DENVER — The Colorado Rockies have fired Bud Black, the winningest manager in franchise history, after a 7-33 start that’s one of the worst in Major League Baseball history.
Colorado promoted third base coach Warren Schaeffer to be the interim manager, the team announced Sunday after a 9-3 win over San Diego. That victory wasn’t enough to save Black’s job after the Rockies lost 21-0 to the Padres on Saturday night. They also fired bench coach Mike Redmond. Hitting coach Clint Hurdle takes over as interim bench coach.
The Rockies have the worst 40-game start since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who were 6-34.
“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” said Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort in a statement. “While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies Baseball.”
Colorado was 19 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West before Sunday’s win. The Rockies have been outscored by 128 runs so far this season. The only team since 1900 with a worse run differential through 40 games was the 2023 Oakland Athletics (-144).
The seventh manager in team history, Black initially found success with Colorado when he led the Rockies to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and ’18. They haven’t finished with a winning record since and are coming off two straight 100-loss seasons. Colorado has a .353 winning percentage since 2023.
Black’s contract was set to expire following the season. He signed a one-year extension in October.
Black was 544-689 in nine seasons while wearing the purple pinstripes. He surpassed Hurdle last season for the team record in both games managed and wins.
The easygoing demeanor of Black seemed to be a good fit for a Rockies team relying heavily on youth. The lineup features a nucleus of Gold Glove winners Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, along with the recent call-up of highly touted outfielder Zac Veen, who has since been sent back down. On the mound, they’ve promoted prized pitcher Chase Dollander, the ninth overall draft pick in 2023.
But little has gone right for Black and the Rockies. They allowed 10 or more runs in four straight games, culminating in the football-like 21-0 score Saturday.
A team owned by Monfort and run by general manager Bill Schmidt didn’t make any splash moves to bolster a spiraling club. Their payroll this season is listed at $125.7 million and is 20th in the league, according to Spotrac, a site that tracks payroll.
One reason for the Rockies’ free fall has been the health of slugger Kris Bryant, who’s struggled to stay on the field after signing a $182 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2022 season. He’s currently on the injured list with lumbar degenerative disk disease.
Before taking over the Rockies, Black spent time in charge of San Diego. He was 649-713 in nine seasons with the Padres and was named the NL manager of the year in 2010.
In addition to his managerial stints in San Diego and Colorado, Black spent seven seasons as the pitching coach for the Angels, who made it to postseason three times and were World Series champions in 2002.
Before breaking into the managerial ranks, Black spent parts of 15 seasons on the mound after the left-hander was picked by Seattle in the 17th round of the 1979 draft. He spent time with the Mariners (1981), Kansas City (1982-88), Cleveland (1988-90, 1995), Toronto (1990) and San Francisco (1991-94). He finished 121-116 with a 3.84 ERA over 398 games.
Black was with the Royals when they won the 1985 World Series, making one start and a relief appearance against St. Louis.
Graham writes for the Associated Press.