The 2019-20 offseason saw the exits of the Pittsburgh Pirates team president Frank Coonelly and General Manager Neal Huntington but also long-time manager Clint Hurdle, and it was the right call.
Finishing 69-92, missing the playoffs for a fourth straight season, it was an ugly year. There was a physical fight between players that led to reliever Kyle Crick missing the remainder of the season, there was a physical altercation between a player and a member of the coaching staff. It got so bad the players enacted a ‘no coaches in the clubhouse’ rule.
It was a caustic environment and the Pirates needed to start over.