The Pirates have fired manager Clint Hurdle, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Hurdle had two years remaining on his current contract.
As Rosenthal notes, general manager Neal Huntington will retain his position spearheading the organization’s baseball operations. Meanwhile, the coaching staff will be determined by the incoming manager.
The move comes as something of a surprise, as just days earlier Hurdle himself asserted that the Pirates assured him that he’d keep his position as the club’s manager. However, later that day both Hurdle and Huntington were curiously noncommittal on the future of the skipper.
Hurdle, 62, was installed as the Pittsburgh manager prior to the 2011 season and finishes his Pirates career as the fourth-winningest manager in franchise history. He’s led his Pirates teams to an overall 735-720-1 record in his nine years at the helm, including three consecutive postseason appearances from 2013-2015. The team peaked with 94- and 98-win seasons in 2013 and 2015, though they were unable to make it out of the Division Series in that three-year stretch—and, in 2014 and 2015, they were eliminated in the one-game playoff.
Not far removed from that stretch of success, this season has been an especially trying one in Pittsburgh. After winning 82 games a year ago, the club has taken a step backwards and will have a final chance today to reach the 70-win plateau. Between a clubhouse altercation involving Kyle Crick and Felipe Vazquez, numerous on-field brawls, and a suspension to Keone Kela for a confrontation with a coach, it would seem that the clubhouse has escaped Hurdle’s control.
Whether he’s at fault for those off-field issues is questionable, but the on-field results haven’t done Hurdle any favors. His Pirates found themselves just a game under .500 at the All-Star break, but proceeded to hit a colossal cold spell en route to a 4-24 stretch into mid-August.
Pittsburgh will join the Giants, Padres, and Cubs among the teams now with a vacant manager position. It seems that wholesale changes to the coaching staff may be in order, with pitching coach Ray Searage among those with an uncertain future. Huntington issued the following statement regarding the decision:
Words cannot express how much respect and appreciation I have for Clint as a person and a leader … We will be forever grateful for his dedication to the Pirates organization on and off the field … As an organization, we believe it was time for a managerial change to introduce a new voice and new leadership inside the clubhouse.
That means nutting has to pay someone else..
He can also be a good manager for the Phillies. If the Phillies want to win they don’t have no excuse this is the man or Maddon. Kapler can manage another team like the Padres.
Are you going to add every manager that gets fired to this list? Once/If Kapler gets fired will you add him to the list as well?
Lol you are funny.
He is a cardinal fan. Consider the source. World’s Best Fan Base (self proclaimed). Not only they the most knowledgeable fans in MLB, they can manage your teams too!
Cleo to is a cubs fan. Angriest, most spiteful fans in all of baseball. See, I can make up random stuff too.
Wrong. Try again, clown. And while you’re at it, learn to spell.
Hey clepto – it’s actually Best Fans In Baseball. Although as a Cardinals fan I think it’s stupid, it’s not self-proclaimed.
Other than that, great comment on your part.
First off the “self-proclaimed” meme is inaccurate. Outside media began the process meme. Of course the Red Bird faithful is proud, just like every other city. The 11 championships, and second best attendance, by a mid-market metro, re-inforce the pride. I cannot count the times you have opined about how organizations run their operations. Offering an opinion is the staple of this site, be it Cardinal fans, or any other.
If you read some of the einstein Cards commentors, like Themed, as a classic example, you would understand self proclaimed.
And while I certainly enjoy well reasoned commentary, all too often on this site, we have the moron brigade who type first, think never, because they think their opinion really matters.
So, i’m a Cards fan. I like how you lump all fans of one team together, no matter if it is true or not. Themed is merely a troll. All teams have them. I’m positive your team does.
yeah right. Would rather have Kapler than Hurdle.
Kapler is out. Madden is in.
Please
As a Phillies fan living in Pittsburgh, PLEASE NO HURDLE!! Not that Kapler has been fired yet, but if he was, Hurdle would be a poor poor choice. Even during the 2013-2015 seasons, Hurdle made dumb decisions that probably cost the team divisions rather than Wild Cards. He’s just as bad with the bullpen as Kapler, and he makes terrible decisions…. like mapping out all the off days during spring training, regardless of how important a game is when it is actually played, and starting Sean Rodriguez in a Wild Card game when he wasn’t even a starter during the season.
How does Huntington still have a job??
Because he’s not a bad GM.
in the past year, he’s acquired young breakouts Bryan Reynolds, Colin Moran. Pitchers like Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams struggles this year but they were solid in 2018 and still have moments. He traded Daniel Hudson’s bad contract for a year and half of Corey Dickerson. Oh and we’ve draft picks like Josh Bell and Kevin Newman turn into solid everyday players.
NH has made many more good trades than bad ones since 2010.
In his first three years he realized that a rebuild needed to be made and he traded the veterans.
I would say that he was at least a good GM until the last year or so.
Too many posters are just plain negative and do not look at the facts.
And Chris Archer”s three wins this year were worth every bit of Meadows and Glasnow and Baz.
He should be fired for that alone.
He must have some great photos during owners meetings.
Blessed baby Jesus it’s a miracle
Yay!!!! Finally the Pirates can properly tank.
Tight. That’s so tight.
Why? They have good young position players. Just reload the pitching staff and bullpen and they can compete for the division next year.
They’ve been trying to reload the starting and bullpen staff for years now. Keola, Archer
“Re-loading” for the Pirates would be signing Clay Buchholz, Dylan Bundy, and Jordan Zimmerman to minor league contracts…. and saying a prayer that one turns back the clock 10 years.
You are right. The Pittsburgh Pirate organization is a lost cause
Dylan Bundy was 16 10 years ago
Lol i thought that owner was cheap
Black Monday has moved to Sunday in MLB.
Bob Nutting is so cheap he leaked a fake report of Hurdle being retained to see if he could get away with not paying 2 managers.
Seriously, I bet that is the truth! That is how things are done in Government and the Corporate World for real.
It’s called a ‘Test Balloon’, to see how people react first and give them a chance to change things if the people revolt at the news.
Easy to criticize others when it’s not your money paying another manager to stay at home!
But it was dumb to sign him for 4 years when they did.
Everyone questioned that signing when it happened.
this is exactly what happened
he decided to fire him after that report was leaked
this should have been done already if this was their plans
Hurdle was the source self proclaiming he was being retained. It was not Nutting leaking anything.
right nutting didnt leak it
but the outrage caused hurdle to ultimately lose his job
Nutting needs to be called out on all the BS he has been dishing out to Pirates Fans for years. Keep taking that revenue sharing money and trading off any major league talent that costs any significant amount of CASH. Poorly run organization that isn’t TRULY committed to competing for World Series.
Now it’s your turn Neil
Absolutely
Seems weird that his job was safe a couple days ago, but with the firing of Maddon all of a sudden he’s out.
That’s more of a standards statement than the Pirates going after Maddon. Cubs get rid of Maddon for far less and if the Pirates let an awful manager who won nothing stay it would just look bad
Like Joe Maddon would actually want to manage the Pirates or they would even consider getting into a bidding war for his services with the Phillies, Mets or Padres who have rosters more capable of winning sooner. Maddon already had to deal with managing a low budget Rays team for 9 seasons. He’s not going back to those days ever again with the Pirates.
The Pirates wouldn’t want Maddon anyway.
I know that the Pirates fans can’t stand the guy.
Nor would the Pirates be willing to afford him…
Pirates wouldn’t be willing to afford the bat boy
if owner Bob Nutting had his way.
Nutting likes free!!! Bring your own bobble heads next year. It’s all about the CASH baby!!
maddon not fired.
His job did not seem safe a few days ago. Hurdle is the one claiming he was told he was coming back. That was quickly refuted by Management.
Please Mets!!! He’s a damn good manager. Huge upgrade over Callaway
Only reason he chose the Pirates over the Mets was because of the quality health care his daughter would receive for her illness
I can’t blame either of them for that.
I remember back in 1978, the Pirates almost wooed Pete Rose
to sign with them instead of the Phillies when owner at the time
Dan Galbreath offered him a race-horse, which the Galbreath’s
were famous for breeding.
Knowing what we know about Pete,
I gotta think Rose had to really mull that one over
and sleep on that decision
before he made it.
The decision by Rose to sign with the Phillies
worked better for the Pirates as Willie Stargell
(first baseman like Rose) then got healthy again and was comeback player of the year in 1978, and became their hero for their world championship season in 1979.
THANK GOD!
Off to Chicago
Not a chance…
NOT A CHANCE! He’s not an analytics guy like JedStein will bring in…i can see Kapler with the cubs first (not saying he will be there), but that no way high and inside Clint will be cubs manager
no way Gabe ends up in Chicago
Well, that was one hell of an assurance that he would stay as manager next year.
Yay! Miracle of Miracles!
Praise Jesus!
Speaking of which, Nutting I hear stays close to collection plate/ basket.
One down several more to go, everyone should be gone besides the hitting coach.
Seeing stuff said by fans just gives me indication of how disconnected fans are from the game. If you talk with executives within baseball organizations like Buster Olney does they say the worst job on a coaching staff is the hitting coach. The reason every player has their own hitting coach. You get all of the blame if the team doesn’t hit and none of the credit if the team succeeds.
By reading your babble, its obvious how disconnected from the Pittsburgh situation you are. Clues….buy them before popping off.
Ohhhh, you’re realllly smart!
Well, your insight on ownership finances speak for themselves. See your gem re: affording bat boys.
Nice job. You get a pretty yellow ribbon for your efforts.
Who are you and why does your opinion matter. People pay to listen to mine. Now puppet reply back and waste your time some more.
Will there be 10 managerial openings this year?
Not that many, but will be close..7-8!
Huntington stays, and no matter who will be a manager, nothing will change.. Submarines are gonna suck with him forever.
Huntington has done a good job putting talent on the team. Coaching staff just had no idea how to use them. Shouldn’t be teaching guys like Cole and Glasnow to pitch to contact and try for ground balls.
There is no question about it, The pitching coaches of Pittsburgh blew it on Tyler Glasnow and Gerrit Cole. There have been others screwed up as well.
The pitching instructors will most certainly lose their jobs, and should.
Their fielding and base-running instructors need replaced as well.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Eckstein stick around. I feel like he did a fairly good job getting most of the hitters on track this year. (Minus Diaz). Everybody else can go.
Todd-He and his assistant seemed to have done a very good this year and I agree deserve to stay.
NH says that that is up to the new manager but Clint had to keep Searage on in 2010 so they could do that again.
People do realize that this move means nothing unless the GM is removed and the owner decides to spend some money on quality players. Nothing will change.
You are right. Thank you for this comment. It is not Hurdle fault that the pirates have not been winning. The one who is responsible is the owner.
Just pay attention to your team and do not assume to be the expert and savior in Pittsburgh. They can do just fine without your input. And by the way, you are wrong. Stings but true.
It looks like you don’t have anything better to do. But I don’t have time for you, so say whatever you want. By the way I like Phillies as much as the Cards so please relax. Oh by the way you can like more than one team.
Please stop telling people what they can comment about. It is the utmost example of hypocrisy.
Yawn. Your holier than thou routine is tiresome.
clepto is just a troll.
Probably works for Nutting’s marketing department to try to change the narrative, which he never will succeed in doing because it’s too late.
Everyone knows the truth about Pirates owner Bargain Bob Nutting now.
Probably doesn’t get paid much either.
True, it is the cheapskate owner Bob Nutting.
But Hurdle made so many head scratching moves,
every single game.
He has a big part in it.
GM Neal Huntington could have done a lot worse. But the Archer trade was ridiculous, there is no doubt about that.
But no matter who the GM is, he has to work within the constraints of a tiny budget and an owner that refuses to use his huge profits to put into player personnel.
No money no DD
That simple
I don’t speak moron. Please translate, with punctuation.
Just sell the Pirates. The Owner doesn’t have a passion for baseball. It’s all a business play and Pirates fans going to games supports his yearly shanannigans.
Spending doesn’t equal winning. The Rays have the lowest payroll in all of baseball. Keep up with the ridiculous narrative to seek attention though.
Rays draft and develop. They do smart trades too. Pirates do nothing of above. Plain and simple.
I dunno Dickerson from the Rays for a overpaid MR worked well. Every team hits and misses. I’ll never understand why they DFA Dickerson in the first place
The Rays are big on analytics but in this case they over analyzed their analytics. Dumb move andd
widely panned in Tampa.
I’d love to see the Pirates give the Manager job to John Wehner.
‘Rock’ Wehner knows the game very well and learned under
Jim Leyland.
(But then we would lose a really good baseball broadcaster,
who isn’t afraid to tell it like is.
There are too few guys like that in the media)
Wehner with Mike Mchenry as his bench coach? Lol. Steve Blass just retired…
I doubt very much McHenry would be his bench coach.
More like Jim Leyland, (who still resides in Pittsburgh, as does Wehner) or players & instructors of his generation.
I’m sure Rock could assemble a very good staff if he was manager.
I agree that Werner knows his baseball. But a “really good baseball announcer” he is not. It’s important to be able to not pronounce words correctly (e.g, “strike,” not “Shtrike”)—even in western Pennsylvania!
Besides until Nutting agrees to return the payroll to the level it had in the mid-‘19s, it doesn’t matter who manages. Nutting won’t he ride if himself, so he fires the guy who’s supposed to win with Lonnie Chisenhall, while the Cards get Paul Goldschmidt and the Brewers get Christian Yelich. Then they rob Steve Blass’s last day of a 60-year Pirates career by firing Hurdle on the same day.
I believe this year marks the 5th second half collapse in Hurdles 8 years as manager. With all the openings, I would be surprised if he’s still unemployed in January.
Maybe they should do like the rays do with pitching. Let Clint manage the first half and then have a second half manager.
Breaking News!! The Cubs have hired Hurdle to manage the team….
Uh, ….
Uh,…. just a joke since Maddon isn’t coming back.
Hey guys, if you’re not a Pittsburgh fan, please do not post in this comments section, okay? Some of them are kind of sensitive, and when they see you voicing your opinion about the Pirates, they perceive it as “other teams are trying to manage my team!” It’s best to leave all managerial decisions and commentary to the real experts; they CLEARLY know what they’re doing. Thanks.
May be the biggest waste of a post EVER
Fail.
Need some ointment for the burn?
Another wasted post
What makes you a non fan?I live in Tampa and was born in Pittsburgh. Is it my name or the fact that I may criticize the Pirates?
gotta fire Huntington also and bring in Dombrowski
Hey…..that’s not even funny. They should fire Huntington and raid the Rays front office like they dumped Archer on us. They know something there.
they knew the Pirates were gullible enough to make the trade, that’s all. Meadows alone was an overpay, Baz and Glas were just icing on the cake
I can’t believe we have to sift through these inconsequential articles about manager firings when somewhere, somehow, there simply must be a yankee player who just stubbed his toe. Where is the sense of perspective?
This had to happen given all of the turmoil within the clubhouse this year. It was clear that Hurdle’s voice was lost or had grown stale with the players. To borrow a term from the NCAA this was a lack of institutional control.
Huntington needs to go as well, but evidently won’t. I tend to believe that he has done more good than harm over his tenure, but it’s clear that the rest of the league has caught up to the Pirates and Neil doesn’t have any more magic to get back in front.
Obviously the players themselves bear some responsibility in the chaos. The lack of player leadership in the clubhouse is just as bad and I don’t buy the injury excuse as a reason guys like Taillion didn’t take control of the situation.
The saddest part of all of it is that Bob Nutting still owns the team and as such nothing is likely to change anytime soon. His proverbial cheapness and business culture rather than baseball culture are going to keep the best candidates for change from signing on to fix things, if they are even interested in the first place.
All in all, it’s depressing to be a Pirates fan.
Cool now let’s get these last games over with get the playoffs started and Houston’s championship and start the off-season rumors. I’m ready
…….but but but he said he’s returning! Please do not consider any of the other coming castoffs such as Girardi or Maddon. Somewhere there’s a undiscovered mgr like Cash ready to prove himself and best of all, he’ll be cheap. The FO will love that.
Tom Prince
Well say hello to Tom Prince
I hope not.
Please no.
Too bad for Pirates fans. The Buccos traded away Jose Bautista and kept their modern-day Dave Littlefield.
They traded away Glasnow and meadows and kept the inept Huntingdon
Stinks. But nobody can argue that he didn’t have enough seasons. Just getting them to the playoffs three years in a row should earn him a team HOF induction.
Now I’m just waiting for the ‘Francona steps down’ headline.
what more do you want of him? his rotation was at half capacity at best all year, his BP was full of randos, and his outfield was empty at the start of the year.
Sufferfortribe believes he could do a better job.
lacking talent or not, he was not the man for the job. multiple more talented managers have already been fired this year.
Dancing in the streets.
Get rid of Cole, trade Glasnow and meadows for archer and fire the Manager?
There is a disconnect here.
I wonder if Cervelli is ready to become a manager?
Huntington is the problem! Pirates will suck as long as him and his cronies are in charge!
Good riddance, it is a shame he didn’t take the GM with him.
Or the owner
Interestingly, I went to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website and read the comments on the Hurdle firing. They were much more supportive of him and did not see him as mismanaging the team.
As to people saying it was classless to dismiss him before the last game, Hurdle forced their hand when he claimed he had received assurances he would be coming back in 2020. That was a clown move.
I wouldn’t call the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette an authority on anything, let alone baseball.
He was referring to the comments, not the paper itself.
I am now dumber for having read all that.
Totally agree!
I am glad that Nutting and NH did this as Clint did not run the bullpen well this year and has lacked enthusiasm for several years.He did not seem seem to have the urgency to win outlook that it takes in the ML of any sport.
Fortunately Nutting was willing to eat this money.
Does anyone know if Lonnie Chisenhall has left the building?
NH has been a good GM but also has had a bad couple of years.Hopefully he gets his mojo back.
Ownership and entire front office need to go next. What a terrible team from top down, the fans deserve better. Total incompetence on all levels.
I have a lot of respect for what Clint was able to do here. It’s been a rough decline for sure but he was never given much to work with since our playoff years. There needs to be change from the top down for me to get excited about anything Pirates-related anymore.
Seems like a good dude, I wish him well.
I’ve got nothing against Clint Hurdle as a person, in fact I think he’s a rare good guy of this world. I hope for the best for him and his family.
He was the best guy for the job when they hired him, and he was great up until about 2016, when things sadly started going downhill.
He’ll still have his name up there with the some of the best Pirates managers of all time.
It was just time to make a change.
Don’t fire the one who brought in the players. Who made the meadows trade. Connely by all means keeps the money flowing. We’re a complete joke.
That clubhouse appeared to be a shambles. I liked Clint’s attempted preemptive power move with the unilateral declaration that he was returning. Sorry Bucs fans, from the outside the entire organization looks like a train wreck.
Can’t they just pay one of the players a little more to play and manage? Maybe Stallings? That way you don’t have to pay a full salary, uniform, and travel expenses for a new manager.
The Pirates are going to get Joe Maddon, who originally hails from Hazulton, PA. You’ve heard it here first!
A little geography. West Hazleton is on the other side of the state. Philly territory. I suspect the Pirates will go young as it is cheaper and they need some creativity.
Ok George and when Maddon does not go to Pittsburgh be a man and remind everyone how wrong you were. Oh but you will not do that, will you.
Why this morning instead of this evening? I don’t get the timing. Why not let him manage his last game?
Seems petty.
yeah I went, it was weird they took away blass’s last day with the news
They evidently gave him a choice to stay for the last game but of course he would choose to leave.
The only thing that I could figure out is that it gave him the chance to say good bye to his players.
Gratuitously so. Profoundly tone deaf.
Good riddance to Hurdle & the Headhunters.
Can we just trade the entire Pirates organization for the entire Rays organization? Rays deserve a nice ballpark with a fan base that will support them. They can get out of the shadow of the Yankees and Red Sox in the NL Central. Plus Meadows and Glasnow should be in Pittsburgh anyway (not to mention we should get to see Charlie Morton when he ISN’T forced to pitch to low contact). The Pirates can go play in the worst stadium in MLB where no one can will come to watch them play anyway, and they can battle it out with the Orioles for the worst record in the AL. This plan is much better than splitting time with Montreal!
Can I get some context on that one tie Hurdle had?
It was last year late in the year.It was a tie game and the rain came and and lasted too long.The tie would not affect any standings but the records count.
Jeff Bannister will be the next mgr.of the Pirates