Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed " Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who serves as the assistant general manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in the 1995 MLB draft. In the minor leagues, he was an All-Star in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and was recognized by national publications as Minor League Player of the Year in 1998.
He played in the major leagues from 1998 to 2010, for the Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays (except for the 2007 season, which — having briefly retired as a player — he spent managing the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League, the Single-A affiliate of the Red Sox). Kapler also spent part of the 2005 season playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League.
After permanently retiring as a player, Kapler served as a coach for the Israeli national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and as Director of Player Development for the Dodgers from 2014 through 2017. He was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 and 2019. He became the manager of the San Francisco Giants in 2020, and led them to a franchise-record 107 wins and the NL West title in 2021. Kapler was named the 2021 National League Manager of the Year. ESPN described him as "an analytically savvy, outside-the-box thinker who can also relate well to players." The Giants fired Kapler towards the end of the 2023 season. In December 2023, Kapler became an assistant general manager of the Miami Marlins of MLB.
At the age of eight, he was hit by a car and needed therapy to overcome his fear of crossing streets. He grew up in middle-class Reseda, Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, where he was the smallest player on his Reseda Little League team.
Kapler attended William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He played shortstop, second base, and third base for its baseball team, hitting .313 in his senior season, and graduated in 1993 at age 17. In his four seasons of high school baseball, he never hit a home run. During the summer, he batted .350 with 4 home runs and 30 runs batted in (RBIs) for the Woodland Hills East American Legion team.
In 1996, with the Fayetteville Generals, Kapler led the Class A South Atlantic League in hits (157), doubles (45; 2nd in the minor leagues), extra-base hits (71) and total bases (280), was second in homers (26), RBIs (99) and slugging (.534), 5th in batting (.300), 7th in runs (81) and 10th in on-base percentage (.380). He made the South Atlantic League All-Star team. He then played for the West Oahu CaneFires in the Hawaiian Winter League, leading the league in home runs with 7.
In 1997, with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Kapler led the Class A+ Florida State League in doubles (40) and total bases (262), tied for first in extra-base hits (65), was 2nd in games, 3rd in hits (153), tied for 3rd in home runs (19) and RBIs (87), 4th in slugging percentage (.505), and tied for 4th in runs (87) and sacrifice flies (10), while batting .295. He was named a Florida State League mid-season and post-season All-Star. He then played for the Honolulu Sharks in the Hawaiian Winter League.
In 1998, with the Jacksonville Suns, Kapler won the Class AA Southern League Most Valuable Player Award. He hit a league-high 28 home runs, and also led the league in hits (176; 8th-most in the minors), runs (113; 6th-most in the minors), doubles (47; 3rd-most in the minor leagues; breaking the old doubles record of 44), RBIs (146; most in the minors in 1998, and most ever in the Southern League), extra-base hits (81; a league record), total bases (319; a league record), and sacrifice flies (11). He was 3rd in the league in slugging percentage (.583), 4th in OPS (.976), 5th in batting average (.322), and tied for 8th in triples (6). His league record for RBIs broke the 1986 record of 132 set by Terry Steinbach. He played in both the Double-A and Southern League All-Star Games, and was recognized as the MVP of the Southern League All-Star Game. He was also named to the Southern League's post-season All-Star team, and named a Baseball America First Team Minor League All Star. He was honored as Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball Weekly, The Sporting News, and USA Today, and was named Tigers Minor League Player of the Year and Detroit's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America.
In 1999, he hit his first career home run on April 30 against Albie Lopez of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Kapler's 10 home runs in his first 64 games was the fastest by a Tiger rookie since 1954, and was not surpassed until 2008.[5], Detroit Free Press. For the season, Kapler wound up hitting a career-high 18 home runs in just over 400 , third among AL rookies, and his 49 RBIs were ninth among AL rookies.
Kapler hit two home runs on Opening Day in the 2000 season for the Rangers, becoming the first player to homer in his first two at bats as a Ranger. In July he homered in four straight games, tying a club record. He then had a team-record 28-game hitting streak later that season, which was also a major league high for the season.Topkin, Marc. "New outfielder Kapler an offbeat guy who's in tune with the Tampa Bay Rays' needs" , St. Petersburg Times. Published March 16, 2009. On July 30, he was named the American League's Player of the Week. In 2000, he batted .302/.360/.473 with 32 doubles (second on the team), 14 home runs, and 66 RBIs in 444 at bats, hitting .344 in the second half of the season. On defense, playing primarily center field, he tied for second among AL outfielders with 4 double plays.
In 2001, he hit 17 home runs, scored 77 runs, had 72 RBIs, and stolen base 23 bases (leading the team) in 29 attempts. Kapler batted .267/.348/.437. He made just one error in 344 total chances for a .997 fielding percentage, second-best in the AL, and his eight assists tied for fourth-most of any AL center fielder.
In 2004, when Shawn Green of the Dodgers announced that he would not play on Yom Kippur, the Boston media asked Kapler if he would do the same thing. Kapler called a Boston-area rabbi for advice. With the Curse of the Bambino still hanging over Red Sox fans' heads, the rabbi reportedly said: "Do it! We need all the help we can get!" Kapler decided to play.
Kapler played a career-high 136 games in 2004, hitting 6 home runs and driving in 33 runs in 290 at bats, as he primarily played right field. He batted .272. He also led the team with 6 outfield assists. On Patriots' Day 2004, Kapler drove in two runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning off former Red Sox closer and Yankees setup man Tom Gordon. The Red Sox went on to win the game 5–4.
In Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the Cardinals, Kapler had been inserted as a pinch runner, but manager Terry Francona left him in the game to play right field in the ninth. Kapler joined an exclusive club, as one of the nine players who were on the field when the Red Sox won their first title in 86 years.
In June 2006, Kapler came back from his injury. That season, he had his best on-base percentage in five years (.340), hit .316 with two out and runners in scoring position, and played error-less outfield for the second year in a row.
Kapler announced his retirement from professional baseball on December 12, 2006.
The initial plan, before Mike Cameron was acquired, was to have Kapler replace the non-tendered Kevin Mench as a right-handed option to share time with Tony Gwynn Jr., Gabe Gross, and Joe Dillon, in left field. With a focus on defense, Yost indicated in March that Gwynn and Kapler might have a leg up on Gross.
"He's been very impressive so far," said Brewers manager Ned Yost in March. "I would have never known he took a year off. He does not show any signs of it to me.
While Cameron served a 25-game suspension to start the season for twice testing positive for a banned stimulant in the fall of 2007, Kapler made the club, and began to see action in center field. On April 5, 2008, he hit the first pinch hitter home run of his career for Milwaukee in the 7th inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants. Kapler started the season as the Brewers' hottest hitter, going 11-for-26 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
Kapler gave fans a taste of his hard-nosed style against the Dodgers on August 16. He ran full-speed after Russell Martin's long fly in the seventh inning, snagging the ball to deprive Martin of a home run as he toppled head-first into the left-field seats. The outstanding catch helped the Brewers hold onto a one-run lead, and earned Kapler the Play of the Year Award, voted by over 12 million fans in MLB's This Year in Baseball Awards. Similarly, three days later Kapler made a diving catch in left field to rob Ty Wigginton of a hit, and on September 6 Kapler ran down a blooper to center and made an outstanding diving catch. Kapler missed the last two weeks of the season as well as the NLDS after tearing his latissimus dorsi muscle in his right shoulder on a throw to the plate in mid-September.
For the year, in 96 games Kapler batted .301/.340/.498, and hit eight home runs, playing mostly in center field, and batting .386 with a .632 slugging percentage in tie games. Kapler started 43 games. He was the club's best pinch-hitter, batting .323 with two homers (the first pinch-hit shots of his career) and 8 RBIs.
On October 30, 2008, Kapler filed for free agency.
Kapler started the season platoon system in center field with Matt Joyce, in place of Rays' center fielder B. J. Upton, who had offseason surgery on his left shoulder and was not ready for Opening Day. On April 13, Kapler struck out against New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher. Kapler then began to platoon in right field with Gabe Gross. In June, he tied a club record shared by Jose Canseco and Julio Lugo, with home runs in four straight games. Kapler ended the season at .354 with 4 homers in 82 at-bats against left-handers. In this role, he almost broke up Mark Buehrle's perfect game on July 23, 2009. Leading off the ninth inning against the White Sox, he was robbed of a home run by a leaping DeWayne Wise, a ninth inning defensive replacement.
Through July 10, despite a slow start, Kapler had the best slugging percentage of his career (.505) and was batting .320 with 4 home runs in 75 at-bats and a .680 slugging percentage against left-handers. As of July 10, 64% of his hits in 2009 had been for extra bases, which would be first in the major leagues for a player with at least 100 plate appearances (Kapler had 129). "Kapler is a Powerful Man," MVN.com, July 10, 2009, accessed July 18, 2009
Kapler was re-signed by the Rays on October 27, 2009, to another one-year contract, this time for $1.05 million. Over 2008–09, Kapler hit .304 against left-handers with a .577 slugging percentage, 9th-best in the Major Leagues. "Over the past two years, Kap has been one of the best in baseball against left-handed pitching", said Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. "Because he's also a plus defensive outfielder, he's become a tremendous asset here. His value even extends beyond the field; his knowledge and presence make him a positive influence on our younger players."
In a December interview manager Joe Maddon said: "I'm still a big Gabe Kapler fan. You look at his OPS over the last couple of years versus left-handed pitching, it's among the best in all of baseball".
Heading into spring training in 2010, Kapler was likely to platoon in right field with Joyce. However, he appeared in only 59 games that season, hitting a career-worst .210 with only two home runs as he battled right hip flexor and right ankle injuries, and became a free agent after the season.
In 2015, a 17-year-old accused a Dodger minor league player initially of videotaping a fight in which two women whom she had met through Facebook hit her while with her in a hotel room of a player. The accuser emailed her complaint to Kapler. He sought direction from Dodgers' lawyers and human resources personnel and then replied quickly with a phone call, apologized, and offered to help in any way she needed. A week later—when the accuser was arrested for shoplifting—she added the second accusation to police, though she did not communicate it to Dodgers personnel, that at the time a Dodger minor league player engaged in alleged sexual assault by briefly putting his hand under her bra and down her pants; the accuser then declined to cooperate with the police, and no charges were filed. Kapler reported the accusation of the videotaping of the assault to Dodgers personnel, who did not report it to Major League Baseball. Kapler has apologized for his handling of the allegations.
Kapler was one of the favorites and a finalist to become the new Dodgers manager following the departure of Don Mattingly, but lost out to Dave Roberts prior to the 2016 season.
Kapler inherited a team that had lost 96 games their prior season, the team's sixth season in a row with a losing record. He had his theme for the season inscribed on t-shirts that were given out to each of his players: "Be Bold." After 100 games, he had the second-most wins among Phillies managers historically (56), and he went 24-38 in the last 62 games, to finish the 2018 season 80-82. The 27 overturns caused by his challenges were tied for the second-most in the majors, and the 4.7 pitchers per game he used were second-most in the major leagues. The Phillies were in first place as late as August 12, but only won 21 games in the last two months of the season.
In 2019 he managed the team to an record, Philadelphia's best record since 2012 when they also had a .500 record. The 23 overturns caused by his challenges were tied for the second-most in the majors. As in 2018, the Phillies spent most of the season in playoff contention, only to slump in August and September. Following the season, Kapler was fired. Joe Girardi succeeded him and managed the team to a record the following season.
In 2020, after Kapler hired three hitting coaches who were young enough to still be players, the Giants veteran hitters raved about how well prepared they were going into games with the new approach. Kapler platooned whenever he thought he could get an advantage, and the resulting turnaround with the Giants hitters was significant. While the team had ranked 28th, 29th, and 29th in runs the prior three seasons, under Kapler they finished 8th in runs, averaging 4.98 runs per game, up from 4.19 the prior year and 3.72 in 2018. Kapler used 1.25 per game, more than any other manager in major league baseball, and the third-most pitchers per game (4.9). Both new and veteran players responded positively to Kapler, and a number of them highlighted his steadiness as a factor in turning around slumping years. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he managed the team to a record that far exceeded expectations in what was expected to be a rebuilding year, and surpassed the record of Kapler's former team, the Phillies. The Giants fell just short of making the playoffs, which they would have made had they won their last game of the season, a game they lost by one run. They ended up with the same win–loss record as the Milwaukee Brewers, but it was the Brewers that advanced to the playoffs as they had a better in-division record. Kapler received three third-place votes for NL Manager of the Year.
In the 2021 regular season, his Giants won more games than any other major league team (107; with his team's winning percentage rising from .483 to .660), the 12 overturns caused by his challenges were tied with those of LA's Dave Roberts for the most in the majors, and he was one of only two managers who were not ejected during the season (along with Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash). He used more pinch hitters per game than any other major league manager for the second season in a row (2.60), and the second-most pitchers per game (4.7). Kapler ended the 2021 season with a Giants managerial win-loss percentage of .613, third all-time of the Giants' 39 managers, behind only Hall of Famers Hughie Jennings and Rogers Hornsby, each of whom managed for less than a year nearly a century earlier.
Kapler's players praised him for keeping open lines of communication with them throughout the season, which was especially important given that he used the team's entire roster, shattering the MLB record for pinch-hit appearances as he exploited matchups aggressively.
Kapler was named the 2021 National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with 28 of a possible 30 first place votes. He became the second Giants manager to win the award, joining Dusty Baker, after managing the team to a franchise-record 107 wins and into the postseason for the first time in five years, despite pre-season projections that questioned the Giants' ability even to finish above .500 (Baseball Prospectus projected the team to win 75 games, entering the season).
Kapler was also named the Sporting News 2021 NL Manager of the Year, as 86% of his fellow National League managers voted for him.
On November 12, the Giants rewarded Kapler with a two-year contract extension through the 2024 season.
In 2022, Kapler used more pinch hitters per game, 1.63, than any other major league manager for the third season in a row.
Longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan—who said of Kapler "He's as smart as any player I've ever met"—nicknamed him "The Body". He is an avid weightlifter; his body fat count was reported in 2000 to be at 3.98%, and in 2012 to be at 3.5%. He was on the cover of several fitness magazines and became renowned for being the focus of an entire K-Swiss shoe campaign before he had even reached the pros.Ryan Lawrence (October 31, 2017). "Who is Gabe Kapler? A Dozen Fun Facts about the new Phillies manager," PhillyVoice. His blog discusses fitness, nutrition, health, and leadership.
Kapler and his wife co-founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public about domestic violence, and helping women escape abusive relationships.
In an undated clubhouse poll of the Red Sox, of the 25 players on the team, 24 were Republicans and Kapler the one Democrat.
Kapler's father died in December 2020 from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Kapler received a prominent tattoo on his left hand to memorialize his father.
Kapler has been given the nickname Hebrew Hammer due to his frequent longball hits, along with his muscularity and the fact that he is Jewish. It later became the nickname of Ryan Braun, who is also Jewish, and was Kapler's teammate on the Brewers. On August 8, 2005, while playing for the Red Sox, Kapler took the field in the 9th inning along with Kevin Youkilis and Adam Stern, setting a "record" for the most Jewish players on the field at one time in American League history and the most in Major League Baseball history since four Jews took the field for the New York Giants in a game in 1941.
In 2008, with his career 69th home run he passed Art Shamsky and Lou Boudreau for 9th on the all-time list for home runs by Jewish major leaguers.," jewishmajorleaguers.org. Retrieved September 15, 2008. Kapler was the unanimous winner of the 2008 Jewish Comeback Player of the Year award. Through 2018, he was 5th all-time in career stolen bases (behind Brad Ausmus) and 9th all-time in career doubles (behind Sid Gordon) among Jewish major league baseball players. "All-time Jewish batting leaders; Through 2018," Jewish Baseball News.
In 2018, Kapler became the eighth Jewish manager in MLB history. He joined Bob Melvin, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Newman, Norm Sherry, Lou Boudreau, Andy Cohen, and Lipman Pike.
Colorado Rockies (2002–2003)
Boston Red Sox (2003–2004)
Yomiuri Giants (2005)
Boston Red Sox (2005–2006)
Minor league managerial career (2007)
Milwaukee Brewers (2008)
Tampa Bay Rays (2009–2010)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Post-playing career
Team Israel
Egraphs
Television work
Los Angeles Dodgers
One thing we want to do is avoid locking ourselves into any organizational philosophy that can't be easily altered or improved. While mining for best practices, we have overarching themes and philosophies, but we don't want to say, 'This is what we believe' and get so dug in that we're not capable of being nimble as new studies present better ways to approach problems and development. That flexibility is a thought process that we have to constantly talk about it with players and staff.
Managerial career
Philadelphia Phillies (2018–2019)
San Francisco Giants (2020–2023)
2020
2021: NL Manager of the Year
2022
2023
Managerial record
Front office career
Miami Marlins (2023–present)
Accolades
Personal life
Jewish heritage
See also
External links
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