Former Royals World Series-Winning Pitcher Under Fire As Manager Of NL Club

A former World Series-winning starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals could be under fire as the current manager of the Colorado Rockies.

On Monday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal published an interesting piece entitled, “9 MLB managers whose job status could be in question by the end of the season”. In the article, Rosenthal listed Rockies manager Bud Black as someone who could potentially be let go by season’s end.

“Rockies people think highly of Black, and so do people throughout the industry,” Rosenthal wrote.

“Hardly anyone seems comfortable posing the question: As the team skews younger, is Black still the right person for the job?”

“The Rockies made the playoffs in Black’s first two seasons, 2017 and ‘18. Since then, they’ve endured six straight losing seasons, and at 3-12 are well on their way to their seventh. Black, 67, cannot be blamed for all that failure. The Rockies seem to operate in a separate universe from the rest of baseball. But at some point, it stands to reason the team would benefit from a fresh voice.”

“There’s no need to humiliate Black, and the Rockies continue to play hard for him. But with Black’s contract expiring at the end of the season, the team will face a decision.”

Black won National League Manager of the Year as the manager of the San Diego Padres back in 2010. As a southpaw starting pitcher during his playing days, Black was the Opening Day starter for the Royals during their World Series-winning season of 1985. Black started Game 1 and Game 4 of the World Series for Kansas City that year.

Black is by all accounts a competent manager, and as Rosenthal alluded to, well-respected. 

Black might even benefit from being fired by the Rockies, as it would allow him to seek another manager vacancy this coming offseason, perhaps for a franchise better-equipped than Colorado to compete for a postseason berth.

More MLB: Phillies Could Cut Ties With $3 Million Struggling Bat Via Trade To Royals