The Pittsburgh Pirates quickly went from a contender in the NL Central Division during the first half of the regular season to one of the worst teams in baseball by season's end. That has led to them making the tough decision of firing manager Clint Hurdle, which they did before Sunday's season finale at home against the Cincinnati Reds. The 62-year-old lost his job Sunday afternoon after the Pirates finished with a 69-92 record, which was the worst record for the franchise since they went 57-105 in the 2010 season.
At the time of this move, Hurdle had two years remaining on his current contract, but did not manage the team's 4-2 loss to the Reds at PNC Park to end the 2019 campaign. He was the third-longest tenured manager in baseball at the time of his firing, but a last place finish in the NL Central will not help anyone keep their job. The two other managers that had their jobs longer both retired this year, that being Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants and Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals.
The Pirates hired Hurdle as their manager in 2011, and finished with winning seasons in four of their nine years under him. That included three Postseason appearances, with their last coming in a Wild Card loss to the Chicago Cubs in 2015. He did win National League Manager of the Year honors in 2013, but that success is long behind them. They were hoping to return to the Postseason this season, and were just one game under .500 at the All-Star break, 2.5 games out of first place in the Central. From there, they won just four of their next 28 games to quickly fall out of contention, and signs of frustration was shown in bench-clearing incidents, bullpen fights, and they even lost All-Star reliever Felipe Vazquez due to legal issues.
Chris Archer has quite frankly been a bust since acquiring him from the Tampa Bay Rays, while they have watched Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow flourish on the other end of that deal. Hurdle finishes his tenure with Pittsburgh at a record of 735-720-1, but it was a forgettable ending for a veteran manager in the league.
At the time of this move, Hurdle had two years remaining on his current contract, but did not manage the team's 4-2 loss to the Reds at PNC Park to end the 2019 campaign. He was the third-longest tenured manager in baseball at the time of his firing, but a last place finish in the NL Central will not help anyone keep their job. The two other managers that had their jobs longer both retired this year, that being Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants and Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals.
The Pirates hired Hurdle as their manager in 2011, and finished with winning seasons in four of their nine years under him. That included three Postseason appearances, with their last coming in a Wild Card loss to the Chicago Cubs in 2015. He did win National League Manager of the Year honors in 2013, but that success is long behind them. They were hoping to return to the Postseason this season, and were just one game under .500 at the All-Star break, 2.5 games out of first place in the Central. From there, they won just four of their next 28 games to quickly fall out of contention, and signs of frustration was shown in bench-clearing incidents, bullpen fights, and they even lost All-Star reliever Felipe Vazquez due to legal issues.
Chris Archer has quite frankly been a bust since acquiring him from the Tampa Bay Rays, while they have watched Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow flourish on the other end of that deal. Hurdle finishes his tenure with Pittsburgh at a record of 735-720-1, but it was a forgettable ending for a veteran manager in the league.
