The Colorado Rockies announced on Tuesday that manager Bud Black will return to the team for his ninth season at the helm. The extension will keep Black through the 2025 season.

The Colorado Rockies announced today that they have extended Manager Bud Black’s contract through the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/KqsGVKfkqH

— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) October 8, 2024

Black, 67, was initially hired as the Rockies manager in 2017 helping lead the Rockies to consecutive postseason berths in 2017 and 2018, a first in franchise history. However, he has led the team to six consecutive losing seasons including back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2023 and 2024, a first in franchise history. Still, Black is the longest-tenured manager for the team with a franchise-record 537-657 mark over eight seasons, cementing his status as the winningest manager in Rockies history.

2024 was a difficult year for the reconstructing Rockies. After going 61-101 with one of the worst records in baseball, the Rockies are confident that Black is the only man for the job as they try to build for the future.

“While our recent results on the field did not meet expectations, we believe this team is heading in the right direction with the growth of our very talented young players,” said general manager Bill Schmidt. “Our organization is committed to giving our fans the winning team that they deserve. We believe the foundation we’re building with our core roster and our farm system, along with Buddy’s skills, experience and knowledge are instrumental in achieving our goals of playing in October.”

Black had expressed through the season his desire to stay with the Rockies, hoping to turn the ship around and get back to winning baseball. He told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post that he feels “optimistic” about the path the Rockies are headed and hopes they can pull off a turnaround like the Royals who lost 106 games last season and are in the playoffs this season.

However, he’s well aware of the challenges facing the club.

“The consistency of the starting pitching has to be there … and our pitching was not that, especially earlier in the year,” Black said. “It was too variable and didn’t lead to stretches of good pitching that would have enabled us to win some games.

“Offensively? We’ve talked about it ad nauseam. The strikeouts? We’ve talked about that. We need better contact. Maybe the roster changes. Maybe. But if a lot of the guys who are here come back, they have to cut the strikeouts down.”

Black was instrumental in the development of current Rockies starters Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and Antonio Senzatela while inheriting an established lineup featuring Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, D.J. LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon but the team has struggled to develop talent since then.

There was reason for optimism in 2024 with the growth of players like Brenton Doyle, Ezequiel Tovar and Michael Toglia, but the team still needs better production from key figures in the lineup. Strikeouts continue to plague the team as do their lackluster power numbers.

The bullpen featured plenty of youthful arms near the end of the season that showed promise while there are a slew of starting pitchers aiming to contribute in 2025. Ryan Feltner was excellent in his final 15 starts while Freeland showed a return to form and the team saw the returns of Marquez and Senzatela from injury. Still, there are plenty of questions about the status of the team going forward.

Black’s overall managerial record stands at 1,186-1,362, placing him 48th all-time in Major League Baseball history. Among active managers, he ranks fourth. His accolades include the 2010 National League Manager of the Year award, earned during his stint with the San Diego Padres.

The team also announced that bullpen coach Reid Cornelius and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere will not be returning for 2025.