Hurdle happy to manage against Banister

ARLINGTON — Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he and Jeff Banister, the former Pirates bench coach who now manages the Rangers, still trade texts and e-mails nearly every day — but exchanging lineup cards Friday night was a long-awaited, once-in-a-lifetime moment for both skippers.

“It’s a great opportunity to bring closure to another part of this,” said Hurdle, for whom Banister worked as bench coach for four-plus seasons. “I’ve spent 41 years in the game and I’ve met a lot of really good baseball people, developed a lot of relationships, developed some friendships and Jeff Banister would be at the top of that list as personally and professionally.”

Banister spent almost three decades with the Pirates’ organization, beginning as a 25th-round Draft pick in 1986, as a player through 1993, a Minor League manager from 1994-98, and a coach with Pittsburgh from 1999-2014. Hurdle said he’s certain Banister brought some of the Pirates’ organizational philosophy to Texas.

“There’s things that have become important to him over time, I’m sure some of those had to do with the Pirates’ organization and things that he learned while he was there,” Hurdle said. “He’d been there 29 years, so there’s a whole big database to pull from.”

Hurdle said losing Banister to the Rangers after the 2014 season was a blow to the Pirates’ coaching staff. Among many roles, Banister was the brains behind the club’s program to control …

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