Nov 2, 2007 10:28 am US/Mountain
Hurdle Leaves Baseball Behind At Home
Rockies Manager Also Father, Husband
by Molly Hughes
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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Clint Hurdle (file)
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle led his baseball team to a National League Championship and World Series appearance. At home, he leads his family as father and husband.
CBS4's Molly Hughes interviewed Hurdle and his wife Karla at home before the World Series.
"I get 5 minutes, Karla gives me 5 minutes, if I have any burning desires to get anything off my chest," Clint said about his time at home before fully taking on the role of father and husband.
The couple met while Clint was managing a AA team in the New York Mets' organization in Pennsylvania. Karla was working in the team's accounting department at the time.
The two have been married 16 years and have two children. Clint said his parenting approach has changed since his first daughter, Ashley, 22, was born during his first marriage.
"One snack time a day," he said.
The down-on-the-flood dad plays with his son Christian, who is almost 3. The boy likes to play with Barbies, and Clint embraces it.
"It's all good," he said. "Hockey stick one day, Barbie dolls next. It's all good."
The manager father has a standing date with Maddie, 5, every Saturday morning at Starbucks.
"My faith is probably the biggest piece of the pie," Clint said. "Maddie's birth was a spirtual rekindling for me."
Maddie Hurdle was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome. The genetic disorder can lead to weak muscle tone, constant hunger, morbid obesity and other developmental issues.
"You know, I think we're both huge believers in that things really do happen for a reason," Karla said.
Clint said 6 weeks after Maddie's birth, he asked God for a sign, why she was born with the disease. He believes the answer came in the form of an anonymous letter.
"And I'm reading this and I'm just going 'oh, man' and I'm getting goose bumps, I'm feeling energy and I'm going 'this is crazy,'" Clint said.
He still doesn't know who sent the letter that he framed and reads every day.
"And it was about a time when Jesus returned to Earth and he went to a monastery where a bunch of Catholic monks were teaching Down Syndrome children," Clint said.
He saw it as his message from God.
Hurdle also said he hasn't had an alcoholic drink in 8 years.
"I've been in good decisions and bad ones," he said. "Alcohol was probably involved in too many of them, and I was looking forward to the rest of my life. Karla actually just challenged me."
Clint is now an active reader, loves music and chews a lot of gum. Double bubble is his favorite.
He rolls six sticks together at the start of a game and doesn't stop.
But when he's at home, Clint is back to being a father.
"And that's it and then I'm good to go because this is where I need to be," he said. "This is where my focus needs to be. I've said before, I'm going to be her husband forever, I'm going to be these children's father forever, I don't know how long I'm going to be the manager of the Rockies. So there comes a time I need let that go."
(© MMVII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Section: Rockies In The World Series
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