@SFGiants photo: San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler joins the Giants as this will be his second team after managing the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 and 2019
By Jeremy Kahn
SAN FRANCISCO — When the weekend began, San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was trying to set the table for the foreseeable future.
Zaidi cleared one plate, as he hired Chicago Cubs Assistant General Manager Scott Harris to replace Bobby Evans, who let go during the 2018 season and now he set another place at the table with the naming of former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler as the teams next manager.
“Our top priority in the next manager was to find someone who can build strong relationships with our players, coaches, front office and fans, and someone who has the drive and desire to win,” Zaidi said in a statement. “… In my personal experience in working with Gabe, there is no one who works harder and is more committed to getting the best out of the people around him. This was also echoed in the feedback we received around the baseball community. I look forward to working with Gabe to help return the Giants to its winning tradition.”
Kapler, who is 44 years old spent the 2018 and 2019 season with the Phillies and ended with a record of 161-163 in those two seasons.
Phillies managing partner John Middleton fired Kapler almost two weeks after the season after he re-evaluated the team and the manager and obviously, Middleton did not like what he saw going down the stretch. In his two years with the Phillies, Kapler went 8-20 and 12-16 in the seasons final month.
Kapler comes to San Francisco after multiple incidents that occurred when he was the Farm Director for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Two women made accusations against minor leaguers in the Dodgers organization, as both women accused the players of assault to Kapler. One of the women was just 17 years old at the time, who told police that she was sexually assaulted; however, she did not tell Kapler of the incident in the first place. The other woman involved happened to be a housekeeper at the hotel and told them about the sexual assault.
Kapler reported to the Dodgers brass and legal counsel, as he was obligated to do.
After the incidents, the Dodgers drew ridicule, as they did not report the two incidents to Major League Baseball.
Kapler, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and went to Taft High School in Woodland Hills, played in the major leagues for 12 years for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, where he won a World Series ring in 2004, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. He was drafted in the 57th round of the 1995 out of Moorpark College by the Tigers.
