PITTSBURGH – Clint Hurdle emerged from the dugout after the first inning and tipped his cap to the PNC Park crowd.

The former Pirates manager and current Colorado Rockies bench coach was introduced to the crowd as Pittsburgh took the field to start the second inning. He received a warm ovation from the 22,886 fans during Friday night’s game.

I’m not one to tell fans how to act, but I was surprised that he didn’t receive a prolonged standing ovation. Hurdle deserves one for what he did during his nine seasons as the Pirates’ manager.

Hurdle got the job following the 2010 season. The Pirates were coming off a 57-105 season, their most losses since dropping a franchise-record 112 games in 1952.

Nobody could make the Pirates a winner again, even if they could bring Danny Murtaugh back from the dead for a fifth term as manager. Or so it seemed.

Yet Hurdle talked about winning at his introductory press conference, a novel concept for the Pirates. He rhetorically asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer was one bite at a time.

The Pirates kept taking bites out of the elephant until they broke their streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons in 2013 when they made their first of three straight appearances in the National League Wild Card Game.

Hurdle proved to be a winner, the only Pirates manager to achieve that since Jim Leyland won three division titles from 1990-92. The fans should never forget Hurdle for that.

Nearly six years have passed since Hurdle’s firing, done in ham-handed fashion, hours before the final game of the 2019 season. Hurdle had his daily pre-game media session, then learned he was gone, yet another awkward moment for the franchise.

Sadly, the Pirates are right back where they were when Hurdle arrived in Pittsburgh 15 years ago. They are among the worst teams in MLB, as general manager Ben Cherington’s rebuilding plan remains no closer to fruition than when he joined the organization shortly after Hurdle’s departure.

Friday marked the first time Hurdle had been at PNC Park since getting fired, and, somehow, it seemed fitting he would be back on a night when the newest members of the Pirates Hall of Fame — Kiki Cuyler, Vernon Law, and Al Oliver — were honored in a pre-game ceremony. Hurdle his mark, too, on a franchise that began operations in 1882.

Asking someone to describe their legacy can be a tricky question, but I gave it a shot before the game. Hurdle was hesitant to answer, but eventually reflected on his time with the Pirates.

“I don’t think that does anybody any good with me trying to speak what my legacy could be into existence because everybody’s got a different take,” Hurdle said. “I’d like to be known that I gave it everything I had. My mom used to tell me anytime I was on the phone with her, ‘Give it everything you got.’ I gave it everything I had in the nine years I was here. The coaches that I worked with gave it everything they had, the players we had gave it everything they had, we gave it the best push we could give, and we got close, and I think people in Pittsburgh really respect that.

“We rolled our sleeves up and we went to work. Wasn’t a lot of BS.”

Hurdle’s biggest disappointment, of course, was not getting the Pirates to the World Series. However, Hurdle played a significant role in reconnecting the team and its fans with his big personality and relentless positivity.

Hurdle was one of us. He was the guy you saw in the produce section, in line at the bank, or mailing a package at the post office.

Most importantly, Hurdle brought winning baseball back to Pittsburgh and gave the fans three unforgettable seasons of unabashed joy.

That is quite a legacy.