11-27-23 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
This past week, I had the great good fortune to get to sit down and talk with former Bucs skipper, Clint Hurdle, to talk about his baseball career – both on the field and in the clubhouse – as he overcame a number of obstacles over his nearly 40 years in the game.
Spending 2011 through 2019 in Pittsburgh before an unceremonious exit, Clint harbors nothing but love for his time with the Pirates organization.
“You think about what happened in Pittsburgh in those three years (2013-2015)…to go to a playoff game and see a grandfather with a father with his son. The vibrant actions that took place on the North Shore downtown, it makes everyone’s job easier.” Hurdle said, reflecting fondly on his time in black and gold, “How much fun was it to go into that park from 2013 to 15? It was an incredible point in time in my baseball experience, I’ll never forget. I’ll always be thankful and grateful for it, and it was just a whole lot of fun… One of the things I said when I came back was to rebond the city with its ball team, and we did that.”
As a former first round pick and proclaimed “Phenom” on the cover of Sports Illustrated who didn’t quite live up to the hype, Hurdle knows all too well how difficult this sport can be for young players trying to live up to labels.
“It’s societal in a sense because nobody cares what the weight is for the player. They just want to throw out something that sounds cute, sounds good and grabs your attention…[b]ut you’re going to make your noise with performance,” Hurdle said, turning to Pirates phenom Paul Skenes, “Unlimited potential, truthfully, when you think about it, that’s a curse. Because, how do you reach it? You don’t!”
While he has been working as a special assistant to the Rockies organization, Clint has enjoyed his post-managing tenure. In 2020, he and his family moved full-time to Anna Maria Island, just off the coast of Bradenton, Florida where the Pirates spend their spring.
He still has kept an open mind about returning to the clubhouse and putting on the cleats and uniform once more.
“It’s gotta fit. Everything’s gotta fit. I gotta know that the manager’s gonna manage,” Hurdle said, alluding to his recent interview with the Los Angeles Angels, “It’s always exciting when the game knocks on your door and, as my wife [Karla] would say, you feel pretty again.”
If you want to hear more of my interview with Clint Hurdle, please visit one of the links below:
Spotify: https://t.ly/Y9llt
Apple: https://t.ly/bfNgo
YouTube: https://t.ly/gJMcT
Let’s Go Bucs!
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