© Raj Mehta | 2019 Jul 24
The Giants have stepped into a new era boldly, making the choice Farhan Zaidi wanted to make and not the move so many of his franchise’s fans called for.
Gabe Kapler will succeed Bruce Bochy as the Giants’ manager, the Giants announced Tuesday night, Zaidi choosing the former Phillies manager over Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. Kapler gets a three-year deal and the new brain trust for the Giants is assembled.
In the news release, Zaidi reiterated he desired someone who “could build strong relationships with our players, coaches, front office and fans.”
Kapler was a big-time hire by Zaidi in Los Angeles in 2014, when he became the Dodgers’ director of player development. A day after the Giants introduced Scott Harris as their new GM, Kapler becomes Zaidi’s most polarizing and possibly era-defining hire in San Francisco.
Kapler went 161-163 in two years with Philadelphia, where his unique personality — and moves, an analytically inclined mind that aligns him with Zaidi — was never quite embraced by the fanbase. More at the heart of Giants fans’ unease are events from his Dodgers stint, in which he was accused of reportedly mishandling sexual assault allegations against Dodgers minor leaguers. Zaidi was with the franchise at the time and is certainly familiar with the allegations.
“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 the statement, adding “This was also echoed in the feedback we received around the baseball community.”
Zaidi said he would interview about eight-to-10 candidates, and there have been reports of at least nine to talk with him about the job. But all along, Kapler may have been the favorite.
“There’s a lot of guys that have [managed] before and there’s a learning curve each time you do it,” Zaidi said at his end-of-season news conference. “Some guys are better their second time around.”