Clint Hurdle’s third act:
He was a phenom who was undone by alcoholism and a bigleague manager who overcame it and found success. His next calling might be the most meaningful to him of all.
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ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. – Former major league player and manager Clint Hurdle recently participated in a series of Zoom calls. The other eight on the calls were women. Hurdle quickly figured out that these women were all powerful, smart and accomplished.
“If the nine of us had been in a lineup, I would’ve batted ninth,” he said.
The occasion for the Zoom calls was to organize this year’s fundraiser for a congenital condition called Prader-Willi Syndrome, which afflicts Hurdle’s 18-year-old daughter, Maddie.
Children born with this condition typically have a failure to thrive early in life. They often suffer from low muscle tone and cognitive delays. Anxiety brings a constant desire to eat.
Hurdle, who serves as the national spokesperson for the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association USA, has hosted the group’s annual fundraising dinner seven times. This year’s event was held last month at Key Royale Club near Hurdle’s home on Anna Maria Island.
His daughter is about to graduate from high school, an event roundly celebrated at the dinner. Pittsburgh TV personality Robby Incmikoski was the emcee. After knowing Maddie through her teen years, he presented her with a graduation gift, which she unwrapped in front of the crowd.
“It was the first time Maddie had ever opened a package on her own,” Hurdle tells USA TODAY Sports. “Other parents would take that for granted, but for us it was very rewarding to see her achieve that.”
“It’s a really big accomplishment for Maddie to graduate because so many of our kids can’t,” explains Michelle Torbert, board chair for PWSA/USA. “These children process concepts differently. Where most kids learn something they are taught after one or two repetitions, a child with Prader-Willi may need to be taught as many as nine times before they get it. But once they get it, it sticks in their memory.”
Torbert’s 23-year-old daughter Leslie was born with the condition. She was able to graduate from high school because her family provided the tutoring and assistance she needed. Most families can’t afford such support. “The funds we raise go not only into supporting research that has the potential for an immediate and high impact, it also allows us to support and train families living with the syndrome,” she says.
After covering the event’s expenses (made much higher because of COVID-19 precautions), this year’s dinner raised $175,000, bringing the total to nearly $1.7 million over the seven fundraisers hosted by Hurdle. “When I was given the opportunity to start speaking on (the condition), I embraced it,” he explains. “I want to be a voice not just for my daughter, but also for kids who don’t have a voice, because Prader-Willi prevents many children from being able to talk.”
The phenom
Hurdle was drafted in the first round of the 1975 draft by the Kansas City Royals. He made his big-league debut at 19 late in the 1977 season. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in March 1978 with the tagline “This Year’s Phenom.” That season, he batted .264 while appearing in 133 games for the Royals.
Over the course of his 10-year career with four different franchises, he never played in as many as 133 games again. At age 29 in 1987, he appeared in 100 games – three with the Mets and 97 for their Class AAA team in Norfolk, Virginia. That marked the end of his career as a player.
It’s widely regarded that he failed to reach his potential as a big leaguer due to his partying
lifestyle, especially when it came to alcohol.
After his retirement as a player, Hurdle began the second act of his life, this time as a manager. He badgered the Mets into hiring him to run their Class A Florida State League team. “I threatened them that I would return as a player if they didn’t,” he says. He worked his way up the minor league ladder, returning to Norfolk as skipper for the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
He joined the Colorado Rockies organization as a hitting instructor in the minors in 1994. In 1997, he was promoted to hitting coach on the big-league level with the Rockies. But the drinking didn’t stop.
That year, he asked Karla Yearick, an accountant from Pennsylvania, to marry him. The answer was no. She told him, “I know there is a good man in there somewhere, but you need to let him out. You can’t really love me until you learn to love yourself.”
It was decision time for the baseball coach.
The third act
That decision-making process marked the beginning of the third act of Hurdle’s life. He made a commitment to church and to Alcoholics Anonymous and left behind the drinking that worried Karla and hindered his playing career.
When he proposed the second time, the answer was yes. The two were married in 1999.
The Rockies named him manager when they fired Buddy Bell early in the 2002 season. Four months later, Karla gave birth to Maddie. The baby’s first three weeks were spent in a neonatal ICU. That’s when the diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome was made.
Such a challenge could have wrecked not only his marriage but his sobriety as well. Instead, Hurdle says, it “galvanized” his relationship with Karla and AA helped him remain steadfast in his rejection of alcohol.
Being a father to Maddie is perhaps the key theme of the Third Act of his life: “God entrusted us with Maddie’s care, and God doesn’t make mistakes.”
‘Make a difference today’
His managerial stint in Colorado lasted eight years. He urged his players to believe in themselves, an attitude that propelled them into the 2007 World Series.
Hurdle attributes his positivity to his relationship with Rockies team President Keli McGregor, who died in 2010. “Keli was a strong Christian man who challenged me to find out what the ‘why’ was in my life. Why did I believe God put me here?” he recalls. “Keli challenged me to be the best version of me personally and professionally.”
Hurdle says that one of his favorite phrases is one he learned from McGregor: Make a difference today.
When the Texas Rangers hired Hurdle as the hitting coach in 2010, it greatly benefited troubled slugger Josh Hamilton. Hurdle’s positive approach, hitting advice and ability to identify with Hamilton’s past substance abuse problems helped propel the five-tool outfielder to a .359 batting average and the American League MVP trophy. The Rangers’ trip to the World Series that year was the first in franchise history.
The Pittsburgh Pirates then came calling, hiring him as manager for the 2011 season. During his nine years at the helm, he fairly regularly had the cash-strapped team in contention, winning a wildcard spot in 2013. For that season, he was named the National League Manager of the Year.
Hurdle says his 2019 dismissal by the Pirates gave him “the opportunity to reboot and reset.” Although he had other offers, he decided to retire from the sport and stay home with his family year-round. “Maddie often tries to figure out why her dad is home all the time now. I just tell her, ‘If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.’ ”
By no means is his third act complete, because even from home, Hurdle can continue to make a difference.
For more about the PraderWilli Syndrome Association, go to pwsausa.org