Clint Hurdle

Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager. Hurdle played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals, and previously managed the Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Labeled a "phenom" by Sports Illustrated at age twenty, Hurdle played 515 games at the major league level. After retiring from playing baseball, Hurdle became a manager. His eight seasons with the Rockies included leading the 2007 club to the franchise's first National League (NL) pennant. On November 14, 2010, the Pirates hired him to be their manager. In 2013, Hurdle led them to their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1992. He was named the NL Manager of the Year that season.

Clint Hurdle is named for his father, Clinton, who played collegiate baseball for Ferris State University. When Hurdle was four years old, the family moved from Michigan to Florida so his father could take a job at the Kennedy Space Center. As a child, Hurdle was a bat boy for the Cocoa Astros of the Florida State League. Hurdle graduated from Merritt Island High School in Merritt Island, Florida. 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.

The Kansas City Royals selected Hurdle in the first round, with the ninth overall selection, of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Royals, receiving a $50,000 signing bonus. He made his major league debut with the Royals in 1977, and in 1978 was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on March 20 with the headline: "This Year's Phenom."

Hurdle played for the Royals through 1981, but never achieved the level of play suggested by his high draft position. Hurdle had his best year in 1980 starting 109 regular season games in right field for the American League pennant winning Royals. Hurdle also started at right field in 4 games during the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December 1981, and after spending 1982 with the Reds, went on waivers. In February 1983 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners before being released. In April 1983 he was signed by the New York Mets where he spent the majority of the season with their Triple-A affiliate Tidewater Tides. During the 1983 season, Hurdle set a franchise record for the Tides with 105 runs batted in. He also played in 13 games with the Mets. In 1984 he again played for the Tidewater Tides. In 1985 he played in 43 games for the Mets and in 1986 he played in 78 games for the St. Louis Cardinals. Hurdle ended his baseball career in 1987 at the age of 29 by playing in 97 games for the Tidewater Tides and 3 games for the Mets. In addition to right field, during his career he also played first base, third base, catcher, and designated hitter.

Hurdle also played three different seasons of winter ball for Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In his first season, 1977–78, he led the league in home runs (18) while batting .305 with 52 RBIs. He played again in 1979-80 and 1983-84. He led the Venezuelan league in walks all three seasons he played there.

After ending his playing career in 1987, Hurdle began his managerial career the next year when he was named Manager of the St. Lucie Mets of the High-A Florida State League in 1988. He also served as Manager for the Jackson Mets of the Double-A Texas League (1990), Williamsport Bills of the Double-A Eastern League (1991), and the Tidewater/Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League (1992–1993).

In 1994 he joined the Colorado Rockies organization as the minor league hitting instructor, serving in that capacity until he was named the Rockies hitting coach in 1997. Hurdle was promoted to Manager in 2002 following the early-season firing of Buddy Bell. On April 2, 2006, he was given a two-year contract extension. In 2007, Hurdle managed Colorado to a record of 90-73, their best finish in the team's 15-year history; they won 13 of their last 14 games in order to force a tie-breaker game with the San Diego Padres to determine the winner of the National League Wild Card. Colorado defeated San Diego, reaching the playoffs for only the second time in Rockies history. Hurdle's Rockies then beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series, sweeping them in three games to force a match-up with their rival Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. The Rockies continued their improbable streak by sweeping Arizona in four games to win the first pennant in team history and reach the 2007 World Series.