SAN DIEGO -- It wasn't just a matter of convenience that moved Bud Black to meet each of the 57 players who walked into the Padres Spring Training facility in February, though it made perfectly good sense for a first-year manager.

As it turned out, Black had ulterior motives on his mind, ones that extended far beyond a simple handshake with each player, a pat on the back and a hospitable glad-to-have-you-here kind of smile.

Instead, Black made it a point to get to know his players and not just in an I-was-flipping-through-the-media-guide kind of way, but by asking questions. A lot of questions. No one was spared, not even the wide-eyed rookies who didn't factor in the Padres' plans for 2007.

"For me, that was important because that's just the way I am," Black said. "I want to get to know people. In Spring Training, one of my single-most priorities was to get to know the players and have them get to know me. How do you get to know them? You talk to them ... about anything."

Anything and everything.

Black heard about how third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff liked camping, so he asked him to demonstrate how to start a fire without matches or lighter fluid -- right in the middle of the clubhouse.

When Black found out that Minor League catcher Nick Hundley played the guitar, Black asked him to perform pitcher Trevor Hoffman's entrance song, "Hells Bells," acoustically in front of his teammates. There was a fly-fishing casting contest and also a free-throw shooting contest.

And while it's difficult to equate Black's feel-good camp with on-field performance, this much is undisputable: No other Major League team with a first-year manager has won more games so far as Black's Padres, who took a 12-9 record into Thursday's series finale in Arizona.

Yes, Black's team-building exercises did much more than break up the monotony of six weeks of Spring Training. But in the words of his players and staff, they established a sense of togetherness and, by most accounts, galvanized the team, making them firms believers in "Buddy Ball."

"He cares about what kind of person they are, besides what kind of players they are," said Padres first-base coach and Black's longtime friend Bobby Meacham. "That's key. If the players like that and appreciate that about you, they will go after it differently. Not so much because they want to win for him, but because they get a sense that we are all in this together and we all care about each other."

With the first month of the season quickly drawing to a close, Black sits behind his desk in the manager's office pouring over box scores from the night before, an all-too-familiar exercise for him. He goes over some scouting reports, stealing a peek at a game on the television.

He's settling into a routine, his routine.

Black's been asked countless times about making the adjustment from being a longtime pitching coach with the Angels -- he spent seven seasons as manager Mike Scioscia's right-hand man in Anaheim -- to being charged with 25 players, a staff of coaches and those other peripheral duties that go along with being a manager.

"The day-to-day duties are much different, but I haven't been surprised or overwhelmed because I have been observant and cognizant of what managers do," Black said. "I have watched Mike really closely the last couple of years and other managers. Most of us in this game are very observant of what's going on around us."

Black's first month has, by all accounts, gone smoothly.

He's got that whole double-switch thing down, something he never had to worry about in the American League. He's allowed pitching coach Darren Balsley to handle the pitchers, though the two keep up a continuous dialog. Black has showed faith in Kouzmanoff, even when he has struggled at the plate early this season.

It's almost as as if Black has done this before.

"What I have noticed about him is that he's very calm and collected during crunch time in games," San Diego catcher Rob Bowen said. "That shows a lot of poise for a first-year manager. Late in games, you don't see a lot of eagerness or panic. He's real calm. It looks like he's been doing this for years."

Make no mistake, Black walked into a pretty good situation with the Padres, a team that has won the last two National League West titles. His transition was made that much easier when the team decided to retain nearly all of the staff from 2006, including Balsley and hitting coach Merv Rettenmund.

"In regards to Darren, he's been here for four years and he's done a great job of handling pitchers, teaching and getting the most out of them and him also knowing the National League," Black said. "Merv, also, is a longtime instructor who is highly regarded. ... In that regard, having this staff has been extremely advantageous."

So has, according to players, having a manager who handles them as professionals, but is not afraid to throw an arm around a struggling player's shoulder and tell him he'll be OK.

Consider Black's hands-on managerial style a mishmash of things he has taken not only from his time with Scioscia but from the managers that he played for -- like picking up on the patience Dick Howser displayed, the enthusiasm of Roger Craig, the we-are-all-in-this-together battle cry of Dusty Baker and the knowledge of the game that Cito Gaston had.

"The main thing that's stood out to me is that he's always looking for the positive," said Padres left fielder Terrmel Sledge. "He's behind his players and you can tell he realizes how important good team chemistry is. So many times, he has told me to relax and play just like I'm in college. It's nice to know you have your leader behind you 110 percent."

Black's officially been on the job since he was hired to replace Bruce Bochy in November, though his players were mostly strangers to him until Spring Training started. That's not the case anymore, though. The season is a month old and the manager already seems to have the pulse of the team and much, much more.

"I think in this era, communication with the players is extremely important," Black said. "I think that the modern player has evolved to one that is more curious and wants more information. Generations ago, I don't think it was like that or it wasn't part of the baseball culture. You were a player and you did as you're told. Those days are long gone."