The Rockies former manager delivers inspiration and humor in 25 quotes
Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball
Clint Hurdle
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2025
144 pages
The irony of being a writer is that I’m not much of a reader. Growing up, reading was one of my favorite things to do, and it was pretty common in my family. However, as I got older and school began to turn reading into a chore for writing papers and analytical assignments about the symbolism, I kind of fell off.
That’s not to say I don’t enjoy reading, I’m just picky and need to feel compelled to keep reading when I do start a book. Recently, I had been in the mood for something baseball-related and finally pulled the trigger on reading Clint Hurdle’s book Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball.
I’m glad that I did.
Fans of the Colorado Rockies best remember Hurdle as the manager of the 2007 team that went to the World Series. He was a face synonymous with “Generation R” and has been well thought of in the baseball world. From his days as one of the top prospects in baseball, his time as a coach in various roles, and as a current member of the Rockies front office, Hurdle has spent nearly 50 years in baseball.
The premise of his book is simple: Hurdle lays out 25 quotes/bits of wisdom he has learned and used throughout his baseball career and contextualizes them with anecdotes and inspirational stories from his life.
It’s not a complex or long read, as the book is just 144 pages. However, it’s that straightforward and to-the-point approach that makes it so endearing. Hurdle isn’t trying to sound profound, but rather comes across in a conversational form. That style made it feel like he was sitting there with me, telling his stories and sharing his wisdom face-to-face. Before I knew it, the book was over. However, I didn’t feel cheated or ripped off, but rather fulfilled by what I had just read.
The proverbial “Hurdle-isms” come from a variety of moments in his life. In some cases, Hurdle adopted a phrase that had been said to him by a coach in the minors or had been inspired by interactions with co-workers and friends in his life. I particularly like his “Shower well” one-liner that was coined when the late Keli McGregor had asked how the team was planning to get better on the field the next day after a tough loss.
In other words, wash the events of the day off. Watch them circle down the drain. Truly shampoo — rinse and repeat. Get the grime, dirt, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and worry of the today off of your body and mind get them clean. Then go home and rest.
There are multiple nuggets of humor and quality slices of life stories, but the running theme that permeates every page is Hurdle’s optimism and positivity.
The feelings I had while reading the book were, oddly enough, the same as when I watched Ted Lasso.
Now, Hurdle doesn’t have a mustache and wasn’t trying to coach a sport he knew nothing about, but that positivity stuck with me throughout.
You can see the baseball roots in every “Hurdle-ism” and the applications pertaining to the sport. However, I couldn’t help but try to connect them and see how they could apply to my normal day-to-day life. It opened my eyes to not only how good of a man Hurdle is, but the qualities of leadership he possesses. I also thought about how I could emulate what he shares in the book into my personal life, or if I were ever to coach or lead others. It also made me appreciate his tenure as the Rockies manager quite a bit more.
Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball isn’t necessarily a must-read for baseball fans. However, for those familiar with Hurdle, it’s a delightful trip down memory lane in the way that it’s like catching up with an old friend.
Given the opportunity, though, I’d recommend you crack this one open and see what you can learn from his life in baseball. It’s a simple, well-written, somewhat informal book.
Hurdle mentions that his purpose in writing the book was to challenge himself so that he could “grow.”
In doing so, he helped inspire me to grow and try to improve upon myself as well.
★★★
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