Clint Hurdle lives in the spotlight. The Colorado Rockies manager is constantly in front of cameras with legions of fans hanging on his every word about how the season is going, what will it take to get better and what it is like to be in the World Series.

Though he would much rather make a difference to his 25 players in the clubhouse away from reporters, that is not  the life he leads. When the cameras aren’t rolling, Hurdle thinks back to simpler times when he was a young boy. Times when he and his grandfather would go to the corner store to buy candy.

The times when he lived in Big Rapids until he was 5 years old.

Those times seem far away now, but Hurdle still thinks about Big Rapids.

So how did the man who would lead the Colorado Rockies to an improbable run to the 2007 World Series get from Big Rapids to The Show?

The Beginning

Hurdle was born on July 30, 1957, and lived in Big Rapids until his father, Bud, took a job in Florida working for NASA. Though Hurdle was only in Big Rapids for a short time of his life, those formative years still hold special meaning to him.

“Big Rapids is still a warm and fuzzy place for me,” Hurdle said. “I continue to go back and visit my grandmother (Lucille) and my cousins.”

It is his grandmother, Lucille Hurdle, and grandfather, Ed, that are centerfield in his fondest childhood memories.

“My grandpa and I would walk down to the corner store and grandpa would flip me a quarter and let me get candy,” said Hurdle.

Hurdle quickly became a two-sport star in Florida. By the time he was set to graduate from high school, Hurdle had signed a national letter of intent to play both football and baseball for Miami (Fla.) University. It was one of the few places that would let him do both sports.

However, Miami would have to wait.

Hurdle was the ninth pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1975 draft and he quickly went to the minors.

“Playing major league baseball was a dream of mine ever since I swung a bat,” he said. “I was respectful of school and I know a college education is important and wish I had gone, but it was a dream of mine to play professional ball.”

Making it to the show

Hurdle didn’t spend much time in the minors.

In just two years, Hurdle made his way up the ladder, making his professional debut Sept. 18, 1977, in a game against Seattle. In his second at bat, Hurdle drilled a pitch offered by Glen Abbott for a home run.

Hurdle finished his career with a .259 batting average, 32 home runs and 193 RBI.

He got the opportunity to play in two American League Championship Series and one World Series, in which he batted .417.
By the end of his career, Hurdle knew it was time to hang up his spikes.

Back in the minors again

It also was about this time he thought about becoming a manager after retirement. After calling it a career in 1986, Hurdle went into the New York Mets organization, where he worked his way up the managrial ladder, eventually landing with the Triple A affiliate Tidewater in 1992 and 1993.

It was during those stints that he had a chance to develop an identity as a manager. After playing for some of the best managers in the major leagues in Dick Howser, Whitey Herzog and Davey Johnson, Hurdle got the opportunity to lead a ball club.

“It really helped me to manage in the minors - you really get a feel for the game,” he said. “As a player, you always think what would you do, but you don’t think about the other 25 players.

“The biggest thing I learned from (the managers I played for) was actions speak louder than words,” Hurdle continued. “I also learned if you can pitch and catch you will be in every game as long as you play for 27 outs.”

After his time with the New York Mets, Hurdle moved over to the Colorado Rockies, where he was a hitting instructor before getting the call to lead the squad in 2002. He led the team to its best showing in three years in 2003 (74-88).