NORFOLK, Va. – Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle will be the keynote speaker at the 39th annual Old Dominion University Baseball Banquet at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel on Jan. 29, 2016. The reception will start at 6 p.m., with the program starting at 7 p.m.
The manager of the Pirates the last five seasons, Hurdle led the Pirates to three-consecutive playoff appearances and snapped the team’s 20-year playoff drought. In 2013, the first of three playoff appearances, Hurdle was named the National League Manager of the Year by The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) and the Sporting News.
This past season, Hurdle led the Bucs’ to 98 wins, the most by a Pirates team since the 1991 team that advanced to the National League Championship Series.
In his five-year career with the Pirates he has led them to a 431-379 record.
Hurdle spent the 2010 season as the Hitting Coach of the American League champion Texas Rangers, a club that led the Major Leagues with a .276 batting average during the regular season - paced by A.L. MVP Josh Hamilton (.359 average, 32 home runs and 100 RBI) and Vladimir Guerrero (.300 average, 29 home runs and 115 RBI).
Prior to joining the Texas coaching staff on November 5, 2009, Hurdle spent over 15 years in the Colorado organization, serving as a minor league hitting coordinator, Major League hitting coach and manager at the big league level. He compiled a 543-625 record while serving the Rockies as manager from April 26, 2002, until he was relieved of his duties on May 29, 2009. Clint has the most wins of any manager in Colorado team history, winning his 500th career game on August 29, 2008 at Los Angeles.
In 2007, Hurdle led the Rockies to the World Series as the club captured its first National League pennant in franchise history. The 2007 club, which won 11 straight games in September, won 21 of its 22 games leading up to the World Series, where Boston pulled off a four-game sweep. During the 2007 post season, the Rockies swept the Phillies in the Division Series and Arizona in the Championship Series before falling to the Red Sox in the Fall Classic.
Hurdle played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues for the Royals, Reds, Mets and Cardinals, and played 97 games for the Tidewater Tides in 1987. He was the manager of the Tidewater/Norfolk Tides in 1992-93 before spending his next 15 years in the Colorado Rockies organization.
The ODU banquet has annually featured some of the top names in Major League Baseball. Previous Hall of Fame speakers have included Ozzie Smith, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Andre Dawson, Rich Gossage, Joe Morgan, Brooks Robinson, Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer, Johnny Bench, Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry, Jim Rice, Dave Winfield, Cal Ripken, Jr., the late Jim “Catfish” Hunter, the late Tony Gwynn, Bob Feller and Robin Roberts, along with Luis Tiant, John Smoltz and managerial greats Tommy Lasorda, Buck Showalter, and the late Sparky Anderson Last year’s speaker was former Washington Nationals manager, Matt Williams.
Individual tickets for the Friday, Jan. 29 banquet are $65.00 each, with a special rate for groups or teams of $45.00 each (20 or more tickets) by calling 683-6963. Table sponsorships, which include amenities such as a VIP reception with the headliner, autographed baseballs and more, are available as well. Contact the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation (ODAF) at 683-6961 for sponsorship information.