Black knows buttons to push with pitchers
Kyle Freeland, at age 26, was facing a career crisis.
Just a year earlier, nearly everything had gone right for the Rockies’ homegrown left- hander. He’d posted a 2.85 ERA, pitched a gem in Colorado’s 2- 1 wild- card playoff win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. The sky was the limit.
But he crashed so hard in 2019 that he was demoted to Triple- A Albuquerque at the end of May, when he was 2- 6 with a 7.13 ERA and had given up the most home runs in the National League.
“I was ( crappy), no doubt about it,” Freeland recalled.
The left- hander was shellshocked and didn’t know where to turn. But Freeland also needed a kick in the rear. Manager Bud Black’s version of tough love provided all of that.
“We had some conversations before I got sent down where Buddy didn’t really lay into me, but he was pretty stern,” Freeland recalled. “He told me, ‘ This is competition at the highest level and what you’re doing right now isn’t really cutting it. You’ve got to figure it out and be willing to accept change.'”
It took a while, but Freeland heeded his manager’s advice.
Those who know Black say it’s his ability to empathize, teach, communicate and motivate that makes him a player’s manager, and most specifically, a pitchers’ manager.
“In a lot of ways, I’m like an older teammate, because I’m emotionally attached,” Black said. “I’m cheering for them all the time, I want them to succeed. That’s a passion.
“And because we played the same position and I’ve been in their shoes, I feel like I can talk to them on a pitcher- to- pitcher level. Just like I did when I was a veteran pitcher playing with younger guys.”
“You have to be yourself”
Black, 64, has been around the big- league block. He played in parts of 15 seasons and won 121 games. He managed the San Diego Padres for eight- plus seasons and is in his sixth year in Colorado.
A résumé like that gives him cachet. But it’s much more than the numbers on the back of Black’s baseball card that has earned him trust and respect.
“We are very close,” said righthander German Marquez, Colorado’s best pitcher. “He pushes me hard, all of the time, and I like that because I know he wants me to get better. He cares about me.”
During the offseason, long reliever Ty Blach, a graduate of Regis Jesuit High School, was shopping for a new team in an attempt to revive his career. The lefthander had multiple offers but ultimately settled on the Rockies,
not just because he’s a Denver native, but because of Black, who called him during the offseason.
“That helped me decide, for sure,” Blach said. “Also, I played with ( catcher) Nick Hundley in San Francisco and he had nothing but great things to say about Buddy. He told me that Buddy would be honest and upfront. Nick is one of my best friends and for Nick to say how much he loved Buddy when they were together in San Diego, that really meant a lot to me.”
The media- friendly Black understands that he has earned a reputation as someone who has a player’s back but believes his smiling countenance belies his white- hot competitiveness.
“They say, ‘ Buddy’s a player’s manager,’ or ‘ Buddy Black’s a nice guy,’ ” he said. “But I have gotten in a lot of players’ faces, position players and pitchers. It’s part of this job. I just don’t talk about that.
“I have strategic decisions to make in each one of their starts. That’s where being the manager comes in. Ultimately, I have to make the best decision for the team.”
Honesty and authenticity are big with Black.
“There are hard truths, but it’s sort of easy to tell somebody something if it’s the truth,” Black said.
He frequently gets calls from
pitching coaches from various levels of baseball, usually asking, “What advice do you have?”
“I always tell them, ‘ You have to be yourself,’ ” Black said. “Players can see through the B. S., and I learned that very early on through the managers and coaches that I truly respected.”
Colorado’s game last Sunday against the Dodgers at Coors Field illustrated Black’s managerial philosophy.
The Rockies led 6- 0 in the fourth inning but right- hander Antonio Senzatela had just given up two hits and a walk, and eight base hits overall. Senzatela, however, got Gavin Lux to hit a groundball up the middle for a potential inning- ending double play.
Except the ball glanced off Senzatela’s glove for an RBI single and the Dodgers still had the bases loaded. The hard truth was that Senzatela was pitching poorly. Black gave him the hook.
“I know, just from my own experience, that in his mind, ‘ Senza’ is thinking, ‘ Why did he take me out? I just got a double- play ball that was deflected, I should still be in the game,’ ” Black said. “I know a lot of times guys are thinking, ‘ Why did you take me out?’ So, before they even ask me, I tell them.
“I don’t want to wait until the next day. Sometimes I will wait until after the game. I’ll say, ‘ That was a tough ( decision) for me
tonight but this is why I made the change.’ “
“I love those guys”
Having lived the life of a pitcher, Black understands the egos at work.
“I was in their shoes almost 300 times as a starting pitcher, getting taken out, or being left in,” he said. “I’ve told them over the years that there are going to be times when I take you out too early and there are going to be times when you know it’s the right time. And other times, I’m going to leave you in there maybe a little bit too long. No matter what, I try to be honest.”
Back in 2019, Freeland might not have appreciated Black’s bluntness, but he does now.
“It was tough and it didn’t make things easier coming off of ’ 18 going into ’ 19 and having those struggles,” Freeland said. “It was hard for me to face the fact that the entire league had made an adjustment against me.
“I thought the stuff I was doing in ’ 18 would carry over for the rest of my career. It was a slice of humble pie that was force- fed to me and I had to eat it.”
Though Black was thrilled with Freeland’s breakout season, experience taught Black that counterpunching was going to be required.
“In ’ 18, Kyle basically threw a fastball and a slider and everything was hard and in,” Black said. “But big- league hitters are very good and they made a quick adjustment to Kyle. Not that I can see the future, but I knew that he had to make some changes.”
That meant convincing Freeland he had to develop a changeup and a curveball and learn how to move the ball around the strike zone.
“To Kyle’s credit, the adjustments he made from 2019 to ’ 20 were as outstanding as anything I have seen in a short period of time,” Black said.
After posting a 6.73 ERA in 2019, Freeland put up a 4.33 ERA in each of his past two seasons. The left- hander’s start to this season has not been good: 0- 2 with a 10.00 ERA in his first two starts. But Freeland, Black and pitching coach Darryl Scott are working hard on Freeland’s pitch command and strategy.
“I love those guys, I really do,” Black said. “So I go through every game with them like it’s my own because I have been there and I know what they are going through.
“I’ve never had the feeling of hitting a walk- off homer. I’ve never had a game- winning knock. I’ve never made a gamesaving catch. But I know what a bad day on the mound is and I know what a great pitching performance feels like.
“That’s why I get so happy, so excited for them.”