Rockies’ Bud Black and Clint Hurdle: ‘Plenty of plenty of room in dugout for both’

Manager Bud Black and new interim hitting coach Clint Hurdle made it clear Saturday that there won’t be any bumping of heads or bruised egos in the Rockies’ dugout.

During his introductory press conference, Hurdle went out of his way to say that he’s returned to help out Black.

“I wanted to make sure I had conversations with Buddy, because I’m here to be Buddy’s hitting coach, and I want to make sure everybody’s understanding of that,” Hurdle said.

Black is in his ninth year managing the Rockies. Hurdle led the Rockies for parts of eight seasons, from 2002 to 2009, piloting them to their only World Series appearance in 2007. Before becoming the manager, Hurdle served five-plus seasons as the club’s hitting coach under Don Baylor, Jim Leyland and Buddy Bell.

When asked how he will navigate sharing the dugout with a former Rockies manager, Black responded, “Well, I navigated it with Mike Redmond. And as you know, Mike was the manager of the Marlins, and we have navigated that so far.

“And more importantly, Clint has navigated it before.  … I’m fine with it. I think from Clint’s perspective, he’s fine with it.”

Redman, the Rockies’ bench coach during Black’s entire tenure, managed the Marlins for three seasons (2013-2015).

After the Rockies fired Hurdle early in the 2009 season and replaced him with Jim Tracy, Hurdle spent 2010 as the hitting coach for a Rangers team that advanced to the World Series. Hurdle then managed the Pirates from 2011 to ’19 and took his team to the postseason in three straight seasons, 2013-15.

Tovar to IL. The Rockies placed starting shortstop Ezequiel Tovar on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left hip contusion, retroactive to Wednesday, and recalled infielder Aaron Schunk from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The club also placed outfielder Brenton Doyle on the bereavement list, while outfielder Jordan Beck was recalled from Triple-A. Doyle could return as soon as Sunday, but is more likely to rejoin the Rockies for Tuesday’s game at Kansas City.

Tovar, 23, a Gold Glove winner last season, was a late scratch for Colorado’s game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday. In 16 games, Tovar is hitting .212 with four doubles, a triple, and four RBIs. However, he had just one hit in his last 19 at-bats over five games.

“This was unfortunate,” Black said. “There were a couple of plays, over the course of this (season), where he dove, landed on his hip, and it’s bruised. He’s in some discomfort.”