Bud Black deserves better. He’d never say it, but it’s true.
Given a healthy, talented team, Black is a winning manager. He proved it his first two years with the Rockies, getting them to the postseason in 2017 and ’18, the only back-to-back playoff appearances in their lackluster history.
The Rockies had a winning road record just three times in their first 30 years, in 2009 under Jim Tracy (41-40) and under Black in ’17 (41-40) and ’18 (44-38). He helped young pitchers such as German Marquez and Kyle Freeland reach their potential. The starters’ ERA in 2018 was 4.