After missing the postseason for the third time in four tries, the San Francisco Giants have decided to part ways with manager Gabe Kapler, the team announced on Friday.
Farhan Zaidi, an executive, released the following statement:
“After making this recommendation to ownership and receiving their approval, I met with Gabe today to inform him of our decision. In his tenure as Giants manager, Gabe led our team through an unprecedented pandemic in 2020 and a franchise-record 107 wins and postseason berth in 2021. He has been dedicated and passionate in his efforts to improve the on-field performance of the San Francisco Giants and I have tremendous respect for him as a colleague and friend.”
“I know I was lucky to be manager of the San Francisco Giants,” Kapler wrote Saturday on Instagram. “… There were lots of debates and challenging conversations every day, and that’s inspiring because it’s real. I felt like I had a chance to help people grow and people helped me to grow, and I am thankful for that opportunity.”
After guiding the Giants to a 107-win regular season in 2021, Kapler, 48, did so. Apart from that incredible season, the Giants performed well.500 ball throughout his further three years in charge. This season, San Francisco was in the thick of the postseason chase, but a poor second half caused them to finish the year with three straight losing months. This downward spiral includes a terrible September, which undoubtedly impacted the club’s opinion of Kapler.
In fact, Giants owner Greg Johnson had hinted that Kapler and Zaidi would both return in 2024. In a more recent radio interview, Zaidi was hesitant to support keeping Kapler and said, “I think we’re really going to have to ask ourselves if we were prepared to sort of elevate our level of focus and play for those games that really mattered down the stretch.”
The media’s emphasis on the Giants clubhouse’s excessive laxness is likely what fueled the argument for removing Kapler.
Kapler managed the Philadelphia Phillies for two seasons before taking the helm in San Francisco. In both attempts, he failed to lead them to the playoffs and amassed a record of 161–163.
This winter, a number of teams will be searching for new managers, including the Giants. The most desirable skipper candidate currently on the market is usually considered to be Milwaukee Brewers manager and upcoming free agency Craig Counsell.
