Gabe Kapler

At 48 years old, Gabe Kapler has this physical status:

Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975; nicknamed "Kap") is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current manager of the San Francisco Giants. Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in the 1995 MLB draft.

In 1996 he led the Class A South Atlantic League in hits, doubles (2nd in the minor leagues), extra-base hits and total bases, and was named a South Atlantic League All-Star.

In 1997 he led the Class A+ Florida State League in doubles, total bases and extra base hits, and was named a Florida State League mid-season and post-season All-Star.

In 1998 he won the Class AA Southern League Most Valuable Player Award, after leading the league in hits (8th-most in the minors), runs (6th-most in the minors), doubles (3rd-most in the minor leagues), RBIs (most in the minors in 1998, and most ever in the Southern League), total bases and sacrifice flies, played in both the Double-A and Southern League All-Star Games, and was selected MVP of the Southern League All-Star Game.

He was also named to the Southern League's post-season All-Star team, and named a Baseball America First Team Minor League All Star, Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today, Baseball Weekly, The Sporting News and USA Today, and was named Tiger Minor League Player of the Year and Detroit's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. He played in the major leagues from 1998 to 2010, for the Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays (except for the 2007 season, which — having briefly retired as a player — he spent managing the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League, the Single-A affiliate of the Red Sox).

Kapler also spent part of the 2005 season playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League.

After permanently retiring as a player, Kapler served as a coach for the Israeli national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and as Director of Player Development for the Dodgers from 2014 through 2017.

He was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 2018 to 2019, and became the manager of the San Francisco Giants going into the 2020 season.

Early life

Kapler was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish. His father, Michael, was a classical pianist originally from Brooklyn, New York who also wrote music and taught piano. His mother, Judy, is an early childhood educator at a Jewish preschool who is originally from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. They met while working in the antiwar movement of the 1960s and moved to California in the 1970s. Kapler and his brother Jeremy attended The Country School, due to their father's position on the faculty as a music teacher.

At the age of eight, he was hit by a car and needed therapy to overcome his fear of crossing streets. He grew up in middle-class Reseda, Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, where he was the smallest player on his Reseda Little League team.

Kapler attended William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He played shortstop, second base, and third base for its baseball team, hitting .313 in his senior season, and graduated in 1993 at age 17. In his four seasons of high school baseball, he never hit a home run. During the summer, he batted .350 with 4 home runs and 30 runs batted in (RBIs) for the Woodland Hills East American Legion team.

Personal life

Kapler lived in Tarzana, California, with his wife Lisa (Jansen) and children, but moved to Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, after he became the manager of the Phillies, and to North Beach, San Francisco, after he became the manager of the Giants. He and his wife, whom he met in his senior year of high school, are now divorced and have two sons, Chase Ty and Dane Rio.

Longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan—who said of Kapler "He's as smart as any player I've ever met"—nicknamed him "The Body". He is an avid weightlifter; his body fat count was reported in 2000 to be at 3.98%, and in 2012 to be at 3.5%. He was on the cover of several fitness magazines and became renowned for being the focus of an entire K-Swiss shoe campaign before he had even reached the pros. His blog discusses fitness, nutrition, health, and leadership.

Kapler and his wife co-founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public about domestic violence, and helping women escape abusive relationships.

In a clubhouse poll, it was once revealed that of the 25 players on the Red Sox, 24 were Republicans and Kapler was the one Democrat.

Kapler's father died in December 2020 from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Kapler received a prominent tattoo on his left hand to memorialize his father.

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College career

Kapler attended Cal State-Fullerton for one semester in fall 1993 before transferring to Moorpark College in 1994. After batting.337 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs, he was named First Team All-Western State Conference. In 2008, he was inducted into the Moorpark College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Kapler was the 57th-round draft pick (1,487th overall) of the Detroit Tigers in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. After being offered a $10,000 signing bonus, scout Dennis Lieberthal, father of former Phillie Mike Lieberthal, was hired by him. Since signing, the Jamestown Jammers have played 63 games, placing second in doubles (with 19), fifth in extra-base hits (27), and batted.291/.453.

Kapler led the Class A South Atlantic League in hits (157), doubles (45; 2nd in the minor leagues), extra-base hits (71) and total bases (280), placing fifth in batting (.380), seventh in on-base percentage (.380). He was a member of the South Atlantic League All-Star Team. He then played for the West Oahu CaneFires in the Hawaiian Winter League, leading the league in home runs with 7.

Kapler led the Class A+ Florida State League in doubles (40) and total bases (262), tied for second in extra-base hits (195) and RBIs (1159), tied for 4th in runs (87), while batting.295. He was named a Florida State All-Star in the Miami State League mid-season and post-season. He then competed for the Honolulu Sharks in the Hawaiian Winter League.

Kapler received the Class AA Southern League Most Valuable Player Award in 1998 with the Jacksonville Suns. He had a career-high 28 home runs and led the league in hits (176, the eighth-most in the minors), doubles (48; third-most in the minors), extra-base hits (319; a league record); and sacrifice flies (11). He was 3rd in the league in slugging percentage (.583), 4th in OPS (.976), 5th in batting average (.322), and tied for eighth in triples (6). Terry Steinbach's career of 132 was set by his league record for RBIs in 1986. He appeared in both the Double-A and Southern League All-Star Games, as well as being named MVP of the Southern League All-Star Game. He was also selected to the Southern League's post-season All-Star team and named a Minor League All Star. He was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball Week, The Sporting News, and USA Today, and was named Tigers Minor League Player of the Year and Detroit's No. 107. Baseball America's 1st prospect.

Kapler made his Major League debut in 1998 at the age of 22. He was the first Tiger since the draft was first released in 1969 to be chosen in the 57th round and advance to the majors.

On April 30, he recorded his first home run against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Albie Lopez. Kapler's 10 home runs in his first 64 games was the most fast by a Tiger rookie since 1954, and it wasn't surpassed until 2008. Kapler had a career-high 18 home runs in just over 400 at bats, third among AL rookies, and his 49 RBIs were ninth among AL rookies.

He was traded by the Tigers with Al Webb, Frank Catalanotto, Francisco Cordero, Bill Haselman, and Justin Thompson to the Texas Rangers for Juan González, Danny Patterson, and Gregg Zaun in November 1999.

Kapler was one of the first players to homer in his first two at bats as a Ranger on Opening Day in the 2000 season for the Rangers. He played in four straight games in July, tying a club record. He then had a team-record 28-game hitting streak later this season, which was also a season high. He was named Player of the Week by the American League on July 30. In 2000, he batted.302/.473 (second on the team), 14 home runs, and 66 RBIs in 444 at bats, leading to a.344 average in the second half. He finished second in AL outfielders with 4 double plays on defense, primarily center field.

In 2001, he hit 17 home runs, scored 77 runs, had 72 RBIs, and stole 23 bases (leading the team) in 29 attempts. Kapler's batted.267/.348/.437.437 is the fastest Kapler batted. He made just one mistake in 344 total attempts for a.997 field percentage, second-best in the AL, and his eight assists tied for fourth-most AL center fielders.

The Rangers traded Kapler, Jason Romano, and cash to the Colorado Rockies in July 2002, for Dennys Reyes and Todd Hollandsworth. In 119 at bats, he batted.359/.445 in 2002, while playing for the Rockies. He hit.279 and.357 with runners in scoring position in 2002, but only on defense he had 10 outfield assists.

Kapler of the Rockies was acquired by the Boston Red Sox on June 28, 2003. In 158 at bats, he batted.292/.449 for the Red Sox.

We need all the help we can get!"

Kapler played in 290 at bats in 2004, batting in 6 home runs and driving in 33 runs in 290 at bats, his highest career run in 136 games in 2004. He batted.272. He was also responsible for the team's outfield assists, and he was also responsible for six outfield assists. Kapler drove in two runs on Patriots' Day 2004, including the game-winner in the eighth inning off former Red Sox closer and Yankees setup man Tom Gordon. The Red Sox went on to win the game 5–4.

Kapler had been drafted as a pinch runner in Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the Cardinals, but boss Terry Francona kept him in the game to play right field in the ninth. Kapler was a member of a select group when the Red Sox captured their first championship in 86 years.

Kapler left Japan for the Yomiuri Giants less than a month after the Red Sox's dramatic 2004 World Series triumph. Compared to the $750,000 he had earned from the Red Sox, he received a $2 million signing bonus. He felt it was time for a change, owing to the memory of an elementary-school report that he had written about Japan. "I tend to make emotional decisions," he said. "I did it more for the life experience than anything else." "I've been fascinated by everything an 8-year-old associates with a nation far, far away" since I wrote this article. He failed in 38 games in Japan and was placed on the inactive list by Yomiuri in the 2005 mid-season.

Kapler was re-signed by the Red Sox in July 2005, just a few hours after obtaining Japanese Central League waivers. Kapler ruptured his left Achilles tendon while rounding the bases after a home run by teammate Tony Graffanino in September 2005. He had surgery, which ended his season.

Kapler recovered from his injury in June 2006. For the second year in a row, he had his best on-base percentage in five years (.340), hit.316 with two out and runners in scoring position, and played error-less outfield.

On December 12, 2006, Kapler announced his retirement from professional baseball.

In 2007, he spent one season with the Boston Red Sox as boss of their Single-A affiliate, the Greenville Drive. The team went 58-81 and finished in seventh place in the South Atlantic League Southern Division's 7th place.

Kapler said on September 20, 2007, after just one season as a manager, that he would like to return to play Major League Baseball in 2008. "I miss the fight," Kapler wrote about the decision. "I also have to be on the field as a player." Kapler's one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Milwaukee Brewers started on December 20, when Kapler made the roster.

The initial strategy, before Mike Cameron's purchase, was to have Kapler replace non-tendered Kevin Mench as a right-handed alternative to share time with Tony Gwynn Jr., Gabe Gross, and Joe Dillon in left field. Yost suggested in March that Gwynn and Kapler could have a leg up on Gross with a focus on defense.

Ned Yost, Brewers' manager, said in March, "He's been really good so far." "I would have never knew he had taken a year off." To me, he doesn't have any evidence of it.

While Cameron was suspended for two weeks as a result of a banned stimulant, Kapler made the team and saw action in center field during the fall of 2007. In the 7th inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants, he scored his first pinch-hit home run of his career for Milwaukee. Kapler began the season as the Brewers' best hitter, going 11-for-26 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.

On August 16, Kapler gave fans a glimpse of his hard-nosed style against the Dodgers. Russell Martin's long flight in the seventh innings snagging the ball to deprive Martin of a home run as he came head-first into the left-field seats. The outstanding catch helped the Brewers hold a one-run lead and also earned Kapler the Play of the Year Award, which was voted by over 12 million viewers in MLB's This Year in Baseball Awards. Kapler made a diving catch in left field robber Ty Wigginton of a hit, and Kapler ran down a blooper to center on September 6 and made an excellent diving catch. After tearing his latissi muscle in his right shoulder on a throw to the plate in mid-September, Kapler missed the last two weeks of the season as well as the NLDS.

Kapler batted 301/.448/.498, including eight home runs, playing mainly in center field, and batting.386 with a.632 slugging percentage in tie games this year. Kapler played 43 games. He was the club's best pinch-hitter, batting.323 with two home runs (the first pinch-hit shots of his career) and 8 RBIs.

Kapler applied for free service on October 30, 2008.

Kapler signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on January 12, 2009, a one-year deal. In Judaism, the extra $18 was chosen because it represented the word for "life."

Matt Joyce, the Rays' center fielder, began the season platooning in center field with Matt Joyce, who underwent offseason surgery on his left shoulder and was not able to be ready for Opening Day. Kapler struck out against New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher on April 13. Kapler then began to platoon in right field with Gabe Gross. He tied a club record held by Jose Canseco and Julio Lugo in June for home runs in four straight games. Kapler finished the season at.354 with 4 home runs in 82 at-bats against left-handers. He's almost broke up Mark Buehrle's flawless game in this role on July 23, 2009. DeWayne Wise, a ninth inning defensive replacement, led the ninth inning against the White Sox.

Despite a slow start to his career (.505), Kapler had his best slugging percentage against left-handers in 75 at-bats and a.680 slugging percentage against left-handers. 64% of his hits in 2009 had been for extra bases, putting him first in the major leagues for a player with at least 100 plate appearances (Kapler had 129).

Kapler was re-signed by the Rays on October 27, 2009 to another one-year contract, this time for $1.05 million. Kapler's.304 against left-handers, his ninth-best in the Major Leagues, in 2008-09, ranking 9th. Kap has been one of the best in baseball against left-handed pitching for the past two years," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "Because he's also a top defensive outfielder, he's become a huge asset here." His worth goes well beyond the field; his expertise and presence make him a positive influence on our younger players."

"I'm still a huge Gabe Kapler fan," Joe Maddon said in a December interview. Taking a look at his OPS over the last two years versus left-handed pitching, it's one of the best in all baseball.

Kapler was expected to platoon in right field with Joyce going into spring training in 2010. However, he appeared in only 59 games this season, defeating right hip flexor and right ankle injuries, and becoming a free agent after the season.

Kapler signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 18, 2011. He was also invited to spring training. Kapler was released on March 31, in the team's last drop of spring training.

Post-playing career

In the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier qualifier, Kapler coached for the Israeli national baseball team. In extra innings in the Pool Finals, Israel lost to Spain in extra innings and did not qualify to compete in the World Baseball Classic.

Kapler worked closely with technology startup Egraphs, which specialized on digital personalized autographs, and was licensed with MLB and the NBA from 2012 to 2013. Egraphs ceased operations in spring 2013.

Kapler joined Fox Sports 1 cable network in the summer of 2013. He appeared on Fox Sports Live from the network's debut on August 17, 2013, as well as MLB Whiparound from the program's inception in March 2014. "Saberclips" in which he discussed advanced statistics and sabermetrics used in baseball, as well as "In the Cage," in which he shared tips with young baseball players on how to prepare before they reached the batting cage. He also worked at Baseball Prospectus, a baseball website dedicated to the sabermetric baseball study.

Kapler became the Dodgers' director of player growth on November 7, 2014. Kapler, along with the Dodgers farm system, the major league team, voted to serve 100% organic food and moved junk food outside the clubhouse, making them all the family members. Kapler, who is best known for his flexible general strategy, explained his flexible general strategy.

A 17-year-old girl suspected a Dodger minor league player of videotaping a fight in which two women whom she had encountered on Facebook assaulted her while in a hotel room of a player. The accuser notified Kapler that she had emailed her an accusation. He sought assistance from Dodgers' lawyers and human resource employees but then returned quickly with a phone call, apologized, and promised to help in whatever way she needed. A week later, when the suspect was arrested for shoplifting, she reported the second accusation to police, but she did not tell Dodgers investigators that she had been involved in alleged sexual harassment by briefly putting her hand under her brace and down her pants; the accuser later declined to cooperate with the police and no charges had been filed. Kapler denied rumors of the alleged filmtaping of the assault to Dodgers workers, who did not announce it to Major League Baseball. Kapler has apologised for his prosecution of the allegations.

Following Don Mattingley's departure, Kapler was one of the favorite candidates and a finalist to head the Los Angeles Dodgers, but before the 2016 season, the team lost out to Dave Roberts.

Managerial career

The Philadelphia Phillies reported on October 30, 2017, the Philadelphia Phillies' 54th in team history, that the 42-year-old Kapler had been hired as their new manager. Phillies General Manager Matt Klentak and Principal Owner John Middleton said the best thing about Kapler's interview, which included people from several departments, was their level of preparation and leadership, demonstrated by his ability to connect with each one of the teams.

Kapler inherited a team that had lost 96 games in their first season, the team's sixth season in a row with a losing record. "Be Bold" was the season's theme on t-shirts that were given to each of his players. He had his second-most victories among Phillies' (56), and he went 24-38 in the last 62 games to finish the 2018 season 80-82. The 27 overturns related to his illnesses were tied for the second most in the major leagues, and the 4.7 pitchers per game he used were second-most in the major leagues.

He led the team to an 81–81 (.500) record in 2019, Philadelphia's highest record since 2012, when the team also had a.500 record. The 23 overturned decisions he caused were tied for the second-most in the majors. Kapler was fired following the season. Joe Girardi took over the team's record of 28-32 (.467) for the following season.

Kapler was hired as the San Francisco Giants' 37th manager in November 2019, succeeding the fired Bruce Bochy. In 2019, he inherited a team that had a win-loss record of 77–85 (.475).

Kapler hired three hitting coaches who were young enough to play, three Giants veteran hitters blasted how well prepared they were going into games with the new strategy, Kapler platooned whenever he felt they should have an edge, and the Giants hitters' reaction was shocking. Although the team had been ranked 28th, 29th, and 29th in runs over the previous three seasons, under Kapler, they finished 8th in runs, up from 4.19 in 2018 and 3.72. Kapler used 1.25 pinch hitters per game, more than any other manager in major league baseball, and the third-most pitchers per game (4.9). Both new and veteran players responded well to Kapler, and a number of them cited his tenacity as a factor in bucking years. He led the team to a 29–31 (.483) record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, far above expectations in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and beat the Philadelphia Phillies' record of 29–31 (.483). The Giants fell just short of making the playoffs, which they might have won if they had won their last game of the season, but they lost by a single run. They finished with the same win-loss record as the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Brewers advanced to the playoffs as they had a better in-division record. Kapler received three third-place votes for NL Manager of the Year.

Kapler began the 2021 season with 13 people who had never been on a major league staff before he recruited them, and the majority of them were young enough to play themselves. Kapler won his 200th game as a boss in April 2021, breaking the first manager in baseball history with a 200–200 win-loss record over the first 400 games of his career.

His Giants won more games in the 2021 regular season than in any other major league team (107); his team's winning percentage increased from.483 to.660); and he was one of only two managers not fired during the season (along with Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash). For the second season in a row (2.60), he used more pinch hitters per game than any other major league manager (2.60), and the second-most pitchers per game (4.7). Kapler's third all-time record of the Giants' 39 chiefs, behind only Hall of Famers Jennings and Rogers Hornsby, who both worked for less than a decade.

Kapler's players lauded him for keeping open lines of communication with them throughout the season, particularly because he used the team's entire roster, shattering the MLB record for pinch-hit appearances as he aggressively used matchups.

Kapler was named the 2021 National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving 28 of a total of a possible 30 first place votes. Dusty Baker was the second Giants manager to win the award for the second time in five years, despite pre-season forecasts that doubted the Giants' ability even to finish above.500 (Baseball Prospectus expected the team to win 75 games and debut the season).

Kapler was also voted Sporting News 2021 NL Manager of the Year as 86% of his fellow National League managers voted for him.

Kapler was given a two-year contract extension through the 2024 season on November 12, the Giants rewarded him with a two-year contract extension.

On May 27, 2022, Kapler declared that he was not happy with the country's course. In a rage, he said he would not come out of the national anthem until he determines the country to be back on track.

Kapler used more pinch hitters per game in 2022, 1.63 percent more than any other major league manager for the third season in a row.

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