Seattle Mariners The
Seattle Mariners selected Black in the 17th round of
1979 Major League Baseball draft, with the 417th overall pick. The Mariners assigned him to the
San Jose Missions of the
Class A-Advanced California League, where he pitched in 17 games, mostly in relief, and posted a 3.00 ERA. He spent the entire 1980 season with San Jose, posting a 5–3 won-lost record with a 3.45 ERA in 32 appearances. In 1981, Black spent time with the
Triple-A Spokane Indians and
Double-A Lynn Sailors, posting a 3–6 record and 3.13 ERA in 11 starts and 26 total appearances. Black made his major league debut with the Mariners on September 5, 1981, in a relief appearance where he faced only one batter (
Rick Miller of the
Boston Red Sox) and gave up a hit. He only made one more appearance that season, the following day where he pitched 1 inning, gave up 1 hit, and issued 3 walks. He began the 1982 season in the major leagues, primarily as a reliever. On April 18, Black made his first major league start, lasting innings but giving up 9 hits, 7 runs, and 4 walks to the
Cleveland Indians. He was optioned in May to the Triple-A
Omaha Royals, where he posted a 3–1 record with a 2.49 ERA in 4 starts. In his rookie season, Black had a 4–6 record with a 4.58 ERA across innings. On July 24 against the
New York Yankees, Black pitched the first 6 innings of what would ultimately become the
Pine Tar Incident, an incident where
George Brett's go-ahead home run was overturned to become a game-ending out because the umpires decided there was too much
pine tar on Brett's bat. Black received a no-decision instead of a loss because the game was protested, causing the league to reinstate Brett's go-ahead home run. On August 4 and 9, Black threw back-to-back
complete games, both against the
Milwaukee Brewers. For the season, Black had a 10–7 record, innings pitched, and a 3.79 ERA. On September 17,
Reggie Jackson hit his 500th career home run off of Black. Black had a 17–12 record, 3.12 ERA and AL-leading 1.128
walks plus hits per innings pitched (WHIP) in 257 innings pitched. In 1985, Black was the Royals' Opening Day starter for the second consecutive season. He pitched innings against the
Toronto Blue Jays, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run. He threw 5 complete games that year, 2 of which were shutouts. He finished the regular season with a 10–15 record, innings pitched, and a 4.33 ERA. In the postseason, Black was both a starting pitcher and relief pitcher. He started Game 2 of the
American League Championship Series, lasting 7 innings while giving up 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned). He was used for of an inning in Game 3 of the series on one day of rest. In Game 6, Black deployed as a long reliever, holding the
Blue Jays scoreless through innings and earning the
hold. In Game 1 of the
World Series, Black got the final out of the 9th inning after walking two batters. In Game 4, he started and went 5 innings against the
Cardinals but gave up 4 hits, 3 earned runs, and took the loss. Black split the 1987 season between the rotation and bullpen, intermittently moving between starting and relieving. He opened the season as a reliever, not giving up an earned run through his first 5 appearances but blowing a save with 2 earned runs on April 29. In May, Black returned to the starting rotation. He primarily remained as a starter throughout the season, making three relief appearances in September but starting in his final appearance of the year. He finished the year with an 8–6 record, 1 save, innings pitched, and a 3.60 ERA. Black opened the 1988 season with the Royals, only working as a reliever. He made 17 appearances and pitched 22 innings, posting a 2–1 record and a 4.91 ERA. The Indians went the same direction as the Royals, initially using Black as a relief pitcher. He made his Indians debut on June 5, collecting 1 strikeout against the
Detroit Tigers. In July, the Indians converted Black back to a starting pitcher. His stint in the rotation that year lasted 7 games, a stretch where he threw 37 innings, posting a 1–2 record with a 4.86 ERA. In late September, Cleveland moved Black to the bullpen once again for his final two appearances of the season. After the 1988 season, Black became a free agent but re-signed with the Indians a month later. In 1989, he experienced a revival in his pitching career, being named as the Indians #2 starter behind
Greg Swindell. He made his season debut on April 6 against the
Milwaukee Brewers, pitching innings while giving up 8 hits and 2 earned runs. In 1989, Black pitched 6 complete games, 3 of which were shutouts. He finished the year with a 12–11 record, innings pitched, and a 3.36 ERA. In 1990, Black was Cleveland's Opening Day starter, going 5 innings with 6 hits and 3 earned runs surrendered against the
New York Yankees. He remained the team's ace for most of the year, starting 29 games where posted an 11–10 record with 191 innings pitched and a 3.53 ERA. He threw 5 complete games in that stretch, 2 of which were shutouts.
Toronto Blue Jays On September 16, 1990, the Indians traded Black to the
Toronto Blue Jays for
Mauro Gozzo and two
players to be named later (
Steve Cummings and
Alex Sanchez). In the 1991 season, he was placed second in the starting rotation behind
John Burkett. He made his Giants debut on April 10, going 7 innings against the
San Diego Padres, giving up 4 hits, 4 runs, and striking out 10. He threw 3 shutouts in 1991, including back-to-back shutouts on May 5 and 10, both times against the
New York Mets. He finished the season with a 12–16 record, innings pitched, and a 3.99 ERA. He made his season debut on May 9 against the
Montreal Expos, surrendering 7 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) through innings. He threw 2 complete games, one of which was a shutout. He finished with a 10–12 record, 177 innings pitched, and a 3.97 ERA. He finished with an 8–2 record, innings pitched, and a 3.56 ERA. In 1994, Black pitched a limited number of games due to the
1994–95 Major League Baseball strike that ended the season in August. He went 4–2 with innings pitched and a 4.47 ERA. He was later signed to a major-league deal on April 25. He struggled through 10 starts and 1 relief appearance with the team, posting a 4–2 record in innings pitched with a 6.85 ERA. His final career stats were a 121–116 record, innings pitched, 398 games (296 started), a 3.84 ERA, a 1.267 WHIP, 1,039 strikeouts, 12 shutouts, and 11 saves.
Winter ball Between MLB seasons, Black pitched for the
Leones del Caracas of the
Venezuela Winter League and was a member of the
1982 Caribbean Series champion team. ==Coaching and managerial career==