Kapler voices support for Coonrod
LOS ANGELES — Manager Gabe Kapler said Friday that he supports reliever Sam Coonrod’s right to express his beliefs, which on Thursday meant not kneeling during a portion of the pregame ceremony related to Black Lives Matter. At the same time, Kapler said, he will strive to share his feelings on the movement with his pitcher.
Kapler also said Coonrod plans to talk to teammates, but Kapler did not know if the 27yearold had talked to Jaylin Davis, the Giants’ lone African American player and a strong voice for social justice.
“Sam and I have spoken every day,” Kapler said while wearing a Black Lives Matter Tshirt. “I support him expressing himself and sharing his beliefs. I support all of our players sharing their thoughts. Sam said he’s going to be talking to people about these issues more because of last night’s events. I’m happy to share my position with him.”
Coonrod was the only player, staffer or coach on either team not to kneel while clutching a symbolic ribbon of unity before the anthem. After the game, he cited his Christian beliefs to kneel only before God. He also took issue with what he perceives as Black Lives Matters’ “lean toward Marxism” and opposition to the nuclear family.
Coonrod became a national story Friday, his actions and comments sucked into the nation’s bitterly divided political conversation.
The message Kapler hopes to convey to Coonrod?
“Black Lives Matter is, to me, not a political issue but a simple statement of something I believe to be true,” Kapler said. “It’s a movement. I want to work towards ending racial inequality. I want us to promote social justice. It’s really important we amplify voices of marginalized groups and generate pipelines to increase diversity in this industry in particular.”
Starter roulette: Starting pitchers are creatures of habit. They have specific workout and throwing regimens for all four days between starts. Kapler said he hopes to have an actual rotation this season, once pitchers build arm strength to last longer. But for now, Kapler said, his decision on whom to start will be made after he and his staff assess the state of his pitchers based on who was used the night before.
The Giants did not announce Tyler Anderson as Friday’s starter until roughly 3½ hours before the first pitch. This could be the norm for now.
“I see some pluses on the side of ensuring pitchers have a routine they can adhere to,” Kapler said. “I definitely see some positives there. One of the things we’ve said both about bullpen roles and starting roles, and this is true for Tyler as well, is that if they are best suited to go every fifth day and go deep into games, we’d be foolish not to give them the ball.”