New Cap for Kapler

It is being reported that Gabe Kapler will take over as the Phillies new field manager. Tim Malcolm at Phillies Nation reacts to the report:

Let’s start with the fact that Kapler is not an outside-the-box selection. He’s a former major league player, a fourth outfielder type who won a ring with the 2004 Red Sox. He has previously managed; he was the helm of the 2007 class-A Greenvile Drive, which finished 58-81. Moreover, he’s a white male. If the Phillies went “outside the box,” they would’ve hired a non-white manager, or hell, maybe a woman. But they didn’t do that. A white male former player with managerial experience is not outside the box.

Plus, Kapler isn’t outside the box if you’re looking closely at what the Phillies are becoming. Gone are the days when a general manager was a silent pencil pusher and the manager, instead, was the man leading the boys into battle. Today’s big league environment is such that front offices have much louder input about the day-to-day management of the club. Klentak, a young executive making his first major hire, chose in Kapler someone with aligned thoughts about the direction of the game, a manager who can communicate to players how the organization is educating and evaluating them.

Kapler peaked early, his best years coming in his early 20s. He peaked late as well, with a good season at age 32. He was a good player to have on the bench; he didn’t do anything outstanding, but he didn’t do anything poorly either. He might have very much fit the mold of an average major leaguer (.268/.329/.420 career slash line).

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2gP3KDc