Lost among other narratives that have shaped the 2022 MLB season (Aaron Judge’s chase for 60 home runs, Albert Pujols’ farewell tour, the Angels continuing to squander Mike Trout’s prime), the Giants, coming off a franchise-best 107 wins a year ago, have fallen off an absolute cliff, regressing to a 68-73 record (.482 winning percentage) while trailing the first-place Dodgers by 29.5 games in the NL West. Even factoring in their current three-game winning streak, the Giants have lost 16 of their last 25, eliminating any faint hope of competing for one of the National League’s three Wild Card berths. With tensions mounting amid a disastrous second half, Zack Littell let his emotions get the better of him Monday night, taking out some of his frustration on manager Gabe Kapler.
Littell, despite allowing four base-runners (three hits and a walk) in a span of 15 pitches, was none too thrilled to see Kapler, who summoned a lefty, Scott Alexander, to face Braves slugger Matt Olson with two outs in the eighth inning. Though clearly not amused, Kapler wisely waited until Littell was back in the dugout to confront him, preferring to hash things out off camera. When the subject was raised in his post-game press conference, Kapler characterized his conversation with Littell as productive, anticipating no further issues with the right-hander.
“Zack wanted to stay in that game, obviously. He’s a competitor and wanted to finish that inning,” said Kapler after the Giants’ 3-2 victory at Oracle Park. “There’s obviously a way to do that. Zack knows that. We discussed that and he knows that, when I come out to get the ball, he just needs to put the ball in my hand and we’ll talk about anything later.”
Kapler has, at times, invited criticism with his unorthodox tactics, but he handled this situation about as well as he could have, asserting his authority as manager without embarrassing Littell for a regrettable lapse in judgment, exhibiting a lack of poise and professionalism that every athlete, in the heat of the moment, has experienced at one time or another. Lord knows how many times hotheads Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole have shown up their managers over the years, pleading their case to stay in the game with combative body language and F-bombs galore. Of course, top-of-the-rotation aces aren’t subject to the same rules as everyone else, commanding significantly more respect than a middle reliever with an ERA north of five.
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