Bud Black Signs Three-Year Extension with Padres
In the over four years he has been managing the San Diego Padres, Bud Black has had to deal with some less than favourable circumstances. Black has seen Major League Baseball’s all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman leave the Padres. He had to trade away star pitcher Jake Peavy. He has even had to manage through a change in ownership and general managing.
Yet somehow, Black has been successful. The San Diego Padres are currently atop the National League West standings and have the best record in all of the National League. Based on this ability to persevere in all sorts of situations, the Padres wisely signed Black to a three-year contract extension through 2013. The deal also gives Black club options for 2014 and 2015.
"There are a lot of challenging decisions that have to be made day to day; this was not a tough one," Padres co-owner Jeff Moorad said. "If there ever was an easy decision to extend the manager, this was it. Bud epitomizes what we're doing with the club, both today as well as going forward."
Solid managing key to success
The Padres, who begin a series against NL East-leading Atlanta Braves today, are currently four games atop the Colorado Rockies in the West. They took over the top of the standings in April 20, and have held their position for all but a total of three days since then. At 54-37, they have the third-best record in all of baseball. Only the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have better results.
The managing contribution to these results is all the more evident given the Padres fairly restrained roster spending. As Moorad noted: "I think Bud and his staff deserve an awful lot of credit for helping mold and guide this club to this point. Bud was always one of the smarter players on the field. It's not a surprise that he's as masterful at handling everything from the play-calling to the player transactions, as skillfully as he does.”
As a player, the left-handed Black was a pitcher for 15 MLB seasons. He has a career record of 121-116 and an earned run average of 3.84. His most prominent accolade as a player was being part of the 1985 World Series winning Kansas City Royals team.
While he is currently employed in a different role, Black’s playing days are always with him. "I still think like a player," Black said Monday. "I think that benefits me in a lot of ways. I think about today. I'm thinking about today's game."
Black was initially hired by the Padres in 2006, following the departure of Bruce Bochy to division rival San Francisco Giants. Since he took over, the Padres have been 281-297. To Black’s credit, the team was under far less competent ownership when he took over and he also had to deal with the instability that came with trading away star players like Hoffman and Peavy.
Black and Hoyer form partnership
The Padres’ current success is based heavily on how well Black and first-year general manager Jed Hoyer interact. Moorad has also noticed that and said: "I think [the relationship between Hoyer and Black] continues to be a real strength of the organization.”
Hoyer also had nothing but praise for Black. He said: “This news comes at a time when the team is playing well, but my faith in Bud goes far beyond wins and losses. He and his staff are exceptionally well prepared, he embraces the challenge of teaching young players and, most importantly, the players compete for him every night."
If Black can continue managing the team and staff as efficiently as he has through the first half of the season, the Padres can be a viable playoff threat. If Black and Hoyer can maintain their relationship and perhaps increase team spending, the Padres can perhaps even be a sustainable contender.
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