The Colorado Rockies have employed former catcher, third baseman, shortstop and a trio of outfielders as the club’s manager in its 24 seasons. But for the first time Monday, a former pitcher will take the spot at the top of the dugout.
Colorado introduced Bud Black as its new manager Monday after a lengthy hiring period following the departure Walt Weiss in early October at the end of the 2016 season.
General manager Jeff Bridich said it was a “very exciting time” for the organization, pointing to Black’s ‘extensive” resume as both a player and manager.
As a manager, Black battled the Rockies from 2007 until 2015 with the Padres As a player, he spent 15 seasons kicking around the mound of five MLB teams until his retirement in 1995.
“Buddy’s baseball resume is extensive, both as a player and a manager, and his passion is evident in everything he does and says,” Bridich said in a release. “He brings a pitching mindset, experience managing in the NL West and a competitive edge rivaled by few.”
And during his introductory press conference Monday, Black fielded many questions about the Rockies in terms of pitching next season, especially with the team’s struggles in the bullpen in 2016.
“You look at teams that win, and you have to pitch. You have to be successful. In this day and age, you can’t just out-slug teams. There’s going to be more runs scored here,” Black said.
“My thought on that is the depth of pitching staff has to be solid. You have to have 1-12, 1-13 of talented pitchers because you can’t have that weak link.”
While the Rockies starters managed to keep its ERA at 4.79, good enough for 26th, its relievers sported a league-worst 5.13 ERA in 2016.
However, Black said Monday that the Rockies have the talent on the hill but just need to put it together.
“We’ve got some talented pitchers. It’s a tribute to our scouting department, our scouts, our player development who have developed these young guys up through the Rockies system,” Black said. “I’m just a piece of that puzzle to help these guys along.”
Black called himself a “conventional” type of manager, with the belief that a strong starting rotation and relief corps leads to success anywhere, but he also championed the role analytics plays in today’s game.
“I think it’s great. I embrace it. I love information. I love the data. I like numbers. … I like discussing it with staff members, scouts, as we formulate how we’re going to approach a series and how we’re going to beat a team,” Black said.
“In simplest terms, there’s a blend that is needed as you approach a game or a series, an at bat, a matchup, that you take into consideration. It’s foolish to ignore that, and I don’t.”
Bridich pointed to Black’s experience with other organizations, like the Padres and Los Angeles Angels, as a measure of the new skipper’s worth to the Rockies organization.
“His experience, not only is there a breadth and depth to it, but it’s also the type of people that he’s been around in his career in the various stops that he’s made, both as a player and as a coach, a manager, an executive,” Bridich said at the press conference.
Black spent seven seasons under Angels manager Mike Scioscia as the team’s pitching coach, earning a World Series championship in 2002.
However, Black missed out on the postseason as a first-time manager with the Padres for nine years, garnering winning records in just two years — 2007, when his team lost to the Rockies in a play-in game, and 2010, when won National League Manager of the Year despite his team falling short of a wild card berth by a game to the San Francisco Giants.
Oh, and as for Matt Holliday’s slide in that Game 163, Black joked Monday that “to this day I don’t think he’s touched it.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
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