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
baseball blowing four hit quick scoreboard struck wind
That was a tremendously well struck baseball with the wind blowing the way it was and to hit it over the scoreboard it was a quick four runs.
fourth
He made some mistakes, but from the fourth inning on, he located the ball.
best conditions four good innings outing pitches stuff
He didn't crack. It was a good outing for him, not having his best stuff and the conditions as they were with the wind, and to keep making pitches through the four innings and put zeros on the board, it was a good outing.
fourth looking quite since swing
We had been looking for that big hit, big swing for quite some time. I was looking for that at-bat since the fourth inning.
doubt earlier fourth hitting matt mind months protection providing season statement
There's no doubt in my mind that he's gong to get better, and that's what I told Matt earlier in the season when we had a sit-down. I said, 'You're not just hitting fourth anymore. You're our cleanup hitter.' Two months later, I told him, 'What you are doing now is providing protection in the lineup.' That's a big statement for a second-year player.
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.
four played playoffs three
I played and I went to the playoffs three of the first four years, and I thought it was just part of the package. And I haven't been back since.
four lucky played playoffs relish three
I played in the playoffs in three of my first four big-league seasons, ... but I haven't been to one since. I relish that opportunity. It doesn't come easy. You are not lucky when you get to that level.
bit effort forth four road speaks win
For us to win four consecutive road series, especially with this group, speaks a little bit about the effort being put forth and the results.
ability dealt recreate since slow
It is something we have dealt with since Day 1. You can't recreate that environment. It's just the ability to go out there and slow the inning down as much as you can.
ceiling
I think we'd like to see his ceiling or find his niche,
groups humility leads passion talked unique work
I think we've talked about it all -- his humility, his work ethic. He has a unique passion for the game. He leads by example. In the groups that he's been in, that's been talked about.
found
I think we've found out about his toughness,
ahead break dissect distance elevate everybody far good months numbers opportunity pack scheme spell themselves three time
I think by far and away he was way ahead of the pack at the time he went down. But the numbers he has now, they still spell out pretty good in the big scheme of things if you want to dissect numbers and break them down. Everybody else had an opportunity of three months to really put some distance between themselves and him and elevate themselves, but it didn't happen.