Clint Hurdle, baseball man extraordinaire, is inspiring a whole new audience of his life experiences, beyond stadiums and box scores.
Most baseball fans are familiar with the late, great catcher Yogi Berra’s take on life, however head-scratching and downright puzzling most of the time. The thoughts that were pontificated by the Hall of Famer have long become known as Yogi-isms. Taking inspiration to the next level, with a more spiritual and lesson-learned approach to avoid repeating mistakes in future endeavors, and you have Hurdle-isms.
In a recent social media post, Hurdle offered the following thought: “Don’t keep score. Not just in baseball but in life. You'll wear yourself out keeping keeping track of who owes who what.”
Want a second dose of a helpful Hurdle-ism?
“Shower well. When the game beats you up, wash it off. Don’t take today’s dirt into tomorrow. Let it circle down the drain.”
Hurdle, 67, a confessed baseball lifer, is making it his mission to get people, athletes, and office workers alike to look for the good in their surroundings, especially during tough times. He has the street credibility to at least get those listening to pause to make an education decision on how to absorb and proceed further in their lives.
There is no hidden gender for the once-pegged “wunderkind.” Hurdle’s life is an open book of numerous volumes. The good times and the failures are offered in hopes of inspiring others to learn and grow. Fired three times; released twice; three trips to the World Series for as many clubs; managing 2,613 games for 17 MLB seasons; heck, Hurdle even appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine in 1978—“This Year’s Phenom” is what appeared next to the 21-year-old’s full-page photograph.
There’s also pride in being sober since 1998.
Mixing success and failure in such a very public life is the vehicle by which Hurdle distributes hope.
As the 2025 MLB season is preparing to open spring training camps in Florida and Arizona, Hurdle is juggling his two passions. As a special assistant to Colorado Rockies General Manager Bill Schmidt, Hurdle’s bags will soon be packed and shipped to Scottsdale, Arizona. Among his duties at the club’s training facility is to meet with scouts and work with player development staff in educating the minor leaguers, for a better Rockies’ future.
Then, when taking the bat out of his hand on the field, waiting for the release (Feb. 11) of his first book “Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball” has Hurdle’s attention. Having last managed the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019, Hurdle skippered the National League Central club for nine seasons, beginning in 2011. Earlier this week, Hurdle spoke with The Epoch Times about the catalyst for formally putting his thoughts down for others to contemplate.
“The last five years that I was managing is when I had the idea of a book. At first, getting a publisher was tough. The book is about the lessons I learned the hard way. For two and a half years, the book was shopped around. Then, I met with best-selling author Jon Gordon,” he said.
Understanding the specific demographic that Hurdle wanted to target his book to, Hurdle-isms were being written down. Inspirational stories began flowing. At first, there were, as Hurdle recalls, 40–50 Hurdle-isms, which he was instructed to bring down to 25. An introduction to Wiley Publishing ensued, followed by Zoom meetings advising the rookie author on how to put together his project, and two editors were assigned. Gordon’s expertise and guidance paid off for the former manager.
“I had to find my voice,” says Hurdle, who first tasted MLB postseason in 1980 as a member of the American League pennant-winning Kansas City Royals. “The book had to sound like me talking. After those in my inner circle read it, they agreed it sounded like me.”
Along with the inspirational Hurdle-isms, there are the daily devotionals shared through email sign-up. Currently, Hurdle estimates there are 8,000 reading messages that catch his attention, sent to others to start their day with.
“It’s crazy how many people wait for this,” Hurdle said of his devotionals. “You can’t beat the price (free).”
The late Rockies’ President Keli McGregor can be traced back to as the genesis of the devotionals. Hurdle remembers McGregor as a person that cared about the man, and not just the manager. He encouraged Hurdle to share his thoughts. At first, a dozen people received his texts. Leadership topics became popular. On several levels of his daily life, Hurdle continues to make a positive difference.
Rarely do you learn of a leader with pitfalls and winnings in professional sports who wants to share these experiences. There’s no hiding from being a recovering alcoholic. Quite the opposite for Hurdle. There’s no shortage of energy in his raising awareness and raising funds for Prader-Willie syndrome (PWS). Clint Hurdle and his wife, Karla Hurdle, have a daughter, Madison, living with PWS—a rare genetic disorder that affects growth, eating, development, and behavior.
Taking care of others, making sure they are going to be well, and sharing his experiences so that others who may be in those same situations can understand that they have choices—this is who Hurdle is. To know of Hurdle’s work and wonders is to know how much further we have to go to achieve a greater level of self-worth and peace.
