Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington, who helped put together and direct the Pittsburgh Pirates' first playoff team in more than two decades last season, have each received three-year contract extensions through 2017.
The deals, which the Pirates officially announced Saturday, also include club options for the 2018 season.
Hurdle, the 2013 National League Manager of the Year, took over a Pittsburgh team that lost an MLB-worst 105 games in 2010 and engineered a 15-game improvement in his first season. The Pirates have increased their victory total in each year since, capped by last season's 94-68 finish that earned the Bucs their first postseason appearance since 1992.
In three-plus seasons as the Pirates' skipper, Hurdle has compiled a 248-242 record.
Huntington took over as Pittsburgh's GM in September of 2007 and has been responsible for the acquisition of several cornerstone players, including 2013 NL co-home run champion Pedro Alvarez, starting pitchers Francisco Liriano and Gerritt Cole and All-Star relievers Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon.
"Neal and Clint have led a team of baseball professionals, in the front office and on the field, that has transformed the Pittsburgh Pirates into a club that again must be reckoned with in the National League," said Pirates president Frank Coonelly. "We are extremely pleased that they will continue to lead this team in Pittsburgh."
[SportsNetwork.com]
