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Giants Sign Manager Gabe Kapler To Contract Extension

By Anthony Franco | November 12, 2021 at 4:25pm CDT

The Giants have signed manager Gabe Kapler to a contract extension that runs through the end of the 2024 season, the club announced. His original deal ran through next year, so the sides are extending their relationship by an additional two years.

It’s no surprise the San Francisco front office kicked off the offseason by hammering out an extension with their skipper. It’s fairly common for teams to avoid heading into the season with a manager in the final year of his contract — if for no other reason than to ward off speculation about their long-term future.

Of course, no one would’ve expected Kapler’s job to be in any jeopardy anyways. Signed to replace Bruce Bochy over the 2019-20 offseason, Kapler led the club to a roughly average showing in his first season. The Giants went 29-31 during the 2020 truncated schedule, finishing just outside an expanded playoff field. If anything, that roughly .500 showing looked to be an optimistic expectation heading into 2021. FanGraphs’ preseason projections gave the Giants just a 5.7% chance of reaching the playoffs, while Baseball Prospectus forecasted them at 75-87 with less than a 1% shot of winning a loaded NL West.

Instead, the Giants played one of the best seasons in the history of the more than century-old franchise. No other Giants’ team had won more than the 107 regular games claimed by this year’s squad, while their .660 winning percentage was the organization’s fifth-highest mark since 1900 (and highest since moving to San Francisco in 1958). The Giants led all teams in wins, narrowly holding off the Dodgers to claim an improbable division crown.

The team didn’t have the postseason success they no doubt desired, dropping a tight five-game Division Series against their archrivals from L.A. The front office surely isn’t holding the vagaries of a five-game sample against Kapler, though, and today’s extension reflects that.

It’s always hard to apportion credit or blame for a team’s success to a manager from the outside. Giants’ players no doubt deserve plenty of acclaim, with Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria playing as well as ever despite being into their mid-30s. That group has been effusive in their praise for the front office and Kapler’s coaching staff in helping orchestrate their turnarounds, though. Kapler and his staff also drew plaudits for their leveraging of San Francisco’s role players, with previously unheralded performers like Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade Jr. thriving in platoon capacities.

The Giants’ marvelous campaign has massively raised expectations for the franchise heading into 2022. Facing the potential free agent departures of four-fifths of their primary rotation, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and his front office have plenty of work to do this offseason. They’ve checked off one box early, keeping Kapler in the Bay Area for what they hope to be another few great seasons.

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Newsstand San Francisco Giants Gabe Kapler

Adam Conley Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency
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Offseason Outlook: Minnesota Twins
View Comments (104)
Post a Comment

104 Comments

  1. DarkSide830

    4 years ago

    cant let The Bod leave, that’s for sure

    6
    Reply
    • GASoxFan

      4 years ago

      True. Also means the Mets may need to wait for years for him as well, no big deal if they’re waiting 2, or 3, or ??? Years to poach from the brewers, but still. One less candidate to hear about the Mets waiting for…. maybe

      Reply
  2. Samuel

    4 years ago

    The man looked so awful working with the Phillies FO and so good with the Giants.

    Paraphrasing Mark Twain:

    He sure learned a lot in a year.

    4
    Reply
    • Gothamcityriddler

      4 years ago

      Welcome back
      Your dreams were your ticket out
      Welcome back
      To that same old place that you laughed about
      Who’d have thought they’d lead you
      (Who’d have thought they’d lead you)
      Back here where we need you
      (Back here where we need you)
      Ooops my bad, that’s Gabe Kaplan. Ahahahaha

      5
      Reply
      • MLB Top 100 Commenter

        4 years ago

        Kapler not Kaplan.

        Reply
        • cpdpoet

          4 years ago

          Hey MannyBMVP google Welcome back Kotter, you innocently missed the joke…

          Reply
        • MLB Top 100 Commenter

          4 years ago

          Get off my case, toilet face.

          (Yes, I missed it.)

          2
          Reply
    • JeffreyChungus

      4 years ago

      He stopped eating Mcnuggets without the breading

      3
      Reply
    • Milwaukee-2208

      4 years ago

      Maybe it was the Phillies internal issues and not Kaplers?

      Hmmmm

      14
      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        4 years ago

        you wouldn’t have thought that if you watched the games.

        3
        Reply
        • Chipper Jones' illegitimate kid

          4 years ago

          Well, the Phillies sucked with Kapler. Kapler leaves. The Phillies keep sucking. Kapler doesn’t. Interesting.

          23
          Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        Nah, they just needed one of dem dare baseball gene-yusses like Joe Freakin’ Girardi.

        4
        Reply
    • Jean Matrac

      4 years ago

      Samuel:

      The Phillies FO did not have a problem with Kapler. The owner, not the FO, wanted him out. The FO wanted to retain him.

      And, I’d say it isn’t what Kapler learned, though, every season is a learning experience, but indicates that the FO was correct, and Middleton let his non-baseball background. make the wrong decision.

      2
      Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        tad2b13, Which is why Mets fans should hope Cohen leaves the baseball decisions to his baseball people. As baseball fans, that’s how all of us should hope our favorite team is run.

        6
        Reply
        • Gothamcityriddler

          4 years ago

          Ceyhey, if you haven’t noticed the Mets don’t have any baseball people. Ahahahaha!

          6
          Reply
      • foppert

        4 years ago

        I think he learn’t. 2 things. He comes across as a guy that’s not afraid to self improve. I also read somewhere that he was a bit of micro manager at the Phillies. Listening to him speak this year, he seemed to be going the other way. I’d have money on some honest self analysis and a few changes being implemented after his initial stint.

        3
        Reply
  3. Cora the Destroya

    4 years ago

    Just a year ago people were scratching their heads. Now, he’s a savior. I always liked this guy but haven’t seen him too much as a manager.

    Reply
    • Bart Harley Jarvis

      4 years ago

      Give Gabe Kapler credit for learning during his Phillies tenure to allow relievers to warm up prior to bringing them into the game.

      4
      Reply
      • tedtheodorelogan

        4 years ago

        Prior to coming on is a good time to warm up.

        2
        Reply
        • Bart Harley Jarvis

          4 years ago

          Yeah, all it took was the opening series of the 2018 season and a letter of reprimand from the National League office. He’s obviously a quick read.

          1
          Reply
        • Bart Harley Jarvis

          4 years ago

          https://sports.yahoo.com/phillies-kapler-fans-upset-pitching-management-013406881–spt.html

          1
          Reply
    • SalaryCapMyth

      4 years ago

      That thought should be enlightening to all of us at how much value fan evaluation has for coaching staff.

      Reply
  4. Chipper Jones' illegitimate kid

    4 years ago

    There’s a certain intangible in knowing your manager can kick the ass out their manager that cannot be accounted for.

    16
    Reply
  5. Benjamin101677

    4 years ago

    I hope that if the giants don’t win like the did in 2021 that fans don’t call for his head. Giants have a real chance to regress a lot in 2022

    7
    Reply
    • C-Daddy

      4 years ago

      Virtually everything went right for them last season. Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re a .500 ish team next year, though I guess we have to see how the off-season plays out.

      7
      Reply
      • TonyGwynnSD19

        4 years ago

        Clearly, The San Francisco Giants regular season success in 2021 was a fluke. And like most flukes, got bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

        A bunch of 1.5 WAR guys mixed in with past Their prime guys. It’s was luck….and lightning isn’t gonna strike twice.

        And their pitching?….They entered the offseason with 4 starting rotation spots to fill ?? LOL

        4
        Reply
        • atuck_sfg

          4 years ago

          Coming from a Padres fan lol, no room to talk

          7
          Reply
        • TheWomanWithTheGlassEye

          4 years ago

          How much WAR did the Padres have to not even make the playoffs?

          9
          Reply
        • Not a clever name

          4 years ago

          Yes, I too think the Giants will regress from last year, but this will be a very different team from last year and I think a better team than the 2021 Giants should have been, I think they should be able to contend well into September.

          1
          Reply
        • Giants74

          4 years ago

          Oh my, the Birkenstock Boi got triggered again. You have such a thin skin. Everything you have ever said about the Giants has turned out to be wrong. I guess you are ready for more humiliation. LOL. I guess you’ll have to change your alias again. LOL

          3
          Reply
        • Jean Matrac

          4 years ago

          Giants74:

          Have you noticed, that when the Giants clearly weren’t going away last season, our delusional friend was absent more and more from Giants articles as the season wore on? But now, since the Giants fell short of a WS title, he’s back trolling every Giants article with his severe lack of baseball knowledge. It’s pathetic.

          6
          Reply
        • Giants74

          4 years ago

          Tad2b13:

          I don’t even think he likes baseball. I think he gets a thrill out of being annoying.

          3
          Reply
        • puigpower

          4 years ago

          Stop this fluke stuff. No one wins 107 games as a fluke. Agree everything went right, but come on.

          2
          Reply
      • paddyo furnichuh

        4 years ago

        Much of their outlook is watch their roster looks like in April. Farhan being Zaidi, I think a safer bet is 90ish wins. But a lot has to go right in terms of player performance.

        Reply
        • paddyo furnichuh

          4 years ago

          What* their roster looks like

          Reply
        • TheWomanWithTheGlassEye

          4 years ago

          Well yeah, it’s all about player performance.

          Reply
        • paddyo furnichuh

          4 years ago

          Well more specifically, I meant performances mexceeding projections.

          Reply
      • Cora the Destroya

        4 years ago

        I think they will regress but I think .500 is a stretch. I think they’ll be better than that. Posey is one of the biggest losses.

        Reply
  6. LordD99

    4 years ago

    I remember the gasbag Mad Dog Russo blasting the Giants, his favorite team, for hiring Zaidi as PoBO and then Kapler as GM. He ranted nonstop. Called the Giants incompetent. Does anyone here listen to him regularly and why?

    4
    Reply
    • Orel Saxhiser

      4 years ago

      Back in his Mike and the Mad Dog days, Russo once argued that Ted Williams wasn’t clutch because he walked too much. “Ya gotta swing the bat, Mikey. Ya can’t be afraid of the moment.”

      4
      Reply
      • LordD99

        4 years ago

        I believe that’s been his criticism of Joey Votto over the years, too. Yet, he speaks highly of Mickey Mantle, ignoring his high walk rates. I used to think his show demeanor was an act, but realized no one could carry that off. I pity his family.

        3
        Reply
        • paddyo furnichuh

          4 years ago

          The nature of sports tv or radio shows or podcast personalities is having “hot takes,” and lacking much substance. Are any of them likable?

          2
          Reply
    • amk1920

      4 years ago

      Yes but because he’s widely different from others on MLB Network. Not the usual vanilla takes. It’s entertainment.

      1
      Reply
    • Mickey777

      4 years ago

      I remember both quotes that you mentioned. I go back to his day as part of The Mike and the Mad Dog show on Wfan. I always thought he said ridiculous things to create a buzz and increase his ratings. I guess it worked as I often listened.

      1
      Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        I remember Russo from his days at WMCA, which had a small listenership at the time. The joke was that he talked so loud because it was the only way anyone might hear him.

        1
        Reply
  7. bobtillman

    4 years ago

    Like most, I was more than a bit surprised when the Giants hired Kapler.

    But, again, we learn “In Farhan we trust”.

    9
    Reply
  8. DakotaJoe

    4 years ago

    he was downright dreadful as a Phillies manager, but a lot of people learn from bad experiences and become great performers. I know that has happened in my own life. I wish the Giants well going forward, but it will be interesting to see how they do next year because it seemed like a lot of things really broke right for them this year.

    4
    Reply
    • EBJ

      4 years ago

      So how did he end up with a higher winning percentage in Philly (.497) than his replacement, Joe Girardi (.495)? The same Girardi who was 200 games over .500 in 10 years with the Yankees. And Girardi had the benefit of Zack Wheeler for his two seasons. Safe to say that this year’s NL East and NL West stretch drives showed that it was the Philly players who were the problem, not the manager.

      3
      Reply
    • njmatt82

      4 years ago

      He was not anywhere close to dreadful with the Phillies. Yes he made some mistakes but Girardi has made his share as well Lower winning percentage with Joe with much higher payroll.

      Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        Casey Stengel made his share of mistakes with the Mets. Gee, I wonder why they didn’t win like Casey’s Yankees.

        1
        Reply
      • DakotaJoe

        4 years ago

        Coming from someone who didn’t watch every Phillies inning. No he was dreadful. Taking out their star pitcher after 68 pitchers thrown and cruising, and a host of other tactical mistakes. Maybe the worst of all was his positive spin on things when it’s best to say “we played a bad game today.” The FO actually came out in public and said he needed to stop that. I’m guessing that didn’t happen in SF or you would know exactly what I’m talking about. Phillies fans hated it. And who had anything about Joe G doing a great job. All that said the Phillies main problem the past number of years was neither Gabe nor Joe. They are not developing enough players thru their system so they have to spend, spend, spend just to be near .500.

        2
        Reply
  9. MikeSadek3333

    4 years ago

    Yep–a lot went right this year—next year will be a letdown, which would be understood and expected ,with 80% of the rotation free agents and the vets 1 more year older– –just depends if they end up an 85 90 win team or a 75 win team–

    Reply
    • Bud Selig Fan

      4 years ago

      The Giants will be a perpetual powerhouse just like the Dodgers. Brainpower & money is a monstrous combination in the game of baseball.

      10
      Reply
      • sheagoodbye

        4 years ago

        In time, perhaps. Next year or two might be a blip on the radar as they straddle between competing and getting younger. It can be done, of course, but it won’t be easy alongside likely regression.

        Reply
      • Sadface

        4 years ago

        Maybe Bud Selig Fan but I think that the Giants had career years from a bunch of older players many of whom will be gone to FA. And Buster Posey retired. I don’t see really any of them having the same success even if they all resigned with the Giants.

        Reply
    • Sadface

      4 years ago

      Exactly MikeSadek3333 I think Kapler may end up like Bob Brenly, have one really good season then a bunch of disappointing ones. Well at least Brenly’s Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series.

      Reply
  10. bucketbrew35

    4 years ago

    He had no prior experience and made a ton of mistakes managing the Phillies. He’s an odd cat but I wish him nothing but the best. He’ll be picking up some hardware in the near future when he wins NL Manager of the Year and he deserves it.

    4
    Reply
    • Baseball 1600

      4 years ago

      He does some weird things like putting a ton of faith in young relievers. Sometimes it doesn’t work out but once you do it enough you get guys like Doval who imploded early on in the year but learned from mistakes and ended up being nearly unphased by the big moments down the stretch. Too bad he made one critical mistake to Bellinger in the NLDS

      2
      Reply
  11. georgebell 2

    4 years ago

    Congrats to Kapler.

    Zaidi is a top tier GM and is realistically the one responsible for the teams success.

    3
    Reply
    • RobM

      4 years ago

      He picked Kapler to fit into the system he created, so you’re not necessarily wrong.

      1
      Reply
  12. Mr. E Team

    4 years ago

    The “line change” pinch hitting strategy was innovative. I have never seen 3 pinch hitters in an inning before.

    6
    Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      4 years ago

      I think they should all hop over the dugout fence together as if they were a hockey line change, but no one else will hear me out.

      3
      Reply
  13. PadreFan19

    4 years ago

    I remember when they signed him a few years back no Giants fan had adored him. Now that the Giants have managed to become contenders, the sticks have moved. Now it’s the complete opposite.

    Reply
    • Giants74

      4 years ago

      Duh!! He replaced an extremely popular Manager. Why would he be accepted?

      4
      Reply
  14. Orel Saxhiser

    4 years ago

    In my opinion, this is how Luis Rojas will end up. He’ll be a successful manager elsewhere after two years of growing pains with a flawed NL East team.

    1
    Reply
    • Camden453

      4 years ago

      Doubtful. He’s too downtempo. Too extremely defense and pitching oriented. His teams also didn’t hit in the clutch

      That’s on the manager. The team takes on the character of the manager. They were an 86 win team with Callaway in 2019

      Reply
      • YankeesBleacherCreature

        4 years ago

        Sounds like Rojas would be a great coaching fit for the Marlins and take the reigns once Mattingly goes to manage the Yankees.

        Reply
        • Orel Saxhiser

          4 years ago

          Pitching and defense are the keys to building a winning team. You can’t blame the manager for lousy hitters, which is what the Mets had/have. Just watch. Rojas will manage again and be highly successful.

          2
          Reply
    • sheagoodbye

      4 years ago

      Kapler and Rojas don’t exactly come from similar backgrounds, and the latter had spent most of his life around the game. Kapler had far less life experience of that sort.

      Not saying there isn’t a chance Rojas makes strides if given future opportunities but I wouldn’t make a link there. Otherwise, you might as well suggest every manager who initially struggles with a flawed team will end up being good.

      Reply
  15. Baseball 1600

    4 years ago

    W.

    1
    Reply
  16. Central Valley

    4 years ago

    Congrats to Kapler, seems like a good dude.

    Reply
  17. Rsox

    4 years ago

    Outside of a championship anything after setting the franchise record in wins in a season is going to be a letdown (unless they break that record).

    Reply
  18. Camden453

    4 years ago

    Well, I think 2021 was a fluke and the Giants will go back to 78 win territory

    2
    Reply
    • Baseball 1600

      4 years ago

      Tell me you didn’t watch Giants baseball in 2021 without telling me you didn’t watch Giants baseball in 2021

      6
      Reply
      • Camden453

        4 years ago

        It’s extremely unusual for a team to have .451, .475, .483 winning percentages the previous 3 seasons and then .660

        Most of the team posting OPS+ and ERA+ way beyond previous seasons and career averages

        The probability of regression is way higher than the probability of sustaining the same production again

        Just to name two examples out of many, Gausman had a 145 ERA+ and Crawford a 141 OPS+. It’s highly probable that won’t happen again

        2
        Reply
        • foppert

          4 years ago

          I get that. So to me, the law of averages says there is an external influence positively effecting them. Is there something different that they all have in common ?

          I’m a Giants fan, so I’m going to be positive. Pretty confidant in what they have going on.

          At the the day, time will tell.

          2
          Reply
    • mjones650

      4 years ago

      Hardly. If you check out any objective measure of what a good team does, most importantly to score runs and prevent them, the Giants were one of the best teams in baseball. Their Pythagorean win loss total put them at 103 wins, which is nearly as good as their actual record.

      2
      Reply
    • tstats

      4 years ago

      It was fluky yes but the regression is prolly more like high nineties wins

      1
      Reply
      • Camden453

        4 years ago

        High 90s? Not very likely. 85-90 maybe, but probably not

        Of course they could still be good but it’s incredibly fluky to jump to 107 wins from 77 territory without major amount of high end prospect and free agent additions

        Gausman and Desclafani are both likely to regress, as well as much of the lineup

        3
        Reply
        • RobM

          4 years ago

          The 107 wins is definitely a fluke. They were a good team, but you never predict 107 wins. The Dodgers are more likely to repeat their 106-win season because it more closely matches their projected roster talent, yet even they will have a very difficult time replicating that. Always bet the under on 100 wins, no matter how good the team looks.

          1
          Reply
        • Orel Saxhiser

          4 years ago

          The Dodgers’ roster will look quite a bit different in 2022. Still an excellent team but winning 106 games in an unreasonable expectation. Winning 100 in MLB is hard.

          4
          Reply
        • MLB Top 100 Commenter

          4 years ago

          I agree. The smart money is that no team in NL West will win 100 in 2022.

          1
          Reply
        • tstats

          4 years ago

          Guas and Disco won’t be on the team

          Reply
  19. mjones650

    4 years ago

    This contract is well deserved. Kapler is a genuinely good manager, is well expected by his players and manages his bullpen well. He makes the team better, it’s a good signing.

    3
    Reply
  20. dodger1958

    4 years ago

    Wow that came out of the blue.

    Reply
  21. Central Valley

    4 years ago

    I hope Farhan Zaidi takes full advantage of the Oakland A’s fire sell, because I’d like to see a couple of their players on the Giants roster next year.

    2
    Reply
    • RobM

      4 years ago

      I’m asking this as someone outside the market, but do the two teams ever make trades? For example, the Yankees and Mets rarely trade, and when they do, it’s usually smaller pieces. Does that same dynamic exist with these two teams?

      Reply
      • BRUH.SF.BRUH

        4 years ago

        @Rob not typically, but Frahan got his start with the A’s, so maybe that connection can “Bridge” the gap?

        2
        Reply
        • scottn59c

          4 years ago

          No precedent there. Plus, why would Farhan trade away from one of the best farms when he could just go buy whatever he wants on the free agent market? I don’t see the two teams as logical trade partners.

          Reply
  22. foppert

    4 years ago

    As indicated in the article, Giants players were extremely consistent in immediately referring to the coaches this year. Buster Posey was asked twice in his retirement presser about his performance this year. and Both times, immediately referred to the coaches. You watch enough Giant player interviews

    3
    Reply
    • foppert

      4 years ago

      player interviews…..and you can’t help but think they have something different going on.
      Also the fact so many of them were better than expected. 10 of them do it. Probably a fluke. All but 1 or 2 of them…..got to be something the club is doing.

      My fearless prediction. More of the same for the 2022 Giants.

      2
      Reply
  23. Jean Matrac

    4 years ago

    When Kapler was hired I had an open mind. I figured if FZ wanted him he couldn’t be that bad. Kapler, like FZ, is very analytics driven. I read that FZ is very happy with how Kapler employs the data that’s given to him.

    As to the comments that he was a horrible manager in Philly, I have to take that with a grain of salt, if not the entire shaker. Managers don’t go from being horrible to successful like that.

    When fans say he makes bad in game decisions, what they really mean is they would have made a different one. The problem with that is most fans don’t have nearly the same amount of info that the manager has.

    Here’s an example: Many Giants fans were up in arms when Bochy took Romo out of a game against the Cards, after Romo easily retired the previous two batters. There were men on base, and up next was Yadier Molina. Fans raged that Romo was throwing well, and had the platoon advantage. What those claiming Bochy made a bad call didn’t know was that Molina raked against Romo. Not sure of the exact numbers, but he was something 5 for 8 with a HR and a couple of 2Bs.

    So forgive me if some guy in Philadelphia writes that Kapler made bad moves, and I don’t take his word for it. Especially after watching him for 222 games.

    2
    Reply
    • sheagoodbye

      4 years ago

      So you don’t take the word of the folks who actually watched him manage in Philly, but do take your own based on events of what happened after his tenure there. Makes sense.

      I can only speak as a Mets fan who had limited access to watching him as well as generally following along with what the Phillies were up to but I got the sense that Kapler’s biggest issue was that his mistakes were so loud and obvious rather than him being a bad manager on a consistent basis. When he screwed up, it was mistakes you wouldn’t even see the bad managers make. Completely nonsensical substitutions patterns for his starters. Comically bad decisions irrespective of the circumstances. To me, he looked like a guy hitting full throttle on analytics while losing track of literally everything else, and a guy who really could have benefited from more managerial experience. He was clearly overwhelmed in his position. Of course, I could be off on most of this.

      My semi-educated guess is that he learned some from those experiences and came to find a better balance between the two sides while also clamping down on the brain farts. And we have to remember that being a baseball manager isn’t exactly rocket science, a field where such seemingly rapid progress would not be possible in such a short amount of time.

      I think part of the problem is many people, let alone baseball managers, are not capable of introspection and, thus, real growth. Individuals who are capable of it stand a much better chance of making significant non-superficial strides in whatever it is that they are working toward. Kapler would seem to possibly fall in that camp.

      That all said, you’re not wrong in that most fans aren’t great evaluators of decision-making since they tend to play the hindsight is 20-20 game; I am not one of those fans for what that’s worth. Good or bad decisions are made in the moment based on the available data at the time rather than once the results would come in, the latter of which should only be as a trigger for review and reanalysis of the original decision-making process. As you said, we aren’t privy to the same number of stats as the managers themselves—I really wish more beat reporters would press them for the specific analytics that went into certain decisions—but there are still times where I think it’s fair to question specific decisions based on what would be available to us.

      In any event, Kapler looks to be a different breed of manager now, though I suspect the entire Giants team—Kapler included—will be in for some significant regression next season. The more important question is how much?

      2
      Reply
      • Jean Matrac

        4 years ago

        So you say two years ago he was a manager that made a lot of mistakes, because some fans said so, but now a he’s a candidate for MoY, because he saw the error of his ways? Makes sense.

        Other than twisting my words maybe look at what I really said. Based on what I’ve seen watching Kapler for 2 seasons, and seeing his success, it would be stupid of me to simply accept somebody’s word that he made a lot of in game mistakes.

        And FZ, one of the smartest people in the game, hired a guy that made obvious, stupid mistakes that even the most casual fan could recognize? How about some specific examples of those “out loud” mistakes. I won’t take your word any more than I will some stranger in Philly claiming Kapler is bad manager.

        I’m not trying to be belligerent. I can see you have thought through some of the things I brought up. But, to me, it defies logic that, were Kapler as bad as some say he was, that he has now completely remade himself, and has suddenly become smart.

        1
        Reply
        • sheagoodbye

          4 years ago

          “So you say two years ago he was a manager that made a lot of mistakes, because some fans said so, but now a he’s a candidate for MoY, because he saw the error of his ways? Makes sense.”

          Quote where I based my opinion on the opinions of “some fans”. And everyone knows the MoY award is about the most useless award there is. You could be a poor manager, but if your players or front office exceed expectations you’ll be in the running for it and vice-versa. The only way to measure a manager’s abilities would consist of being a level-headed and rationale fan who watches most of the games.

          “Based on what I’ve seen watching Kapler for 2 seasons, and seeing his success, it would be stupid of me to simply accept somebody’s word that he made a lot of in game mistakes.”

          Good point. I do think it’s entirely fair to be skeptical of what was written about him, particularly knowing how the media can be, but you sound a little less skeptical and a little more sure that they are wrong. If you want to know the truth, maybe interact with a moderate sample size of Phillies fans who watched the team every day and get their opinion. Just hit up reddit or the community here while trying to avoid the haters. I’m certainly not to be trusted either, but I also don’t care enough about this topic to do anything further.

          “And FZ, one of the smartest people in the game, hired a guy that made obvious, stupid mistakes that even the most casual fan could recognize? ”

          One overachieving season doesn’t make FZ one of the smartest people in the game despite his arrowing point straight up at the moment. The sample size needs to be bigger to make any substantive claims there. But as to your point, FZ probably was able to see his strengths while realizing some of his flaws were correctable with additional experience and a fine-tuning of approach. I’m sure he was also impressed with the way he interviewed. For what it’s worth, I do think he is probably an upper-echelon GM or something relatively close to that.

          “How about some specific examples of those “out loud” mistakes. ”

          A quick internet search would help here. Several of of his blunders made the mainstream news and social media rounds. Relying on me and my imperfect memory for perfectly accurate details several years into the future would be a disservice.

          “But, to me, it defies logic that, were Kapler as bad as some say he was, that he has now completely remade himself, and has suddenly become smart.”

          I thought it was pretty clear my implication was that the he probably wasn’t as bad as made out to be, but that the mistakes he did make were worse than you’d normally see and garnered a lot of attention. I also thought I made pretty clear it’s not as simple as going from dumb to smart in the classical sense. Decision-making in baseball is not calculus. You have a limited number of options, sometimes boiling down to a binary choice. It isn’t a stretch to suggest an adjustment in his use of analytics, additional experience, and introspection could have lead to significantly improved results.

          1
          Reply
        • Samuel

          4 years ago

          Terry Francona’s first managerial job was with the Phillies.

          He admits he was awful and still thanks both the owner (the late David P. Montgomery) and GM (Ed Wade) for giving him the chance to manage a ML team and sticking with him for 4 years even though he stunk.

          There’s an old adage that it’s best to get a manager that has been fired once or twice.

          1
          Reply
  24. MLB Top 100 Commenter

    4 years ago

    Have you noticed that managers on winning teams are considered better than managers on losing teams?

    4
    Reply
    • BRUH.SF.BRUH

      4 years ago

      @manny have you noticed that winning teams have good managers?

      1
      Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        Until they lose in the post-season. Then everyone wants them fired.

        3
        Reply
        • Sadface

          4 years ago

          Cey Hey Sometimes the fans want their manager fired even wheñ the team gets to the World Series. Lots of Braves fans wanted Snitker fired during the NLCS after one bad inning by Luke Jackson (really just one bad pitch).

          Reply
  25. chetslemons

    4 years ago

    “If you want to be your strongest, get some sun on your boys. And by boys, I mean your testicles.” – Gabe Kapler
    kaplifestyle.com/2015/08/13/au-naturel/

    Reply
  26. cpdpoet

    4 years ago

    Holy Misnomers Batman….please cue the Terry Francona comparisons….? Loved Francona, was weirded out by Kapler….As a lifetime Phillies fan….urgh….

    Reply
    • whyhayzee

      4 years ago

      Kapler and Roberts played for Francona in 2004.

      Cora and Cash played for Francona in 2007.

      Rex Hudler and Torey Lovullo played for him in Philly.

      The guy births managers.

      Reply
  27. 32koufax

    4 years ago

    Let’s go to the goat of baseball announcing. Vin’s quote, Managers don’t win games but they do lose them. . No quotation marks. Since Vince said this multiple times over his brilliant career.

    Reply

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