| Bruce Hurst | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Hurst with theChina national baseball team in 2008 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1958-03-24)March 24, 1958 (age 67) St. George, Utah, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1980, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 18, 1994, for the Texas Rangers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 145–113 |
| Earned run average | 3.92 |
| Strikeouts | 1,689 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Bruce Vee Hurst (born March 24, 1958) is an American formerMajor League Baseball left-handedstarting pitcher. He is best remembered for his performance for theBoston Red Sox in the1986 postseason, where he won two games while allowing only two runs total. Prior to the miraculous Game 6 comeback by theNew York Mets, he was the presumedWorld Series MVP. Two days later, in Game 7, Hurst was sent out to pitch the decisive game for the Sox, but he left with a no-decision when Boston saw a three run lead turn into a tie in the sixth with Hurst on the mound (New York eventually won the game and the Series); Hurst pitched a total of 23 innings, most among any pitcher in the Series and allowed five earned runs.
Hurst grew up inSt. George, Utah, the youngest of five children born to John and Beth Hurst, who divorced when he was five years old. At an early age, doctors prescribed plaster casts to correct a condition that was causing his legs to bow.
Hurst was a standout basketball player, leadingDixie High School to the state tournament in his junior and senior seasons, despite suffering a cracked vertebra as a senior, and would receive basketball scholarship offers.[1] He played basketball atDixie Junior College for the 1979–80 season.[2] In 2015, Hurst toldThe Boston Globe that he would shoot hoops atBoston Celtics practices during his Red Sox days after developing a friendship with Celtics guardDanny Ainge.[3]
Hurst has attributed his early interest and development in baseball to Kent Garrett, a coach and formerBrigham Young University player who had him analyze magazine photos of pitcher windups, with Hurst practicing his own windup in front of a three-way mirror. Hurst caught the eye of MLB scouts after his junior year during anAmerican Legion state tournament. He would average 14 strikeouts a game as a senior, compiling a 24–2 record in high school.[1]
Hurst was selected by the Red Sox with the 22nd overall pick in the1976 Major League Baseball draft. He was the 11th pitcher selected.[4] The Red Sox assigned him to theElmira Pioneers of theNew York-Penn League, where Hurst was 3–2 with a 3.00earned run average across nine starts.[5]
Hurst spent the 1977 season with theWinter Haven Red Sox in theFlorida State League, going 5–4 in 13 starts with a 2.08 ERA, before incurring an elbow injury.[5][1]
In 1978, the Red Sox promoted Hurst to theBristol Red Sox of theEastern League, where he lodged six starts before having his season shut down with shoulder soreness,[1] ending with a 1–3 record and a 2.73 ERA.[5]
Hurst started the 1979 season with Winter Haven, going 8–2 in 12 starts with a 1.93 ERA, then finishing the year in Bristol where, across 15 starts and one relief appearance, he had a 9–4 record with a 3.58 ERA.[5]
Hurst made Boston's opening day roster in 1980. He made his major league debut on April 12, coming on inrelief in the second game of the season and giving up fiveearned runs in an inning of work in an 18–1 blowout at the hands of theMilwaukee Brewers.[6] He made six more appearances, all starts, before being optioned to thePawtucket Red Sox of theInternational League on May 14. He went 8–6 for Pawtucket over the next three months with a 3.94 ERA, with Boston recalling him in August to the parent club. He ended 1980 with ending the season with a 2–2 record and 9.10 ERA at the major league level.[1][5]
Returning to Pawtucket for the1981 season, Hurst went 12–7 with a 2.87 ERA.[5] In Pawtucket, he played in thelongest professional baseball game, with 32 innings played on April 18 and 19 against theRochester Red Wings, with the final inning played later on June 23. Hurst came on as a reliever for the 28th inning and pitched five innings without giving up a run, later recollecting striking outCal Ripken Jr. on a breaking ball at 4 a.m. prior to the league's commissioner ordering the suspension of play at the end of the inning.[7]Bob Ojeda was credited with the win after pitching the 33rd inning on June 23.[8][9]
After spending the 1981 minor league season in Pawtucket, Hurst received a September call-up, going 2–0 in five starts with a 4.30 ERA.[5]
Hurst became a regular in the Red Sox rotation in the 1982 season, starting 19 games with another nine relief appearances en route to a 3–7 record and a 5.77 ERA. He solidified his starting status the following season, going 12–12 with a 4.09 ERA across 32 starts and one relief appearance in 1983.[10]
With the departures ofJohn Tudor andDennis Eckersley, Hurst became Boston's top starter in 1984, getting the nod on opening day and giving up two unearned runs in8+1⁄3 innings in a 2-1 road loss to theCalifornia Angels. He bounced back with a four-hit shutout of theOakland Athletics, then was chased from hisFenway Park home opener after giving up seven runs while recording only one out. Hurst was 12–12 on the season with a 3.92 ERA, tying with Ojeda andOil Can Boyd for the team lead in wins and losses.[11]
Getting off to a slow start in the 1985 season, Hurst was demoted to the bullpen for a portion of June and requested a trade. Hurst turned around his season with the addition of aforkball as a third pitch to hiscurveball andfastball. Hurst credited formerDetroit Tigers coachRoger Craig for teaching him the concept of the forkball and formerBaltimore Orioles pitcherMike Boddicker for schooling him in the grip, confirmed later by Boddicker who described the pitch as a "foshball" that was essentially "a glorifiedchangeup."[12]
Hurst said in an interview that that when his curve and forkball were fooling hitters, "I think I can get by with a mediocre fastball."[13] Hurst would later pinpoint his revival to a single moment during a July 3 game against Milwaukee when batterPaul Molitor easily fouled off a Hurst pitch, at which point Hurst recollected telling himself "no more" and bore down to get the strikeout, one of 10 that day for the first time in his career.[1][14] With his ERA having peaked at 6.66 on June 23, Hurst would finish the season with an overall 4.51 ERA and an 11–13 record.[15]
Hurst had gone 42–46 with a 4.59 ERA with the Red Sox before his breakthrough 1986 season, on a staff anchored byCy Young Award winnerRoger Clemens. Hurst posted a 2.99 ERA with 13 victories despite spending six midsummer weeks on thedisabled list with a pulled groin. The Red Sox won theAmerican League East by 5.5 games over theNew York Yankees to head to the1986 American League Championship Series against theCalifornia Angels. Hurst went 1–0 with a 2.40 ERA in two starts in the ALCS won by the Sox in seven games.
Hurst pitched brilliantly in the World Series, holding theNew York Mets to just four hits in the Game 1 pitchers' duel withRon Darling won 1–0 by the Red Sox.[16] In Game 5, Hurst pitched acomplete game victory to give Boston a 3–2 lead in the Series.[17]
With Boston leading 5–3 in the 10th inning of Game 6, the Mets were down to their last out with no one on base. A Red Sox World Series victory seemed likely as theShea Stadium scoreboard was set to display"Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions." Hurst had been selected as theWorld Series Most Valuable Player,[18][19] until the Mets rallied to win the game with three runs, forcing a decisive Game 7.[20]
Oil Can Boyd was originally slated to be the Game 7 starter for Boston, but when the game was delayed a day by rain, managerJohn McNamara turned to Hurst.[1] Hurst gave up just one hit through five innings, however, the Mets came back with threeruns in the sixth to tie the game. Hurst got a no-decision as he handed the ball over to thebullpen. The Mets won the World Championship, andRay Knight received MVP honors.[21]
Hurst had a 9–6 record and 3.81 ERA when McNamara added him to the1987 American League All-Star team. However, he did not appear in the game.[22] He ended the season with a middling 15–13 record as the Red Sox finished the season 20 games behind the first placeDetroit Tigers.
Hurst was 9–4 with a 4.60 ERA midway through the1988 season when the Red Sox replaced McNamara at manager withJoe Morgan, who had been Pawtucket manager during Hurst's tenure there. The Sox were in fifth place, nine games back of the first placeTigers at the time of the managerial change. The team went 46-31 from that point forward to finish one game ahead of Detroit in the AL East.
Hurst went 9–2 with a 2.54 ERA under his new manager to end the season at 18–6, finishing fifth in balloting for the American League Cy Young Award that season. He pitched a complete game in Games 1 of the1988 American League Championship Series against theOakland Athletics, but was outmatched by Oakland's ace,Dave Stewart.[23] With Boston down three games to none, the two faced off again in Game 4 with Stewart and the A's again emerging victorious to complete the sweep.[24]
Hurst became afree agent following the 1988 season. He signed a three-year contract with theSan Diego Padres worth $5.25 million.[25] Hurst indicated at the time that San Diego's relative proximity to St. George was the primary factor in his decision to leave Boston,[26] and later expressed regret in leaving the Red Sox.[27]
On April 10,1989, he pitched a one-hitter against theAtlanta Braves for his firstNational League win and also collected his first MLB hit as a batter.[28] He was the first Padres pitcher to strike out 13 batters while allowing only one hit.[29] He went 15–11 with a career-best 2.69 ERA that season and led the National League with 10 complete games.[10]
On May 18, 1992, Hurst pitched a one-hit shutout overDwight Gooden and the Mets. The only hit was a single byChico Walker.[30] At the end of the season, Hurst began feeling pain in his leftshoulder and underwent surgery to repair a tornrotator cuff andlabrum. The rehabilitation was arduous,[1] and Hurst started only twice for the Padres in the first half of1993, allowing 6 earned runs in4+1⁄3 innings.[31]
The Padres traded Hurst andGreg Harris to theColorado Rockies on July 26, 1993 forBrad Ausmus,Doug Bochtler, andAndy Ashby.[32] Hurst started just three games for Colorado, never finishing the fourth inning.[31]
Hurst signed with theTexas Rangers for the1994 season. He was 2–1 with a 7.11 ERA in eight starts through June,. With the repercussions of the surgery still lingering, he decided to retire less than three months into the season.[33][34]
Consistently good but never overpowering hitters, Hurst was a specialist at changing speeds. Hisfastball was hard enough to get in on right-handed hitters, and he mixed it with an excellentcurve and aslider as well. He also had a decentforkball at times. Thanks to his great control, Hurst was able to work corners well and had a profuse knowledge of each hitter.[citation needed] In seven postseason games, he had a 3–2 record with 37 strikeouts and a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings.[35]
Hurst was inducted to theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in November2004, on the heels of the Red Sox2004 World Series victory, the club's first since 1918. Believers of "TheCurse of the Bambino" have pointed out the letters "BRUCE HURST" can be re-arranged as "B RUTH CURSE". With his mother Beth having died in December 2003 on the eve of the Red Sox World Series win in 2004, Hurst was quoted saying years later, "I'm pretty sure, knowing my mom, that she would have gone up and put her arm around Babe and said, 'Let's get this over with.'"[36]
In2005, Hurst andJim Lefebvre coachedChina to a bronze medal at the 23rdAsian Baseball Championship, the first time ever that China had defeated one of the "Big Three" Asian teams (Japan,South Korea,Chinese Taipei). In2006, Hurst and Lefebvre also led the Chinese team in the inauguralWorld Baseball Classic, where they were eliminated in the first round of competition in the Asian bracket, which also featured eventual tournament champion Japan, as well as Korea and Chinese Taipei. Hurst also coached China alongside managerJohn McLaren in theAsian Baseball Championship in 2012 and2013 World Baseball Classic.
Hurst returned to the Boston Red Sox duringspring training in 2008 as a pitching instructor.[37] On February 26, 2008, Hurst was named as Special Assistant for Player Development with the Red Sox.[38] He worked for part of the 2015 season for theLos Angeles Dodgers, serving as a talent evaluator for players in Latin America.[1][3]
During his 2019 Pawtucket Red Sox Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Clemens credited Hurst for giving him the nickname "Rocketman."[39] In a 2015 interview, Hurst described Clemens as "the greatest teammate ever."[3]
Hurst met his wife Holly in 1979 during offseason studies atDixie Junior College in St. George. They married in 1981, the year he graduated. They have four children.[1] Hurst was inducted intoDixie State's athletic hall of fame in 2011, andthe school's baseball field is named for him.[40]
In 1999, Hurst and his wife moved toGilbert, Arizona.[3]
Hurst is a member ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1]
· Baseball Almanac