ST. LOUIS — Clint Hurdle has fond memories of his dalliance with the Mets three years ago.
The Pirates manager doesn’t regret how the situation unfolded, but admitted to The Post on Thursday his emotional attachment to the Mets made his interview for the club’s managerial opening in November 2010 anything but ordinary.
“I had heartstrings tied to the Mets organization,” Hurdle said before his Pirates faced the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
“Having been a player there, having been a coach in the minor league system. I spent nine years with the organization and there was a part of me that definitely would have been humbled to come back and be part of a group of men attempting to put [the Mets] back in the proper place.”
Hurdle, who had just finished the 2010 season as Texas’ hitting coach, interviewed with general manager Sandy Alderson and several team executives, but days later was offered the Pirates job. At that point, Alderson still had more candidates he wanted to interview and wasn’t prepared to offer Hurdle the job. The position ultimately went to Terry Collins, who emerged from a list of finalists that included Bob Melvin, Chip Hale and Wally Backman.
“It was a great experience and great opportunity to sit down, it was the first time ever I got to sit down in front of Sandy Alderson and his group, the posse he had there,” Hurdle said. “It was engaging. Great questions were asked and you could tell their mindset. Their plan was in place, what they were looking to do, their vision for the future.”
Hurdle played for the Mets for three seasons in the 1980s and began managing in the team’s minor league system in 1988. His last year in the organization was 1993, when he managed at Triple-A Norfolk.
The following year, Hurdle joined the Rockies organization, where he was the manager from 2002-09 and led the club to the NL pennant in 2007.
Hurdle is the front-runner to be named NL Manager of the Year, after leading the Pirates to their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1992. So he certainly isn’t fretting over missing out at a chance to manage the Mets, who just completed their fifth straight losing season and third under Collins.
“You do what you feel is right in your heart, and Sandy had a lot more interviewing to do and I understood their process, they got on with their process,” Hurdle said. “And for me the decision was laid out for me, that was Pittsburgh was the place I needed to go where I felt I could make a bigger impact. You never know going in, but it has worked out well for everybody involved.”