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
behind change direction front land layout marks starting
We're starting to make some marks in the right direction on the road. The layout of the land behind us is what it is. We can't change that. We can change what's in front of us.
couple decision hard involved league staying
That was the hard decision we had to look at a couple of times. Would it just be better for him to go down, let him play, or keep him here and have him working and staying involved in a big league environment?
ability becoming defining game growth league major man next player slow step toughest
One of the toughest things to do as a man in anything is to slow down when we're not doing what we think we should be doing. As men, we want to step on the gas. That's a defining point. It's a growth thing for me. It's the next step into a player becoming more entrenched at the Major League level, to have the ability to slow the game down.
catch leagues minor pitchers polished tougher
More often than not you're going to catch pitchers that end up in the big leagues if you're in the minor leagues, so you're going to see the stuff. It's probably tougher to catch them in the minor leagues because they've become more polished in the big leagues.
bottom league line won
The bottom line is, they are in the playoffs. They won the (National League West).
ball cage flashes hard hitting leagues minor power seen
He's exhibited major-league power in the minor leagues and we've seen some flashes of it at this level. He's working hard in (batting practice) and he's working hard in the cage and hitting the ball hard where it's pitched.
eyes guys league looking reflection talk walk
It's up to them now to go down and be a reflection of this camp. I told them eyes will be on them. A lot of guys down there will be looking at how they walk and how they talk once they've been in a big league camp.
consistency flashes league major minor period power pull pulling seen short taken throughout
He's exhibited Major League power in the Minor Leagues. We've seen some flashes of it at this level. He's taken it and been able to put it in play with some consistency for a short period of time. That's what we're all pulling for him to pull off throughout the season.
club depth easier goes guys impressed leagues played push saying staying
I'm more impressed with the way some of the guys that didn't make our club played than the way some of the guys that did played. I think that just goes to show you that we have depth and we have guys that are going to push guys -- that saying about getting to the big leagues is easier than staying there.
either fastball good hitting league major marriage nailed three took
Hitting a Major League baseball. I wasn't that good at either one. I think I've got the marriage thing nailed down now and that took me three tries. I know I can't hit the fastball anymore.
check everywhere hit junior league might since
Skill. He's hit everywhere he's been. I don't think he's ever not hit. You might have to check Little League and junior high. Ever since we've had him, he's hit.
initially
Initially we just wanted him to be able to get healthy. And now for him to come back and be able to pitch, that's a plus.
further physically seems stretch
I don't know that we want to stretch him out further than that. . . . He doesn't have an old body. He seems to be pretty physically fit.
alarming number
His strikeouts are a little alarming for his number of at-bats,