PITTSBURGH — Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle both spoke to the media for the first time Tuesday since signing twin four-year contract extensions that will keep the duo in charge of the Pirates through the 2021 season.
Both men made it clear that they are, in fact a duo. Their contracts were up at the same time, with both having an option for 2018 and it’s no coincidence that the tenures of their new contracts are identical.
Hurdle and Huntington wanted to continue to work with the Pirates and they wanted to continue working with one another.
“It was very important to me,” Hurdle said. “I’ve worked with this man for seven years. He’s convicted and committed. He’s smart and he’s willing to take chances. He’s willing to gamble on his decision-making process and he’s willing to trust other people with their decision-making process. It’s been a fun seven years for me, and challenging as well. We’ve had some successes together and we’ve had some failures together. We’ve gotten to see how both of us react through all of that.”
That’s not to say that the two always agree on everything. But Huntington has gained an appreciation for the process the two have developed over the last seven years.
“We’re both willing to learn and listen from different perspectives,” Huntington said. “We both have our convictions, we have our strengths, but we’re willing to learn and listen, share differences and voice through the way we see things. We’ve both become better because of it.”
Here’s much more from Hurdle and Huntington Tuesday afternoon:
