Coaching changes in Major League Baseball are so ubiquitous it should surprise no one that former Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is now a candidate to be the manager of Pittsburgh Pirates, the city where current Rockies manager Jim Tracy previously coached. In fact, Clint Hurdle interviewed for the position earlier today. Under MLB rules, Hurdle was unable to interview for any managerial position until his team, the Texas Rangers, was eliminated from the playoffs.
As the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers this season, Clint Hurdle has shown that he is much better at that job than managing a team. Hurdle also did a great job as the hitting coach for the Rockies before he took over for Buddy Bell early in the 2002 season. But the Pirates are looking at him as their manager. Given the state Pittsburgh has been in for nearly two decades, a new manager is unlikely to be the key ingredient to turning that team around. While Hurdle lasted long enough to make a World Series appearance with the Rockies, the Pirate will likely be unwilling to wait five or six seasons for that kind of success to happen. Should Hurdle become the manager, the Pirates are still going to have tough seasons ahead of them. There's no Troy Tulowitzki coming to help out things in Pittsburgh.
But Clint Hurdle could also be a candidate for the New York Mets' managerial position. Hurdle played one year in the Mets organization and eventually managed in their minor league system for a couple of years before moving to Colorado. He's not going to have the leash the Monfort Bros. and Dan O'Dowd gave him in Colorado if he moves to New York under Sandy Alderson and the Wilpons.
However, as much as Clint Hurdle failed in Colorado I would very much like to see him succeed in a new environment. If only because he is a great human being.