Bud Black always insisted Matt Holliday missed home plate. New allegiances aren’t reframing a long-held belief in the slightest.
“To this day, I don’t think he’s touched it,” Black said to a room full of laughter Monday in Denver in his introductory news conference as the Rockies’ newest manager.
The 59-year-old former Padres skipper was referring to Colorado’s winning run in a one-game playoff in 2007 at Coors Field for the NL’s wild-card, the controversial play at home serving as Black’s closest brush with the postseason in nine years in San Diego. The challenge in his first year in Colorado is guiding a pitching staff – often haunted by its own home park – that has long been an Achilles’ heel for a franchise with just three playoff berths in its 24-year history.
“It’s a different game here than other spots, but it’s still baseball and it’s still a baseball game,” said Black, who received a three-year deal according to The Denver Post. “And at the end of the day, somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose.”
The numbers bear that out.
Colorado’s staff has ranked outside the five worst in the majors in ERA just five times since its inception in 1993 and has boasted baseball’s worst staff in three of the last five seasons. The thin air of Coors Field has frustrated various front office regimes enough to abandon convention in their attempts to build contending staffs.
They’ve tried g aces (Mike Hampton). They’ve tried developing their own. They’ve used “the humidor.” They’ve even entertained four-man rotations.
Maybe Black – the first former pitcher to manage Colorado – has an answer.
He started 296 games over a 15-year career, coached the Angels’ hurlers on their way to the 2002 world championship and regularly counted pitching as a strength of his Padres clubs.
“I see the game through the pitcher’s eyes,” Black said. “I was a pitcher. I see the game that way. It’s natural for me to have an easier conversation with a pitcher about mechanics or a mindset that might aid pitching.”
That experience, General Manager Jeff Bridich said, was as much of a plus as Black’s reputation as a leader and a sound baseball mind. The San Diego State product nearly wound up the Nationals’ manager last year despite the Padres dismissing him following a 32-33 start, interviewed for the Dodgers job that went to former bench coach Dave Roberts and was a finalist this fall for the Braves job.
“There were so many people that felt compelled to reach out on behalf of Bud that it was an important part of our final decision,” Bridich said after hiring Black for his second NL West gig.
Staying in-division won’t be just familiar to Black.
Three of San Diego’s four NL West rivals are led by former Padres: Black managed the team from 2007 to June 2015, Bruce Bochy has managed the Giants since leaving after the 2006 season and Roberts both played and coached in San Diego before succeeding Don Mattingly in Los Angeles this season.
(The Diamondbacks could have made it a clean sweep if they didn’t hire Torey Lovullo over fellow finalist and ex-Padre Phil Nevin; Nevin is now ing Bochy as the Giants’ third base coach).
“This franchise, I’ve seen from its inception, from the other side, for a long time,” Black said. “I’ve seen it up close for the last nine seasons – minus (the 2016 season). I’ve watched with a lot of anticipation this young pitching staff that has come aboard. I’m excited about this group of players, this franchise, and where it’s headed.”
Of course, Black will be hard-pressed to match Bochy’s and Roberts’ success in the division.
The Giants have won three World Series during Bochy’s tenure and the Dodgers won the NL West in Roberts’ first season as a manager.
Meantime, the Rockies haven’t had a winning season since 2010, an 83-win campaign that finished behind both Bochy’s Giants and Black’s Padres.
Black was the NL manager of the year that season, one of two winning campaigns on a resume that includes a .477 winning percentage (649-713). He served as a special assistant to Angels General Manager Billy Eppler in 2016 when the Nationals’ opportunity fell through over contract talks and beat out the likes of Sandy Alomar Jr., Tim Wallach, Don Wakamatsu, Glenallen Hill and Brad Mills to manage a potent Rockies’ lineup.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado is coming off back-to-back 40-homer seasons, D.J. LeMahieu just won his first batting championship and rookie shortstop Trevor Story belted 27 homers in 97 games before thumb surgery ended his season. Where Black comes in is teaming with the front office and incumbent pitching coach Steve Foster – like he did in San Diego with Darren Balsley – to find a way to tap into the upside of the likes of Jon Gray, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Anderson while devising the best way to deploy a pitching staff at Coors Field.
“What an opportunity, I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart,” Black said of his Rockies bosses upon his introduction. “It was a great process to get to know you and your baseball operations guys. I’m honored to be the Rockies manager. I’ve learned about these men at the top of the organization and their commitment.
“It was real. I felt that through this process.”
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UPDATES:
2:30 p.m.: This story was updated with additional information and quotes.
