San Francisco Giants name ex-Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler as new skipper
Former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has been chosen as the next skipper of the San Francisco Giants, the team announced Tuesday night.
Kapler, 44, will take over for Bruce Bochy, who led the Giants to three World Series titles and 1,052 victories in his 13 seasons at the helm.
In two seasons under Kapler, the Phillies went 161-163 and failed to make the playoffs either year. He was fired at the end of the 2019 season.
Kapler played 12 seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. He spent the 2007 season as a minor league manager before returning as a player in 2008 at the age of 32.
The hiring reunites Kapler with Farhan Zaidi, the Giants’ president of baseball operations. They worked together in the Los Angeles Dodgers front office from 2014-18 when Zaidi was the general manager.
"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," Zaidi said in a statement. "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 becomes the seventh new manager hired this offseason, leaving the Pittsburgh Pirates with the lone remaining vacancy.