Major League Baseball named Gabe Kapler 2021 National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after he led the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins during the regular season. Former Giants manager Bruce Bochy made the announcement on MLB Network.
“Certainly an extra special honor to hear Boch,” Kapler said. “He supported me from the very beginning when I came to San Francisco. That means a lot to me.”
Kapler seemed destined to win this award after the Giants blew preseason win projections out of the water and held off the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the NL West in one of the most thrilling divisional races in the history of the sport.
It has been a banner year for the Giants’ leadership, as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was named 2021 Executive of the Year last week. Kapler earned 28 out of 30 first-place votes to beat out the Milwaukee Brewers' Craig Counsell and ex-St. Louis Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt.
Kapler and his staff relied heavily on advanced metrics and analytics during the season. With a platoon-heavy approach, the Giants led the National League in home runs (241) and team OPS (.769) despite having the oldest average hitters’ age (30.6) in baseball. The Giants also ranked second in MLB in team ERA (3.24).
The Giants were efficient in their matchups, as they pinch-hit more than any other team in the bigs and managed a 2.99 bullpen ERA without any marquee names.
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Kapler takes pride in his diverse staff, which features the first full-time woman coach (Alyssa Nakken) and full-time Japanese coach (Taira Uematsu). The crew helped carve out career years for players like Brandon Crawford while getting the most from unheralded players like LaMonte Wade Jr. in 2021. The Giants also had plenty of fun on their 107-win ride, if Captain Brandon Belt’s shenanigans taught us anything.
Kapler is 46 years old and totes a 136-86 (.613 win percentage) record in his two seasons at the helm with the Giants. He signed a two-year extension last Friday that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2024 season.
The Giants have plenty of roster decisions to figure out by 2022 opening day, but Kapler and Zaidi provide a clear sense of direction for this franchise going forward.
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