Giants Players Appear Overjoyed Gabe Kapler Is No Longer Their Manager
The San Francisco Giants fired former manager Gabe Kapler towards the end of a disappointing 2023 season, and the team's returning players seem very happy about it.
Kapler, well known for his woke political stances, achieved just one playoff appearance in San Francisco, then failed upward to a new job with the Miami Marlins.
His replacement, Bob Melvin, came over from the San Diego Padres and brought with him an entirely new sense of direction and structure to the organization. One of his first changes was to ensure that everyone within the organization that can be on the field is ready for the National Anthem, a stark departure from Kapler's disdain for the "direction" of the United States. Though Melvin says it was not a political statement, but about being "ready to play."
"It’s all about the perception that we’re out there ready to play," Melvin said, according to SF Gate. "That’s it. You want your team ready to play and I want the other team to notice it, too. It’s really as simple as that."
The players seem happy with it too.
Infielder Wilmer Flores likes the change, saying, "It shows that we’re ready to play. That’s the message we want to send to the other team. Even if you’re not playing, you’re engaged. You’re there to watch the game. It’s definitely something he wanted us to do. We’re here to play, right? I think it’s good. It doesn’t mean you’ll have a good result this season. But it’s a good way to start."
Sep 3, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler walks to the mound during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Giants Players Responding To Change In Leadership
Logan Webb also described that Melvin brought with him an attention to detail that was missing under the previous regime.
"He’s an old-school manager who’s going to be strict on that," Webb said. "I think that’s a positive change that we’re going to have. ... From the get-go, our first meeting today was, No. 1 thing is be on time. That’s just a little more attention to detail, I’ll say."
Another revelation from the story about Kapler's tenure was that he "once said he preferred texting to face-to-face interaction, even in the same room." Doesn't sound like the kind of person whose main job responsibility is to communicate with Major League Baseball players on a face-to-face basis every single day, does it?
The importance of managers in baseball is often overstated; managing bullpens, making well-timed substitutions and dealing with personalities and egos are their main responsibilities. And while there's certainly value in those areas, it pales in comparison to having more talent on the field.
Not all of the Giants' failures the past two seasons rest on Kapler's shoulders, but his managerial style, apparent social awkwardness, openly political stances that conflict with many of the league's players, and lack of attention to detail couldn't have helped. Melvin also dealt with a tough locker room situation in San Diego, which didn't work out well in 2023.
But it's hard to imagine a more obvious sign of poor results than your former players being happy to see you gone. That's exactly what seems to have happened with Gabe Kapler in San Francisco.