Photo by Ryan McGeary/KNBR
Gabe Kapler was honest about his Phillies downfall: He lost the player in the woods of numbers. He couldn’t get the buy-in needed for an analytical mind to put that into practice successfully.
If his plan is to begin massaging players’ egos with praise to wring the best out of them, he started at first base.
Asked about moving from Citizens Bank Park, a park where the ball has wings, to a spacious (but shrinking) Oracle Park, Kapler managed to wrangle in how he feels about the Belt wars.
“I think it makes some sense to play to your environment to some degree. I thought a lot about about Brandon Belt, and specifically what he brings, how impressive it is to watch him take an at-bat,” Kapler said Wednesday at Oracle Park in his introductory news conference. “Independent of the outcome of the at-bat, he tends to look over pitches and make really good swings or adult swing decisions.
“I know the power has dropped off a little bit, but taking the things that he does very well and highlighting some of those things might lead to some more of that power production.”
Belt is coming off the worst season of his career, slashing .234/.339/.403 with just five home runs at home (and 17 in total). Of note is Belt is the most appealing asset of the Giants’ core, due $32 million over the next two seasons, and the Giants don’t mind applying the hype. But assuming Belt, who owns a 10-team no-trade clause, returns, it sounds as if Kapler would like to work on his mind first.
“I think it’s about instilling confidence in players for the things that they do really well,” said Kapler, 161-163 with Philadelphia. “And then reminding them how those positive steps forward can play in the environment that they play in, specifically here in San Francisco.”
As much as he would like each player to know he’s capable of more, Kapler would not venture into p-word territory. He did not want to put playoff expectations on a team fresh off a 77-85 campaign, which probably should have been worse.
Asked how he would define success for the 2020 Giants, Kapler spoke more about the feel of a clubhouse and well-functioning franchise than victories.
Kapler wants a clubhouse where players “feel like they can express themselves as unique and diverse individuals,” he said. “And then creating a challenging environment where players also hold each other accountable.
“It can’t be just everybody is comfortable in their own skin and they’re comfortable being themselves. There has to be an accountability that comes along with that.”
Kapler said after the 2018 season, he met with “star” Phillies players to discuss the “policies and the boundaries” they would enact for the following season. Things as simple as whether the team should stretch individually or as a group were bandied about to make sure everyone was on board.
He wants his players free to express themselves. He wants his coaches to do the same, very much part of Farhan Zaidi’s belief that good information can come from anywhere, and so you should listen.
“I would like to have our coaches come into my office after games and challenge my in-game decisions,” Kapler said.