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General | General | 9/1/2021

The Lead Off: September

Clint Hurdle

Photo: Perfect Game

Hello Team,

My name is Clint Hurdle and I’ll be reaching out to you monthly to share baseball and life experiences. My goal is to connect wisdom (yours) and humor (mine) as we share this great game of baseball through my lens and feedback from you.

What am I doing?

I’m going to attempt to write a blog. Please extend some grace and mercy as my high school education only took me so far. We needed a name or title. After a group survey we landed on...

“The Lead Off”

Which means...or if you look it up in a dictionary- sorry I just aged myself. If you google “the Lead Off” you will find: phrasal verb. If someone leads off in an activity, meeting, or conversation, they start it. Obvious baseball term*.

*We added the last part!

Why me?

No one else wanted to do it!

I’ve had 45 years of professional baseball experience in uniform. I’ve been fortunate to have played, coached and managed at the MLB level for over 30 years. Sixteen years as a MLB Manager. Seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies and nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I’m in a small group of men that have been to the World Series as a player (Royals, 1980), coach (Rangers, 2010) and manager (Rockies, 2007). You know what is even a smaller group? I’ve finished second three times! Ouch! No WS rings. Enough said...

Why here with Perfect Game?

I retired in November of 2019 after having been fired for the third time in my career as a manager. Three strikes and yer’ out! The rest of the U.S. retired with me in March as the pandemic hit us hard. For 20 months I was home almost every day. At the age of 64, my wife Karla had me in bubble wrap to keep me safe. With two teenagers at home, Maddie (18) and Christian (16) we actually became an everyday family for the first time ever.

Then I was invited by Perfect Game Owner Jerry Ford and CEO Brad Clement to join them in Oklahoma City for the Perfect Game High School All American Classic in 2020. I came to observe (eyes), listen (ears) and share (last option). It was love at first sight!

I spent a week watching the Perfect Game Staff care for, coach up and encourage all the players in attendance. Attention to detail, respect for the game, structured field time, focus sessions for players, parental discussions, etc. They completed the drill with high marks all over.

With the gear they gave the players it was like Christmas in July!

As good as the Field Staff was, the part of Perfect Game that made my eyes leak was the job their Perfect Game Cares Foundation did and continues to do. Led by Jennifer Ford-Chatfield, PG Cares reaches out and hugs the underserved youth in the respective areas in which events are held. This has always been Jerry Ford’s vision and he has a pro running the Foundation in Jennifer. The goal is not to create players so much as it is to create fans of the game for years to come.

What’s next?

There will be more to come in the months ahead as I officially joined the Perfect Game Team in July 2021 as a Senior (means I’m old) Advisor and an Ambassador (no college degree). We will talk baseball. Not so much “old school” vs. “new school” as much as “let’s all be in school” learning from one another.

I’m worn out. This is the most work I’ve done since I retired!

Make a difference today.

-Clint

Please send replies to: churdle@perfectgame.org

PS - Next month observations from the Perfect Game National Showcase at Tropicana Field and the Perfect Game High School All-American Classic in San Diego! If you like the blog let Rick Thurman know….he’s my BOSS!

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