After a league-worst 7-33 start, the Colorado Rockies announced Sunday that manager Bud Black has been fired. Bench coach Mike Redmond was also let go. In parts of nine seasons as the Rockies’ skipper, Black went 544-690 over his tenure. He led the Rockies to their only consecutive postseason appearances in franchise history in 2017-18. Third base coach Warren Schaeffer will take over as the interim manager, and former manager Clint Hurdle will move from hitting coach to interim bench coach.
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 11, 2025
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Bud Black Fired By Rockies
Since the club’s last postseason appearance in 2018, the Rockies have been mired in a rebuild. 2023 and 2024 marked the first 100+ loss seasons in franchise history. The Rockies are well on their way to their third consecutive 100+ loss season, on pace to go 29-133. During Black’s tenure, the Rockies routinely were not big spenders in the offseason. Owner Dick Monfort expressed confidence in the club’s ability to improve from within, blaming the bad seasons on injuries or the club not playing up to their talent level.
Monfort clearly had different ideas than general manager Bill Schmidt about the club’s plans. Just 21 hours before the firing was announced, Schmidt said in an interview with The Denver Post that he did not believe the Rockies were at the point of firing Black. He noted the team is better than they have played, and there are still a lot of games left for the club to turn things around.
What’s Next For Colorado?
Monfort said in his announcement that the club’s play this season has been unacceptable and the fans deserve better. Monfort also mentioned that the rest of the season will be used to evaluate all areas of the club’s operation. In a historically bad season, it was inevitable that drastic changes would happen. The firings of Black and Redmond follow the firing of hitting coach Hensley “Bam-Bam” Meulens earlier in the season. If the Rockies’ struggles continue, Schmidt will be the next person to watch as a hot-seat candidate.
In their bad start, the Rockies have largely been non-competitive. The offense has been lackluster, the defense has a league-worst 34 errors, and a league-worst .976 fielding percentage. The starting rotation, after a strong start, has struggled mightily for much of the season. The Rockies, who are usually respectable at home, have gone a league-worst 5-16 at Coors Field this season. They are coming off a 1-5 homestand against the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers, with the season’s low point coming Saturday in a 21-0 loss to the Padres, the worst shutout in Coors Field history.
In what is shaping up to be the worst season in franchise history as part of an excruciatingly long rebuild, next offseason will be paramount for the Rockies. Will Schmidt keep his job as the GM heading into the offseason? Will Monfort finally look outside the organization for answers after years of hiring from within? As the divide in the National League West only grows, there are a lot of questions to be answered this offseason at 20th and Blake.
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