Maybe the unluckiest player in NY Mets history

A championship is the goal, right? If that’s the case, you can’t be lucky and own a ring. Only New York Mets players participating in 1969 and 1986 are allowed to declare themselves championships for the Amazins. What about someone who was present in 1985 and again in 1987?

The 9th overall pick in the 1975 MLB Draft signed as a free agent with the Mets ahead of the 1983 season. He never lived up to the hype in full, but did get to experience plenty of postseason baseball, including a World Series in 1980 during his most productive year.

You’ll know him best for his nearly two full decades in the dugout getting called “skipper.” Clint Hurdle is his name. He might be the unluckiest player in Mets history.

Clint Hurdle is the Mets champion who never was

Hurdle lost with the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. Don’t blame him. He hit .417. A corner outfielder that year with catching in his background and in his future at times with the Mets, Hurdle had a very limited contribution in New York.

In 1983, Hurdle played 13 games in the majors. He didn’t see any action at all in 1984. In 1985, he got into 43 games for the Mets and hit .195. It was 13 points higher than 1983.

Rules were different back in the 1980s and I don’t mean fannypacks being lawful. The 1985 Rule 5 Draft took place after the season and Hurdle was left unprotected and snatched away by the St. Louis Cardinals. Today’s Rule 5 Draft only includes players without major league experience. Not back then.

The Cardinals were coming off of a year where they lost to Hurdle’s ex-team, the Royals, in the World Series. Would they be back again and could Hurdle get a ring? The year was 1986. You know what happened.

Hurdle became a free agent after the season and returned to the Mets as a free agent just in time for the 1987 season where he played in only 3 major league games. The Mets didn’t make the postseason off of their World Series hangover. Yet again, a ring eluded Hurdle.

The very next season began Hurdle’s tenure as a manager. He took over the captain’s seat in the minors for the Mets and would rise to major league manager in the middle of the 2002 season for the Colorado Rockies. Just one winning season from 2002-2009, which happened to be the 2007 NL Pennant, made him worthy enough to land a job with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011.

Things went much better in Pittsburgh. They had three winning seasons in a row from 2013-2015 plus one more barely above .500 season in his penultimate year in 2018. He got one more year to manage and was fired when the Pirates failed to make the playoffs which was routine before Hurdle arrived.

Everywhere in his career, the ultimate goal escaped Hurdle. No place was more clear than with the Mets where a random draft pick stole away his best chance.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow