The Colorado Rockies, a team who gave us “paired pitching” back in 2012 and in 2013 hired a manager whose only on-field experience (outside of his playing days) came at the high school level, has finally made a logical move says one of the team’s former players.

“An organization that has been thought of by their fans for making illogical moves has finally made a logical move in hiring Bud Black,” Jason Hirsh, retired Rockies pitcher, told Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Afternoon Drive on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7. “I think it was a very good move. Bud Black qualifies; he is very intimate with the National League West and, obviously, he has a tremendous pitching background. That’s something the fan base has been clamoring for, for such a long time. You finally got a guy who’s a specialist in pitching. He can manage a pitching staff like the best of them.”

This Rockies have hired from within the organization numerous times since their run to the 2007 and ’09 playoffs, which has translated to no success. Bringing in Black, who has no previous ties with the Rockies, will bring in new ideas and a new voice for the players to listen to and learn from. It echoes a similar move two years ago that is paying dividends where the Rockies need it most: Pitching.

“I’m not super-surprised that they went outside of the organization,” Hirsh said. “They did it when they hired Steve Foster to be their pitching coach and I think he has done a marvelous job in the two years he has been with the organization. I think it was a great move to bring in an outside mind.”

Bringing in an outside mind will bring a freshness to this ball club. The players were used to listening to the same voices and ideas for years now and Black will bring in a new meaning to Colorado baseball.

“I think it was necessary to bring in some other ideas,” Hirsh said. “Some other thoughts that aren’t the same thing that you hear over and over. Some of these guys have heard the same voices – whether they came up through the Triple-A, listening to Glenallen Hill, some of the other coaching staff that was at the big league level before they were all let go. They hear them all throughout the minor leagues and then they get to the big leagues and it’s all the same voices and messages.”

Black managed the San Diego Padres for eight-plus years and won National League Manager of the Year in 2010. He has great pitching background as he pitched for 15 seasons, winning 121 games in his career and won the 1985 World Series with the Kansas City Royals.

Listen to the whole interview with Jason Hirsh, including his thoughts on the culture shift Bud Black has brought to this organization, in the podcast below…

https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/11-8-16-jason-hirsh-joins-eric-les-to-talk-about-the-rockies-new-manager-bud-black

Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro Monday-Friday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.