Kapler returns to Philly with no regrets
PHILADELPHIA » When Gabe Kapler says that things just didn’t work out in Philadelphia, the “thing” is a capacious term.
Players didn’t develop as the architects of a half-decade rebuild anticipated. Coaching hires didn’t work out. Modern baseball strategies that Kapler tried to implement didn’t get absorbed.
It all led to one reality he couldn’t escape after two seasons, the lowest-tech criterium of them all.
“I think that’s pretty simple,” Kapler said via Zoom Sunday morning. “Just winning more.”
Kapler makes his return to Philadelphia Monday when the San Francisco Giants visit Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series. The second-year Giants’ manager, even more subdued than usual, was stoic in describing his emotions, in the matter of a someone discussing an ex with whom things didn’t quite work.
“Mostly have feelings of getting to see some people,” Kapler said. “Been getting some cool text messages, and it’s not going to be the easiest thing with the COVID protocols and being able to sit down, but I plan on getting a little bit of time with the people I grew close to in my time in Philly, and those are the things I’m thinking about now.”
That follows the pattern Kapler used as manager of the Phillies in 2018 and 2019. For being tarred with the brush of an analytics robot early in his tenure, especially after an infamous opening series in 2018, he evolved to have a more personal touch. Now 45, he was even closer in age to the players he managed. (For evidence of his gregariousness, see his enthusiastic endorsement of former Rays teammate and current Phillies GM Sam Fuld.) Especially with young players, Kapler tried to build rapport and their confidence.
Why that didn’t translate to production on the field is a complex string of causation. As the cavalcade of burnedout prospects no longer in the bigs attests, it wasn’t just Kapler who couldn’t extract the best from them. And a hefty portion of the blame falls on those above Kapler, some of whom have followed him out the door.
Whatever the reasons, and Kapler didn’t point fingers, the results weren’t enough. He went 161-163 with the Phillies, finishing no higher than third in the National League East. After being left to dangle in the wind for 10 days, in which Kapler said he was aware of the goings on, he was fired on Oct. 10, 2019 with owner John Middleton, general manager Matt Klentak and president Andy MacPhail flying to California to break the news. Klentak and MacPhail have since been jettisoned or transitioned to roles in the organization where they can do less damage. Kapler said he and Klentak, “have talked as friends, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Kapler didn’t express any ill will to the chances he got in Philadelphia.
“I think there’s a long list of things” holding his Phillies teams back, Kapler said. “My mindset right now isn’t going back and examining rosters and trying to figure out where responsibility lies by way of example. There were a lot of opportunities to perform better. There were a lot of opportunities to coach better and we didn’t win enough baseball games. I think that ultimately is the bottom line.
The Giants hired him a month after Kapler was let go. With All-Star catcher Buster Posey opting out of the 2020 season, they went 29-31 in his debut campaign, third in the NL West and outside the playoffs.
Kapler said he didn’t know how he’d be received by fans in South Philly, where he was never exactly a fan favorite. He downplayed a question about being more comfortable in San Francisco than Philadelphia, saying he never felt uncomfortable in Philly.
With the benefit of hindsight, Kapler seems to write off so much of what transpired as the price of living a dream in in a results-oriented business like baseball.
“I feel like I had a chance with two baseball teams that were a lot of fun to work with,” he said. “I don’t regret any lack of opportunity. It’s just not how I look back on my time. Did the best job that I could every day, it didn’t work out and I understand.”