Clint Hurdle

Lore & Background

Hurdle is named for his father, Clinton, who played collegiate baseball for Ferris State University. When Hurdle was four, the family moved from Michigan to Florida. He was a bat boy for the Cocoa Astros. He graduated from Merritt Island High School. He received a scholarship from the University of Miami to play college baseball and college football as a quarterback, and was accepted to Harvard University as well, but declined both to play professional baseball instead.

Reader's Guide

The Kansas City Royals selected Hurdle in the first round, ninth overall, of the 1975 MLB draft. He made his major league debut in 1977. In 1978 he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He played for the Royals through 1981, then was traded to the Reds.

After 1982 he went on waivers, signed by the Mariners, then released. In April 1983 he signed with the Mets and played for their Triple-A affiliate Tidewater Tides, setting a franchise record with 105 RBIs. He also played 13 games for the Mets in 1983. In 1985 he played 43 games for the Mets, and in 1986 he played 78 games for the Cardinals.

He ended his career in 1987 playing 97 games for the Tides and 3 for the Mets. He also played winter ball for Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela, leading the league in home runs (18) in 1977–78. He managed in the minors from 1988 to 1993. He joined the Rockies organization as a minor league hitting instructor in 1994, became hitting coach in 1997, and manager in 2002.

He led the Rockies to the 2007 NL pennant. He was fired on May 29, 2009. He then worked as a studio analyst for MLB Network. In 2010 he was hitting coach for the Texas Rangers.

On November 14, 2010, the Pirates hired him as manager. He led them to playoff appearances in 2013, 2014, and 2015, winning NL Manager of the Year in 2013. He was fired after the 2019 season.

Did You Know?

• He led the Venezuelan winter league in walks in all three seasons he played there.
• He managed the Pirates to their first winning season since 1992 in 2013.