Pirates notebook: Clint Hurdle reflects on being 1978 Sports Illustrated cover boy
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Clint Hurdle couldn't help but admit the truth: He's changed in 40 years.
It was 40 years ago, March 20, 1978, that he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated next to the words "THIS YEAR'S PHENOM" in gold, capital letters.
"I was a lot younger, first thought," he said Tuesday when shown the cover after the Pirates' 12-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox. "Hair was darker, second thought, and longer."
40 Years Ago Today: 'This Year's Phenom - Kansas City's Clint Hurdle'(Sports Illustrated - March 20, 1978) #Royals #Pirates #MLB pic.twitter.com/se4ohIXKjY
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) March 20, 2018
Sports Illustrated came to Fort Myers that day to shoot Hurdle, who had made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals the previous September, and Willie Wilson, the team's other young star.
"It was a crazy time," said Hurdle, 20 at the time. "This whole (photo) shoot, I had no experience doing whatsoever."
The SI people made no promises where, when or if the photos would appear in the magazine. Hurdle soon found out.
The morning the magazine hit the newsstands, Hurdle stopped into a Fort Myers 7-11.
"Every-morning ritual," he said, "stop, get a quart of orange juice and a honey bun, breakfast of champions back in the day.
"I put my carton of juice up (on the counter), the honey bun up, and that was in the days they had three magazines on every counter. You had Time, you had Newsweek and you had Sports Illustrated.
"The magazine is right there, and I see my picture. And I look at the guy (behind the counter), and he looks at me and we both look at the picture and we both look at each other — and I walk out of the store."
Hurdle was so stunned he left the honey bun and the juice on the counter, got in his car and went to the ball park.
"That was the last thing I expected to see," he said.
He didn't buy a copy, even though the newsstand price was only $1.
"If I would have bought one and someone had seen it in my car — no way."
Funny thing, though: To this day, he reads Sports Illustrated. "Absolutely," he said.
Cuts may not be permanent
At least three players sent to minor league camp Tuesday morning — infielder Max Moroff, infield/outfielder Chris Bostick and pitcher Nick Kingham — could re-surface in Pittsburgh later this season.
"In Max's case, we have some other guys we feel bring a different element, mostly offensive, mostly power off the bench," general manager Neal Huntington said.
"We like Max a lot and think he will help this major league team, and he might help this major-league team sooner than later."
Only 24, Moroff needs to play.
"With Jordan and Max on the major league club last year as much as they were, you run the risk of stunting a young player's growth if he's not getting at-bats."
Other cuts
There are 37 players remaining with the major league club at LECOM Park for the final seven games of spring training.
'Happy birthday'
Among those re-assigned was outfielder Todd Cunningham, who's been with five MLB organizations. He got the news Tuesday, his 29th birthday.
"Happy birthday, huh?" he said, with a slight smile.
"It's all right. It's part of it. When you have a birthday right in the middle of camp, things can happen."
When he heard the TV announcers had mistakenly said Monday was his birthday during the telecast of the Twins game, Cunningham said, "Maybe they knew I was getting cut (Tuesday) so they had to get it in."
Parting shot
Bostick didn't leave before making an impact. He homered Monday against the Twins.
"Not bad," he said while packing his gear.
Bostick played in 20 games for the Pirates last season, getting eight hits (two doubles) in 27 at-bats.
Others re-assigned include pitchers Brett McKinney, Casey Sadler and John Stilson, infielders Pablo Reyes, Erich Weiss and Eric Wood and catcher Jackson Williams.
Musgrove's tough day
In only his second major league game, Joe Musgrove struggled against a good Red Sox lineup. He threw 44 strikes among his 62 pitches, but he allowed eight hits and six runs in four innings.
"I had some good ones, some bad ones, just caught too much plate with some bad pitches to good hitters," he said. "It's a good lineup, and I didn't really execute a couple pitches today.
"I did some things I liked. Try to hang onto those and flush the other stuff. I felt good. My ball just didn't have anything on it. I had a hard time breaking 92 (mph) out there. I have two outings left to sharpen things up, and I feel like I'll be right on point with it."
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
