Dave Roberts watched the second in-season MLB manager change occur Sunday. The Los Angeles Dodgers skipper witnessed Bud Black lose his job. The Colorado Rockies fired Black on Mother’s Day, following a rough start for the franchise.
Black joins former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton as the newly unemployed coaches. The Rockies also make the move following the rough 21-0 loss to the San Diego Padres Saturday.
Roberts, however, feels bummed for the now former National League West rival Black. Except Roberts doesn’t view Black as a rival manager. He credited Black for helping mold him into the coaching realm, sharing that sentiment via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
“I’m bummed. I’m disappointed,” Roberts began.
He then mentioned how tough Black had it in the Rocky Mountains. Which a legendary skipper would’ve had trouble with.
“I don’t think Casey Stengel could change the outcome of that ballclub, and that’s not the manager’s fault,” Roberts said.
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Roberts walks into a championship atmosphere everyday inside Chavez Ravine. And whenever he’s around the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, etc.
Black faced harsher circumstances at his spot. The Rockies owned the league’s 20th-best payroll. Yet Colorado sat lower in the active 26-man payroll department — ranking 24th at barely above $74 million. The Dodgers are immensely healthy financially with the league’s top payroll and sitting at third for active 26-man.
Black was handed a roster with limited star power. The 67-year-old looked like he needed to build a team from the ground up. But earned little help from the front office. Rockies owner Dick Monfort gets criticized for limiting his money spending on the roster.
Roberts and Black coached together with the Padres from 2011 to 2015. Black helped hire Roberts during a time he served as Padres skipper. He won the 2002 World Series as an assistant under Mike Scioscia with the Anaheim Angels. Black went 544-690 overall with the Rockies.
Roberts’ Dodgers, meanwhile, own the MLB’s best record at 27-14 overall. Los Angeles even swept Black’s Rockies during the week of April 15.
