Bud Black: A True Student-Athlete
The Colorado Rockies manager, who pitched for the Aztecs in 1978 and 1979, looks back on the great education he received in SDSUs business program.
Black, who pitched at SDSU three decades before fellow Aztec Stephen Strasburg, received a World Series ring both as a pitcher with the Kansas City Royals in 1985 and as a pitching coach with the Anaheim Angels in 2002. Currently manager of the Colorado Rockies, Black earned a management degree from what was then the College of Business Administration shortly after being drafted by the Seattle Mariners.
Though he was a native Californian, Black spent most of the first 20 years of his life in the small coastal city of Longview, Washington, located in the southwestern region of the state. He played football and basketball growing up, but his favorite sport was baseball, and he spent most of his time in the sport as a pitcher.
“I always had a love affair with baseball,” Black said. “Being left-handed, my options in the field were limited, so I was a pitcher, though I also played some first base.”
The road to SDSU
After high school, Black played baseball at Lower Columbia College, a community college in Longview. During his second year, Black made a trip to San Diego to visit a friend who was a student at SDSU.Black was looking to continue his education at a four-year university and he liked what he saw at SDSU. Plus, his parents had recently moved to Riverside County which wasn’t far from San Diego, “so coming to San Diego State made sense” he said.
Black attempted to contact SDSU baseball coach Jim Dietz to see if he could get an introduction.
“I went to Peterson Gym which is where the coach had his office, but he wasn’t in,” said Black. “I wrote a note and slipped it under the door. He called me a week later and invited me back.”
After the two met in person, Dietz offered Black a scholarship to come play at SDSU without even asking him to try out. “Coach, you’ve never seen me play,” Black remembers telling the coach. “He said. ‘don’t worry about it – I don’t need to.’ He had done his homework and that’s how I came to SDSU.”
While Black was attending SDSU on a baseball scholarship, he was working toward a bachelor’s degree from what is now the Fowler College of Business.
“I chose to major in management because I wanted a business degree and management seemed like a good fit,” he said. “San Diego State’s business school was solid – there were great professors and I got a great education.”
One of Black’s professors remembers him well. Jim Lackritz, who taught statistics in SDSU’s business school for 33 years, said: “Bud Black was an excellent student – a true student athlete.”
In 1979, while still at SDSU, Black was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as a left-handed pitcher in the 17th round, but there was a small problem: Black he had a couple more classes to take before he could earn his management degree.
“I played one season for the Mariners’ Class A farm club, the San Jose Missions (now the San Jose Giants) and we ended up winning the championship,” Black remembered. “But I wanted to get my degree, so I stayed enrolled at SDSU to finish that last class and I graduated in the fall of 1979.”
On to the Major Leagues
Black was called up to the major leagues in 1981 and after playing 15 seasons, finished his career with an ERA of 3.84 and a record of 121-116. He has many fond memories of his days in Major League Baseball including his first strikeout, first win as a pitcher and his first win an MLB manager, but winning two championships are his favorites. “Nothing tops winning a World Series as a player and then winning again as a coach,” he said.At the end of his playing days in 1995, Black chose to take a little time off, but he knew he wanted to continue to pursue a career in MLB, either as a coach or in the front office. “It was a transition that I thought I would like and I wanted to stay in the game,” he said. “When I retired as a player from the Cleveland Indians, their executives encouraged me not to take too much time off from baseball. Shortly afterward, I became a coach in their farm system and held a variety of front office positions within the Indians organization.”
This experience paved the way for Black to take the pitching coach position with the Angels from 2000-06 under manager Mike Scioscia.
In 2006, Black was named the manager of the San Diego Padres, and managed the franchise for nine seasons. Black is now heading into his fourth season as manager of the Colorado Rockies. On April 3, 2017, Black won his Rockies debut, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day, notching his 650th win as a manager.
Forty years and many baseball seasons after he left SDSU for a career in MLB, Black still remembers what he learned at SDSU. He says he still uses those management skills to this day and he encourages others to invest in a college education.
“The college years are important to teach you how to build a foundation of responsibility and accountability,” he said. “It helps to establish time management skills and the great life lessons you learn to set you up for whatever career you choose.”
