Tuscaloosa Baseball Legend, Former Big Leaguer Jimmy Hurst Dead At 52
TUSCALOOSA, AL — Sources confirm that former Central High School standout and Major League Baseball outfielder Jimmy Hurst died Saturday.
{p/p}He had reportedly been hospitalized with a brain bleed immediately prior to his death.
Jimmy O'Neal Hurst was 52 years old.
A member of Patch's All-Time Tuscaloosa Baseball Team as an outfielder, Hurst was a 6-foot-5 senior for Falcons baseball coach Norm Lacey when he was drafted in the 12th round with the 321st pick of 1990 MLB Draft.
As Patch previously reported, Hurst was selected ahead of future talents with names like Andy Pettitte, Jason Varitek, Jorge Posada and Mark Sweeney.
"I'm really, really surprised," Hurst told the Tuscaloosa News in June 1990 after being drafted. "I was also nervous when they called around [round] 5. I knew the draft had started at noon and it was starting to get late. But they had called earlier in the day and asked if I was interested."
At the time, Coach Lacey told reporters that he believed Hurst was worth a second-round pick, with the young ballplayer going on to say that scouts became truly interested after a massive home run he hit against Hillcrest.
"My uncle was also at that game," Hurst said. "When I hit that home run, he was really impressed. I also had a couple of impressive workouts, which they said they were really pleased with them. ... "They were just impressed with my tools and really high on my overall athletic ability. They said I haven't really learned the game, but said when I do then I can really dominate a game."
Hurst started in the outfield as a junior and senior for the Falcons, earning Class 6A All-State Tournament team honors and helping a talented Central team reach the Class 6A state finals. In basketball, the imposing Hurst was also a starting forward on a Central High basketball team that won a state championship his senior year.
Indeed, Hurst was praised for his power at the plate, blazing speed and an exceptionally strong throwing arm.
"I was sitting around and saying to myself, I hope I can to the Chicago White Sox or Seattle, because the Birmingham Barons are in Chicago's farm system and it is close to home," Hurst told the local media. "Their rookie team is in Sarasota, Florida, and that is not far away either."
Ahead of being drafted, Hurst was also a standout for American Legion Post 34 in Tuscaloosa and was considering attending Three Rivers Junior College in Missouri to continue his baseball career.
Nevertheless, Hurst was ultimately picked up by the White Sox and set out on a minor league career that saw both his potential and power and the plate grow, culminating in a brief stint in the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers to close out the 1997 season.
In a game against the New York Yankees that saw Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs knock his 2,800th career hit, Hurst recorded his first and only MLB home run over the left field wall in Tiger Stadium in the bottom of the seventh off of Yankees hurler David Wells. He would also double off of Wells and draw a walk in that loss to go 2-for-3 in the best performance of his professional career.
In 17 total major league at-bats, Hurst logged three hits, including the home run, with his first big league hit coming off of Andrew Lorraine of the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 15, 1997.
The Tigers eventually dealt Hurst to the Red Sox for cash and he ultimately played his last season of MLB-affiliated baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 1999 but not before hitting more than 20 home runs for five different minor league clubs.
This included 18 homers and 88 RBI for the nearby Birmingham Barons in 1996 — tying for most on the team with future big-leaguer Magglio Ordonez and led only by eventual MLB standout Mike Cameron (28).
Hurst went on to bounce around various independent leagues after his notable cup of tea with the Detroit Tigers, along with playing stints in Japan and Mexico.
Hurst played his final professional season in 2008 with the Northern League's Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, where he hit .301 over 52 games.
Arrangements for Hurst have not been announced at this time.
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