Bigger Than the Game

"The best writer in a baseball uniform." —Tyler Kepner, The New York Times

After nearly a decade in the minors, Dirk Hayhurst defied the odds to climb onto the pitcher''s mound for the Toronto Blue Jays. Newly married, with a big league paycheck and a brand new house, Hayhurst was ready for a great season in the Bigs.

Then fate delivered a crushing hit. Hayhurst blew out his pitching shoulder in an...