Bud Black
Harry Ralston "Bud" Black is an American professional baseball manager and pitcher who most recently served as manager for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. He played in MLB from 1981 through 1995, most notably for the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. He coached the Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2000 through 2006 and managed the San Diego Padres from 2007 through 2015. He was named the National League Manager of the Year in 2010.
Early life
Black graduated from Mark Morris High School in Longview, Washington. He initially pitched collegiately for Lower Columbia College. The San Francisco Giants selected him in the third round of the January 1977 amateur draft and the New York Mets selected him in the second round of the June 1977 MLB draft, but he did not sign with either team. He then attended San Diego State University, pitching for the Aztecs in 1978 and 1979. He graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in management. He was inducted into the Aztecs Hall of Fame in 1992.Professional career
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners selected Black in the 17th round of 1979 Major League Baseball draft, with the 417th overall pick. The Mariners assigned him to the San Jose Missions of the Class A-Advanced California League, where he pitched in 17 games, mostly in relief, and posted a 3.00 ERA. He spent the entire 1980 season with San Jose, posting a 5–3 won-lost record with a 3.45 ERA in 32 appearances. In 1981, Black spent time with the Triple-A Spokane Indians and Double-A Lynn Sailors, posting a 3–6 record and 3.13 ERA in 11 starts and 26 total appearances.Black made his major league debut with the Mariners on September 5, 1981, in a relief appearance where he faced only one batter and gave up a hit. He only made one more appearance that season, the following day where he pitched 1 inning, gave up 1 hit, and issued 3 walks.
Kansas City Royals
In March 1982, the Mariners traded Black to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Manny Castillo. At the time of the trade, Royals general manager John Schuerholz said the team intended to use Black out of the bullpen. He began the 1982 season in the major leagues, primarily as a reliever. On April 18, Black made his first major league start, lasting innings but giving up 9 hits, 7 runs, and 4 walks to the Cleveland Indians. He was optioned in May to the Triple-A Omaha Royals, where he posted a 3–1 record with a 2.49 ERA in 4 starts. The Royals recalled Black to the major leagues in June, adding him to the starting rotation. In his first start back, he pitched 7 innings and held the Minnesota Twins to 5 hits and 1 earned run, striking out 2 and walking 2. In his rookie season, Black had a 4–6 record with a 4.58 ERA across innings.In 1983, Black began the season with Triple-A Omaha. He was called up in late May and made his season debut on May 25 against the Texas Rangers, lasting innings and giving up 2 earned runs. On July 24 against the New York Yankees, Black pitched the first 6 innings of what would ultimately become the Pine Tar Incident, an incident where George Brett's go-ahead home run was overturned to become a game-ending out because the umpires decided there was too much pine tar on Brett's bat. Black received a no-decision instead of a loss because the game was protested, causing the league to reinstate Brett's go-ahead home run. On August 4 and 9, Black threw back-to-back complete games, both against the Milwaukee Brewers. For the season, Black had a 10–7 record, innings pitched, and a 3.79 ERA.
In 1984, Black was the Royals' Opening Day starter, starting the season with a 7-inning, 2-run outing against the Yankees. On May 23, Black threw the first shutout of his career, blanking the Chicago White Sox as the Royals scored an unearned run to win 1–0. Black threw 8 complete games that season. On September 17, Reggie Jackson hit his 500th career home run off of Black. Black had a 17–12 record, 3.12 ERA and AL-leading 1.128 walks plus hits per innings pitched in 257 innings pitched. Black started Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, but he surrendered 7 hits and 4 earned runs across 5 innings as his team was swept by the Detroit Tigers in 3 games.
In 1985, Black was the Royals' Opening Day starter for the second consecutive season. He pitched innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run. He threw 5 complete games that year, 2 of which were shutouts. He finished the regular season with a 10–15 record, innings pitched, and a 4.33 ERA. In the postseason, Black was both a starting pitcher and relief pitcher. He started Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, lasting 7 innings while giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. He was used for of an inning in Game 3 of the series on one day of rest. In Game 6, Black deployed as a long reliever, holding the Blue Jays scoreless through innings and earning the hold. In Game 1 of the World Series, Black got the final out of the 9th inning after walking two batters. In Game 4, he started and went 5 innings against the Cardinals but gave up 4 hits, 3 earned runs, and took the loss.
1986 started as planned for Black — he was once again the Opening Day starter, but he struggled against the New York Yankees with 6 hits and 4 earned runs surrendered across 7 innings. Through his first 3 starts, Black posted a 6.43 ERA, prompting the Royals to move him to the bullpen. He made his first relief appearance in years on April 22, pitching of an inning against the Yankees and giving up one hit. Black's performance improved as a member of the bullpen, ultimately posting a 4–8 record, collecting 9 saves and 6 holds while posting a 2.78 ERA in his 107 innings of relief appearances.
Black split the 1987 season between the rotation and bullpen, intermittently moving between starting and relieving. He opened the season as a reliever, not giving up an earned run through his first 5 appearances but blowing a save with 2 earned runs on April 29. In May, Black returned to the starting rotation. He primarily remained as a starter throughout the season, making three relief appearances in September but starting in his final appearance of the year. He finished the year with an 8–6 record, 1 save, innings pitched, and a 3.60 ERA.
Black opened the 1988 season with the Royals, only working as a reliever. He made 17 appearances and pitched 22 innings, posting a 2–1 record and a 4.91 ERA.
Cleveland Indians
On June 3, 1988, the Royals traded Black to the Cleveland Indians for Pat Tabler. The Indians went the same direction as the Royals, initially using Black as a relief pitcher. He made his Indians debut on June 5, collecting 1 strikeout against the Detroit Tigers. In July, the Indians converted Black back to a starting pitcher. His stint in the rotation that year lasted 7 games, a stretch where he threw 37 innings, posting a 1–2 record with a 4.86 ERA. In late September, Cleveland moved Black to the bullpen once again for his final two appearances of the season.After the 1988 season, Black became a free agent but re-signed with the Indians a month later. In 1989, he experienced a revival in his pitching career, being named as the Indians #2 starter behind Greg Swindell. He made his season debut on April 6 against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching innings while giving up 8 hits and 2 earned runs. In 1989, Black pitched 6 complete games, 3 of which were shutouts. He finished the year with a 12–11 record, innings pitched, and a 3.36 ERA.
In 1990, Black was Cleveland's Opening Day starter, going 5 innings with 6 hits and 3 earned runs surrendered against the New York Yankees. He remained the team's ace for most of the year, starting 29 games where posted an 11–10 record with 191 innings pitched and a 3.53 ERA. He threw 5 complete games in that stretch, 2 of which were shutouts.
Toronto Blue Jays
On September 16, 1990, the Indians traded Black to the Toronto Blue Jays for Mauro Gozzo and two players to be named later. He made his final 3 appearances of the 1990 season with Toronto, including 1 relief appearance and 2 starts. Following the season, he was granted free agency.San Francisco Giants
On November 9, 1990, Black signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. In the 1991 season, he was placed second in the starting rotation behind John Burkett. He made his Giants debut on April 10, going 7 innings against the San Diego Padres, giving up 4 hits, 4 runs, and striking out 10. He threw 3 shutouts in 1991, including back-to-back shutouts on May 5 and 10, both times against the New York Mets. He finished the season with a 12–16 record, innings pitched, and a 3.99 ERA.Black spent the first month of the 1992 season sidelined due to a back sprain he suffered during spring training. He made his season debut on May 9 against the Montreal Expos, surrendering 7 hits and 8 runs through innings. He threw 2 complete games, one of which was a shutout. He finished with a 10–12 record, 177 innings pitched, and a 3.97 ERA.
In 1993, following an August 3 game against the San Diego Padres, Black suffered elbow inflammation that ended his season due to a 60-day disabled list placement. He finished with an 8–2 record, innings pitched, and a 3.56 ERA.
In 1994, Black pitched a limited number of games due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike that ended the season in August. He went 4–2 with innings pitched and a 4.47 ERA. Following the season, Black became a free agent.
Cleveland Indians (second stint)
On April 7, 1995, Black signed a minor-league contract with the Cleveland Indians, marking his second stint with the organization. He was later signed to a major-league deal on April 25. He struggled through 10 starts and 1 relief appearance with the team, posting a 4–2 record in innings pitched with a 6.85 ERA. The Indians released Black on July 14.Following his release from the Indians, several organizations contacted Black about joining their team, but he was only interested in pitching in San Francisco or Cleveland. As a result, he retired as a player in August 1995 and was hired as a special assistant in the Indians organization. His final career stats were a 121–116 record, innings pitched, 398 games, a 3.84 ERA, a 1.267 WHIP, 1,039 strikeouts, 12 shutouts, and 11 saves.