“Not the Manager’s Fault,” Dave Roberts Voices Support for ‘Mentor’ Bud Black as Manager Gets Fired by Rockies Following 7-33 Start

Dave Roberts came into the support of Bud Black after the Colorado Rockies fired their longtime manager following a 7-33 start to the 2025 season.

“Not the Manager’s Fault,” Dave Roberts Voices Support for ‘Mentor’ Bud Black as Manager Gets Fired by Rockies Following 7-33 Start

Bud Black and Dave Roberts (Image via X/@DNVR_Rockies/Imago)

On Sunday, the Colorado Rockies fired longtime manager Bud Black following a poor 7-33 start to the season. Following his dismissal, Los Angeles Dodgers coach Dave Roberts came to the support of his ‘mentor‘ and backed him.

The Rockies are having a tough time on the field this year. After finishing with a 61-101 record, the team got off to a poor start this year, which saw them go 2-8 in the first 10 games. Following two back-to-back wins at the start of May, the team once again went on a long losing run.

In the game on Saturday against the San Diego Padres, the team got crushed 21-0. They did manage to break their losing run on Sunday with a 9-3 win.

However, it was not enough, and Black was relieved of his duties as the manager of the team. Bench manager Mike Redmond was also let go. Current third base manager Warren Schaeffer was named as the interim manager of the team while hitting coach Clint Hurdle was named as the interim bench manager.

While speaking on the firing of Black, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed that he was ‘bummed‘ to hear this. He then took a wild shot at the Rockies and claimed that even Casey Stengel, the legendary manager who led the New York Yankees to 7 World Series titles, cannot save that clubhouse.

I’m bummed. I’m disappointed. I don’t think Casey Stengel could change the outcome of that ballclub, and that’s not the manager’s fault.

Dave Roberts said as per Fabian Ardaya

Roberts previously served as the first base coach under the management of Black during his time at the San Diego Padres.

Rockies pitcher left emotional following firing off Bud Black

After a disappointing start to the 2025 season, the Colorado Rockies finally let go of Bud Black as their manager. His firing brought an end to a long stay of Black in Colorado. Following the news of his firing, a Rockies pitcher was left emotional in the clubhouse.

Bud Black
Bud Black (Image via Yardbarker)

Black was announced as the manager of the Rockies on November 7, 2016. Since then, he had been part of the organization that saw two successive postseason runs and some 100-plus loss seasons.

While speaking with the reporters after the game, pitcher German Marquez was left emotional. The Venezuelan international joined the Rockies in 2016 and burst on to the scene in 2017. During this time, he formed a deep bond with Black.

It’s kind of sad being with Buddy (Bud Black), you know, from 17. It’s kind of hard, man. It’s been a lot of time, a lot of years with that guy, you know, a lot of ups and downs. But, you know, it is what it is.

German Marquez told the reporters

Marquez was the one who started the game on Sunday. He pitched 7 innings and gave up just 1 earned run as his team won 9-3 and snapped an 8-game losing run. This also turned out to be Marquez’s first win of the year after going 0-6 in his previous 7 starts.

What was Bud Black’s record as manager of the Colorado Rockies?

The era of Bud Black in Colorado came to an end on Sunday. The 67-year-old was dismissed from his position as the manager of the team after a struggling start to the 2025 campaign.

Bud Black
Bud Black (Image via X/@BRWalkoff)

During this tenure as the manager of the Colorado Rockies, he experienced both the highs and lows. In his first two campaigns, the team made consecutive trips to the postseason with an 87-75 record in 2017 and 91-72 record in 2018.

After that, the team started to decline. Following a 71-91 record in 2019 and a 26-34 in 2020 (COVID-19 shortened season), the team finished 74-87 in 2021 and came 4th in the NL West Division for a third straight year.

The next two seasons saw the team fall from 4th to 5th position and collect over 100 losses. They finished 59-103 in 2023 and 61-101 last season. With a 7-33 start this year, Black finished with an overall 544-690 record in 1,234 games with the Rockies.

The Rockies will now usher in a new era. While they avoided getting swept again, they still lost the series against the Padres. They will now face the Texas Rangers in a 3-game series and then travel to Arizona to take on the D-backs.

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