Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington Clarified Team Position on Clint Hurdle’s September Callup Comments

Sometimes we read things that are a day late, and can misguide Pittsburgh Pirates fans.  Always being a civic do-gooder, we are here to clear up something that David Todd wrote at Bucs Dugout about Neal Huntington and comments Clint Hurdle made about  September callups from AAA Indianapolis.

"“In my rookie year, if you got a call-up, you  made $5,000 or $6,000 (in September),” said Hurdle, who made his big  league debut in 1977.“Now you’re talking about making $75,000. So if  you call up 10 guys, you’re picking up $750,000 in salary and  everything that goes with it.”"

Listening to Neal Huntington’s Radio Show Sunday, Greg Brown addressed it head on and asked if September callups are tied to money.  The Pirates GM cleared away what Hurdle had said with a polite “all due respect to Clint,” comment.   Brown wanted to be clear that money was not going to influence what the Pirates would do.

Huntington came out and said what we really wanted to hear.

"The September call up difference will be that we give 99 percent to Pittsburgh.   All apologies to Indianapolis, but we are in a pennant race. We are going to give Clint the weapons he needs to win in that pennant race.The Bucs GM said that money involved in bringing up players in September didn’t come into play when the team wasn’t in a pennant race, and certainly won’t factor in to the equation now that we are in pennant race."

Case closed.  It sucks those comments didn’t make it in the post.

Clint Hurdle made odd comments; nothing new there.  We would have loved to have overheard the conversation Huntington had with Hurdle about it.  But in the end, it’s a whole lot of nothing.  The Pirates took away the Indianapolis Indians starting pitcher tonight in Kyle McPherson. (And what a debut it was! ) The Bucs grabbed their best pitcher in Justin Wilson, too.

What the Pirates are doing is more important than what Clint Hurdle is saying.  Or ever says.

Our post from the Neal Huntington Show is here