On October 8th, 2024, the Rockies announced that they had reached a deal for a year-long extension on longtime manager Bud Black. Most Rockies fans were surprised by this news but nevertheless, in 2025, Buddy will begin his 9th season on the top step of the Rockies dugout but many ask the question, should he still be here?
Hot Start
Bud Black came to the Rockies organization in 2017 after being released mid season from the San Diego Padres in 2015. Buddy was well respected in San Diego and long time major league pitcher James Shields was quoted to say, “The way Buddy ran the ship here was fine, we respect him as a player and as a man.” Even after a shaky exit from San Diego there was optimism after Walt Weiss stepped down as manager in 2016. Coming off 6 straight losing seasons the Rockies looked to Bud Black to right the ship. Behind the young talent of Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and a blooming Nolan Arenado, and with veteran leadership from Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon the Rockies finished 87-75, good enough for 3rd in the NL West behind the Los Angles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. This finish was still enough to qualify for the postseason and resulted in a one game playoff against the aforementioned D-Backs. The game didn’t go the Rockies way and ended in a 11-8 loss.
In 2018, the Rockies took an even bigger step forward under Black. He led the club to a 91-72 record, their second highest win total in franchise history. The regular season ended in Game 163 in a battle for the NL West title against the Dodgers by a score of 5-2. This sent them to Wrigley Field to take on the the North Siders in their second consecutive NL Wild Card game. This 13 inning affair resulted in a 2-1 Rockies win. The unforeseen fact of this amazing memory of all Rockies fans is that this win is still currently the last postseason win by the Colorado Rockies.
Smacking Rock Bottom
After getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 NLDS, the Colorado Rockies had optimism and were looking to build off their momentum from the previous two seasons. That February the Rockies started their continued positive outlook by signing star player Nolan Arenado to a 8 year, $260 million contract extension, cementing the platinum glove 3rd Baseman as the cornerstone of the franchise. That’s about the only positive the Rockies experienced that season…
The Rockies struggles out of the gate ended the season in disappointment at a record of 71-91, 20 games under .500. Even with the terrible finish to 2019, their was still a buzz about the team and the young pieces gaining pivotal experience during the down season. Unfortunately a world wide pandemic changed the 2020 season and the Rockies ended up 26-34 in a 60 game shortened year. In 2021, nothing improved with a finish of 74-87. The 2022 season, even worse finishing 68-94. Now the Rockies are entering 2025 coming off back to back 100 loss seasons. Coming off such a tumultuous downfall, a fresh start seemed to be on the horizon, but October 8th changed that for Rockies fans.
The Elephant in the Room
As Colorado Rockies fans let’s be candid, we are tired of losing. As the other 4 division rivals spend money to build their roster, led mostly by the Dodgers, the Rockies remain stagnate. The Rockies in 2024 led the National League in strikeouts at the plate with 1,617. This was 111 more than the next worse team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. They were also 11th in the league in runs scored and 14th in walks drawn. Pitching was even more abysmal than years past. They were dead last in team ERA with 5.47 and the only team to give up more than 800 runs. Granted some of this is caused by the thin air that makes the Rockies unique but the most alarming stat is the Rockies only converted 37 out of a possible 65 save opportunities. As a team, they had the 5th most blown saves. Saving just barely half of your opportunities is not the way to have continued success. Pitching continues to be the Rockies struggle, especially the back half of the bullpen.
The youth movement for the Rockies is here. Charlie Blackmon has retired and has given way to a new generation of Rockies. Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar are established big leaguers. Ryan McMahon and Kris Bryant (barring injuries) are veterans looking to lead this team in 2025. The rotation has had major injury after major injury but seems to be healthy with Spring Training right around the corner. The best thing for the Rockies to do, is to release Bud Black and get a fresh manager ready to the lead the Rockies.
A League of His Own
Bud Black hasn’t won anywhere he has been. He compiled a winning percentage of .477 in his 9 seasons with the San Diego Padres. He has an even worse winning percentage in Purple Pinstripes. His measly .450 winning percentage in 8 seasons is awful. He is the 4th longest tenured manager in the National League with the three managers ahead of him being Dave Roberts, Brian Snitker, and Torey Lovullo who was only hired two days before Bud Black was hired as the Rockies skipper. The difference between these three and Buddy is night and day. Roberts has won two World Series titles and 11 out of 12 NL West titles. Snitker has won multiple NL East titles and a World Series. Torey Lovullo won a National League Pennant in 2023 as a Wild Card, ultimately losing to the Texas Rangers in the World Series. In the same amount of time Bud Black has produced 1 playoff win and 6 straight losing seasons. It’s time for the Colorado Rockies to move on to a players’ manager that also knows how to win. Bud Black simply doesn’t know how to lead a clubhouse to victories anymore. 2025 will be a do or die year for the longtime Rockies Manager and if his losing tendencies continue, it’s time for a new leader in 2026.
Thin Air Baseball 
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