Clint Hurdle Out as Pittsburgh Pirates Manager
By Michael Luciano
Despite leading a franchise that had 20 consecutive losing season to the playoffs in three straight seasons, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle couldn't keep the team above water this season, and was finally shown the door.
Pittsburgh parted ways with Hurdle, who had been the team's manager since 2011.
#Pirates firing manager Clint Hurdle, sources tell The Athletic. GM Neal Huntington will stay. Coaching staff to be determined by net manager.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 29, 2019
After leading the Colorado Rockies to the World Series in 2007, Hurdle was hired in Pittsburgh after a one-year sabbatical from the game in 2010 following his Rockies firing.
From 2013-2015, on the back of an MVP campaign from Andrew McCutchen, Hurdle led the Pirates to the playoffs in each of those seasons, riding a balanced lineup and deep starting rotation.
The last four years, however, weren't as rosy. Hurdle's Pirates missed the playoffs each of the last four seasons, with 2019 being the absolute bottom. A Pirates team riddled with in-house fightings and scandals managed a 69-92 recod that put them in dead last in the NL Central. Overall, Hurdle went 735-720 in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates have fired manager Clint Hurdle.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) September 29, 2019
Hurdle had more than run his course in Pittsburgh, and now the search for a replacement who can get the Pirates back to winning can begin.