spitting out his supportive but perhaps naive girlfriend along the way for trying to help him - as opposed to probably just letting him vent over the relative hardship of suddenly having much to prove but not having enough time or opportunity to do so.

The book ends with the 2008 season finally ending, Hayhurst finally getting married to his girl and being notified [on a honeymoon road trip] about being removed from the San Diego Padres 40-man roster - Hayhurst manages to wrap the book up with a new opportunity to pitch for a new organization the following season.