Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle
Clinton Merrick Hurdleis an American former professional baseball outfielder and current manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Hurdle played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals, and has also managed for the Colorado Rockies...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 July 1957
CityBig Rapids, MI
bat behind fourth guy hitting initially kid legitimate maybe obviously opportunity pick pitch power ran run stuck support took
Initially we stuck him in there because we had run out of options. He is a big kid who has some power and we thought maybe we can find a guy to pick up some run support when they didn't want to pitch to Helton. Obviously he took that opportunity and ran with it. He is a legitimate fourth bat in the lineup. He is not just hitting behind Helton any more.
good
If we can go 7-4 every 11 games, we'll be in good shape.
again ball bat both good last needs nice point quick release season strides swung threw throwing time trouble using
He made nice strides this spring. He just needs to keep making the strides that he made. There was a point in time last season where we were having trouble throwing the ball around the infield. Now he threw the ball accurately, his release times were quick and efficient. I think he swung the bat efficiently. He's using his off-gap again from both sides. He had a good spring.
behind both good sides worked
He had a lot of good things going on tonight. He worked both sides of the plate. He was never behind in the count.
good mixed rhythm saw step tempo terms
It was a mixed bag. It was good enough. We saw what we wanted to see in terms of length, velocity, rhythm and tempo -- so it was another step forward.
approach asked
His approach is much better. He's working at what we asked him to do, and he's having some success, which is all you can ask for.
bat believe guys handle left meeting run somebody swinging tells three
I told my guys in the meeting today, man, it's like a snake. If somebody tells me it's dead, I'm going to run over it three times before I believe it. You tell me he's not swinging the bat good, I'll believe it when he's left here and we've been able to handle him.
asked career point time welcomed
He's welcomed the opportunity. There comes a point and time in your career where you do what you are asked to do.
ask delivery grind repeat
If he's tired, we'll ask him, ... But if he's not, this is something he's just got to grind through and get better at. He's got to find a way to repeat his delivery with more consistency.
good hit outfield point spring three
He had a very good spring for us. We put him in all three outfield positions. We hit him up and down the lineup. He has been told he is an overachiever. We get to a point where you'll just be called an achiever.
came definitely happened left looked pitch ready sure
I'm not sure what happened the day he left my office, but something clicked. He looked at me, and said, 'I will be back and I will be ready to pitch in the majors.' He was right on the mark. When he came back that season, he was definitely ready.
game maybe numbers season series steal talk winning
Winning a season series is something we didn't talk about much after the first half. You look at the numbers and see where you are and think maybe we can steal a game or two from them. . . . Obviously, we've been able to do a little more than that.
best next pitches starts step three traffic
He's not making his best pitches in traffic in his three starts so far. That's the next step for him.
behind confidence confident guy helped past tonight
Here's a guy that has been through so much over the past year. He's put all that behind him to become a very confident pitcher. Tonight his confidence in his sinker helped him get 13 groundball outs.