| Clint Hurdle | |
|---|---|
 Hurdle in2012 | |
| Colorado Rockies – No. 55 | |
| Outfielder /Manager /Coach | |
| Born: (1957-07-30)July 30, 1957 (age 68) Big Rapids, Michigan, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 18, 1977, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 26, 1987, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 193 |
| Managerial record | 1,269–1,345–1 |
| Winning % | .485 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseballoutfielder and manager who currently serves as both the interim bench and hitting coach for theColorado Rockies ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). Hurdle played for theKansas City Royals,Cincinnati Reds,New York Mets, andSt. Louis Cardinals, and previously managed the Rockies and thePittsburgh Pirates.
Labeled a "phenom" bySports Illustrated at age twenty,[1] 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 the2007 club to the franchise's firstNational 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 theNL Manager of the Year that season.
Clint Hurdle is named for his father, Clinton, who played collegiate baseball forFerris State University. When Hurdle was four years old, the family moved fromMichigan toFlorida so his father could take a job at theKennedy Space Center.[2] As a child, Hurdle was a bat boy for theCocoa Astros of theFlorida State League.[3] Hurdle graduated fromMerritt Island High School inMerritt Island, Florida. He received a scholarship from theUniversity of Miami to playcollege baseball andcollege football as aquarterback,[4] and was accepted toHarvard University as well,[5] but declined both to play professional baseball instead.
TheKansas City Royals selected Hurdle in the first round, with the ninth overall selection, of the1975 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Royals, receiving a $50,000signing bonus. He made his major league debut with the Royals in1977, and in1978 was featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated on March 20 with the headline: "This Year's Phenom."[1][4]
Hurdle played for the Royals through1981, 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 thePhiladelphia 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 theSeattle Mariners before being released. In April 1983 he was signed by theNew York Mets where he spent the majority of the season with their Triple-A affiliateTidewater 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 theSt. Louis Cardinals. Hurdle ended his baseball career in 1987 at the age of 29 by playing in 97 games for theTidewater 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 forTiburones de La Guaira of theVenezuelan 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.[6]
After ending his playing career in 1987, Hurdle began his managerial career the next year when he was named Manager of theSt. Lucie Mets of theHigh-AFlorida State League in 1988. He also served as Manager for theJackson Mets of theDouble-ATexas League (1990),Williamsport Bills of the Double-AEastern League (1991), and theTidewater/Norfolk Tides of theTriple-AInternational 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 ofBuddy Bell. On April 2, 2006, he was given a two-year contract extension.[7] In 2007, Hurdle managedColorado 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 atie-breaker game with theSan 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 thePhiladelphia Phillies in theDivision Series, sweeping them in three games to force a match-up with their rivalArizona Diamondbacks in theNLCS. The Rockies continued their improbable streak by sweeping Arizona in four games to win the first pennant in team history and reach the2007 World Series.
In the World Series, Colorado faced theBoston Red Sox. But the winning ways came to an end, and the Rockies were swept in four games. Injuries to several regulars caused the Rockies to fade in 2008, and after a poor start in 2009, Hurdle was fired on May 29. Although Hurdle was offered a "significant role" within the Rockies organization, he decided to join theMLB Network as a studio analyst for the remainder of 2009.[8] He finished with a 534–625 win–loss record.[9]
On November 4, 2009, he was hired as the hitting coach for theTexas Rangers.[10] The Rangers hoped that Hurdle could connect withJosh Hamilton, who also suffered from substance abuse.[4] In 2010, Hurdle helped the Rangers to their first American League pennant in franchise history before losing to theSan Francisco Giants in the2010 World Series.
After interviewing with both thePittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets for their vacant managerial positions,[11] Hurdle was hired by the Pirates on November 14, 2010,[12] six weeks afterJohn Russell had been fired,[13] though much of the delay was attributed to the rule that the Pirates could not interview him until after the Rangers' World Series run.
At the2011 All-Star break, Hurdle had led the Pirates to a 47–43 record, one game out of first place in theNL Central. It was the first time the Pirates had been over .500 going into the All-Star break since winning the 1992National League East. At the2012 All-Star break, Hurdle had led the Pirates to a 48–37 record, leading the NL Central division by one game over theCincinnati Reds. However, both seasons ended with collapses that led to the Pirates' 19th and 20th straight losing seasons.
During parts of the2013 season, the Pirates led the National League Central, with the best record in the major leagues, again aiming to snap the franchise's long losing streak. On September 9, 2013, with a 1–0 win over theTexas Rangers Clint Hurdle'sPittsburgh Pirates attained win number 82. On September 23, 2013, with a 2–1 win over theChicago Cubs and a win by theSt. Louis Cardinals over theWashington Nationals, the Pittsburgh Pirates secured their first playoff berth since 1992 as well as their 90th win. Under Hurdle, the Pirates would finish the 2013 season with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses, three games behind the NL Central division winning Cardinals. In the playoffs, the Pirates won the2013 National League Wild Card Game against the Reds but would lose the deciding game five against the Cardinals in the2013 National League Division Series. Hurdle won the National LeagueSporting News Manager of the Year Award in 2013.
In2014, the Pirates would again clinch a playoff berth with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses to make a second straight appearance in the Wild Card game. The Pirates lost the2014 National League Wild Card Game to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
In2015 the Pirates again made the postseason as one of the National League wild card teams with a 98–64 record, the second best record of any team that season. The Pirates lost the2015 National League Wild Card Game to the Chicago Cubs.
In2016 the Pirates missed the postseason for the first time since 2012 with a 78–83 record while Hurdle reached win 1,000 as a manager on June 24 against theLos Angeles Dodgers[14]
In2017 the Pirates missed the postseason for the second season in a row with a 75–87 record.
In2018 the Pirates missed the postseason for the third season in a row but finished for the first time since 2015 with a winning record of 82–79. An odd quirk is that it was the first time in 30 years that the Pirates finished with a winning record without reaching the postseason.
On September 28,2019, Hurdle was fired as manager due to a second-half slump after missing the playoffs for four straight seasons. He subsequently retired from baseball on November 12, 2019.[15]
On December 9, 2021, Hurdle came out of retirement and joined theColorado Rockies organization as a special assistant to the general manager.[16] On April 17, 2025, Hurdle was named hitting coach for the remainder of the season after hitting coachHensley Meulens was fired.[17][18] On May 11, Hurdle was named interim bench coach, while retaining his hitting coach duties, after the firing of managerBud Black and bench coachMike Redmond.[19]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| COL | 2002 | 140 | 67 | 73 | .479 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2003 | 162 | 74 | 88 | .457 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2004 | 162 | 68 | 94 | .420 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2005 | 162 | 67 | 95 | .414 | 5th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2006 | 162 | 76 | 86 | .469 | 5th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2007 | 163 | 90 | 73 | .552 | 2nd in NL West | 7 | 4 | .636 | LostWorld Series (BOS) |
| COL | 2008 | 162 | 74 | 88 | .457 | 3rd in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| COL | 2009 | 46 | 18 | 28 | .391 | (fired) | – | – | – | – |
| COL total | 1,159 | 534 | 625 | .461 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |||
| PIT | 2011 | 162 | 72 | 90 | .444 | 4th in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 2012 | 162 | 79 | 83 | .488 | 4th in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 2013 | 162 | 94 | 68 | .580 | 2nd in NL Central | 3 | 3 | .500 | LostNLDS (STL) |
| PIT | 2014 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 2nd in NL Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | LostNLWC (SF) |
| PIT | 2015 | 162 | 98 | 64 | .605 | 2nd in NL Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | LostNLWC (CHC) |
| PIT | 2016 | 162 | 78 | 83 | .484 | 3rd in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 2017 | 162 | 75 | 87 | .463 | 4th in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 2018 | 161 | 82 | 79 | .509 | 4th in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 2019 | 161 | 69 | 92 | .429 | 5th in NL Central (fired before season finale) | – | – | – | – |
| PIT total | 1,456 | 735 | 720 | .505 | 3 | 5 | .375 | |||
| Total[9] | 2,615 | 1,269 | 1,345 | .485 | 10 | 9 | .526 | |||
Hurdle has been divorced twice. In addition to daughter Ashley (b. 1985) from a previous marriage, Hurdle and his third wife Karla (married 1999) have two children together, daughter Madison (who was born in 2002 withPrader-Willi Syndrome) and son Christian (b. 2004).[20] Hurdle is a recoveringalcoholic[4][21] and an advocate ofAlcoholics Anonymous and other addiction treatment programs[22] as well as for the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association.[23]
Hurdle was well-read, a former honor student from Florida's Atlantic coast who received all A's in high school except for one B -- in driver's ed. He was accepted at Harvard but instead chose baseball, where he would come to find that a little wisdom can go a long way.
Hurdle volunteers that he is still involved with Alcoholics Anonymous, preaches the benefits of therapy and, yes, expresses how much he loves his wife. Such subjects usually go unbroached in baseball. Hurdle doesn't care.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by first manager | St. Lucie Mets Manager 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Jackson Mets Manager 1990 | Succeeded by last manager |
| Preceded by first manager | Williamsport Bills Manager 1991 | Succeeded by last manager |
| Preceded by | Norfolk Tides Manager 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colorado Rockies Hitting Coach 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colorado Rockies Manager 2002–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Texas Rangers Hitting Coach 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pittsburgh Pirates Manager 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colorado Rockies Hitting Coach 2025–present | Succeeded by TBA |
| Preceded by | Colorado Rockies Bench Coach 2025–present | Succeeded by TBA |
