The first game of the post-Clint Hurdle era did not go the Pirates way, as they'd lose, 3-1, to the Reds at PNC Park Sunday in the season finale.
The clubhouse that morning was filled with music. Christmas music. Michael Bublé covers of old classics. It was Trevor Williams' idea, playing on the idea that the last day of the season always brings different emotions.
"We were looking forward to being done with this day and putting this year behind us," Williams said.
Hurdle rolled with the change in music.
"I think there's a part of every day that does feel like Christmas, and if you lose sight of that... shame on you," Hurdle told reporters before the game.
That would be the last time he addressed the media as a member of the Pirates. Somewhere between that talk around noon and 1:53 p.m., when the team announced via press release that he had been removed of his managerial duties, the Christmas spirit died.
"It's not a very good day for us," bench coach and Sunday's interim manager Tom Prince said. "... It hurts a little bit. Those guys in there, they hurt a little bit too."
In the clubhouse, even with non-Christmas playing and people packing up, the hurt was easy to spot.
"Very sad, man. Very sad news," Starling Marte said through translator Mike Gonzalez. "Probably some of the hardest news I've received, especially because Clint was a huge part of my career. He was an individual that was always in my corner, believed in me. Moments where I was challenged, moments where I struggled, he was always pouring into me, speaking life into me, uplifting me. He was huge for my career, and I'm always going to love him and appreciate him for that."
"He's done a lot of good here in his time in Pittsburgh," Williams said about "our skip."
"He was huge for me," Kevin Newman said. "He believed in me. He helped take my game to the professional level. Really gave me encouragement, advice, throughout big league spring trainings before I got to the major leagues, and he then continued while I was here."
"To be able to get to know him over the years and get closer to him," Jacob Stallings offered. "[The way he] really poured into me, especially from a leadership perspective. It's just been fun for me, a fun relationship that's grown."
"For me, personally, he's the only manager at the big league level to ever put me in the lineup," Josh Bell said. "He's always gonna be close to my heart."
Before he left, Hurdle addressed the team as a whole and individually.
"He thanked us for our heart, he thanked us for the work that we put in over the past few years," Williams said.
• Williams made two bad pitches in seven innings pitched. One was hit out by Aristeides Aquino in the second, the other by Brian O'Grady.
Those two solo home runs were the only blemishes on Williams' afternoon. He tossed seven innings and allowed five hits and two walks. He struck out five.
"Unbelievable. That's who he is. Competing, coming back after he got hurt," Prince said. "It was very good."
Richard Rodriguez was tagged for a home run in his only inning of work in the eighth. It came off the bat of Alex Blandino, his first in the big leagues.
• The Pirates could not generate any offense against Tyler Mahle in his five innings of work, but pieced together a rally in the sixth. Trailing 2-0 with runners on the corners and one out, Jose Osuna put a charge into the ball, hitting it 394 feet, but right to the wall in center.
He was credited with a sacrifice fly, bringing home Adam Frazier. Pablo Reyes followed with a fly out to left to end the inning.
• After a weekend honoring him, Sunday was Steve Blass' final broadcast. Before the game's first pitch, Williams stepped off the mound and doffed his cap to the press box, inspiring his teammates to do the same and a round of applause from the crowd.
Respect. #Blass60 pic.twitter.com/kAl1gSF4SO
— Pirates (@Pirates) September 29, 2019
"I'm a crier. I'm really emotional, and I was trying not to cry because I knew the cameras were on me," Williams said. "But I should have just let it go."
Blass, on the other hand, did cry.
"I felt really bad for him that his speech got shortened because of weather yesterday," Stallings said. "So I thought it was cool that he got a couple moments today."
• Blass was given a present before the game, too: The bat Newman used to hit his walkoff home run on Friday night, the night of Blass' final television broadcast.
"That day, as exciting as it was and how cool it was for me, I truly felt that day was for him," Newman said. "... I wanted him to have it. I wanted him to have something to remember that for."
Blass said he will find a permanent spot for the bat in his spring training home in Bradenton. Newman received a signed baseball as a thank you.
• Melky Cabrera went 2 for 4 in what could be his final game as a Pirate.
• Steve Baron, who was removed from Saturday night's game after being hit in the face by a pick-off throw, underwent surgery Sunday to repair a fractured lower mandible, otherwise known as his jaw bone. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for spring training 2020.
• The Pirates finished the year with a 69-93 record, their worst in the Hurdle era.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, Operation Shutdown II: Electric Boogaloo)
Here’s the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
That's it for the 2019 season. Thanks for reading! The first spring training game is only 146 days away. We'll have you covered until then.
THE COVERAGE
All our baseball content, including every installment of Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our Pirates page.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Reds, PNC Park, Sept. 29, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS