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Gabe Kapler

(1975 - )

Gabriel "Gabe" Kapler is a Jewish American athlete and former professional baseball player.

Kapler (born August 31, 1975) was born in Hollywood, California and attended Cal State-Fullerton on a scholarship before trasferring to Moorpack Colege in 1995. Kapler has a Star of David tattooed on one leg and the motto “Never Again” on the other.

In 1995, Kapler was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 57th round of the baseball draft and he spent the next three seasons playing in their minor league system. In 1998, he made his major league debut at the age of 22 and became the first Tiger to be selected so late in the draft to reach the majors. On April 30, 1999, he hit his first big league home run.

Playing for the Rangers in 2000, Gabe had a 28-game hitting streak, a team record and the longest in the majors that season.

In September 2001, after Dodgers star and fellow Jewish player Shawn Green sat out of a game on Yom Kippur, Kapler said, "What Shawn is doing is commendable ... Nobody is more proud of their heritage than I am and nobody is more proud of being Jewish than I am. It's something I have to mull over ... I don't know what I would be doing if I wasn't playing baseball that day. It might not be going to the synagogue."

During the 2002 season, the Rangers traded Kapler to the Colorado Rockies and in 2003 he was aquired by the Boston Red Sox, where he played until 2006 with one brief respite in Japan.

In 2004, Green again sat on on the holiday while Kapler played. Kapler has called himself a role model for young Jewish fans, but said of his decision, “I am not really a practicing Jew. It would be selfish to be a practicing Jew on only one day.”

In 2008, after spending one season managing in the Red Sox minor league system, Kapler returned to the major leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers. From 2009 to 2010, he played for the Tamp Bay Rays and in 2011 he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers but was released before the start of the season.

During the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Kapler served as a coach for Team Israel in the qualifying round, though the team eventually lost in te qualifying final and did not make the Classic. Afterward, he served as Director of Player Development for the Dodgers from 2014 through 2017 and worked as an analyst for Fox Sports 

He became the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 and was fired at the end of the 2019 season after compiling a record of 161 wins and 163 losses over two seasons. In November 2019, he was hired to manage the San Francisco Giants. In 2021, he led the team to a franchise-record and league-leading 107 wins before losing to the Dodgers in the division playoffs. Following the season, he was named National League Manager of the Year.

Just two years later, after a disappointing season, the Giants fired Kapler.

Kapler and his wife co-founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public about domestic violence and helping women escape abusive relationships

The couple has two sons.

 
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1998 22 DET AL 7 26 25 3 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 4 .200 .231 .280 .511 33 7 0 0 0 0 0 /9D  
1999 23 DET AL 130 468 416 60 102 22 4 18 49 11 5 42 74 .245 .315 .447 .762 93 186 7 2 4 4 0 *89/D  
2000 24 TEX AL 116 491 444 59 134 32 1 14 66 8 4 42 57 .302 .360 .473 .833 109 210 12 0 2 3 2 *89  
2001 25 TEX AL 134 556 483 77 129 29 1 17 72 23 6 61 70 .267 .348 .437 .785 103 211 10 3 2 7 2 *8/D  
2002 26 TOT MLB 112 342 315 37 88 16 4 2 34 11 4 16 53 .279 .313 .375 .688 75 118 5 1 7 3 0 798/3D  
2002 26 TEX AL 72 214 196 25 51 12 1 0 17 5 2 8 30 .260 .285 .332 .617 60 65 3 0 7 3 0 789/3D  
2002 26 COL NL 40 128 119 12 37 4 3 2 17 6 2 8 23 .311 .359 .445 .805 99 53 2 1 0 0 0 97/8  
2003 27 TOT MLB 107 248 225 39 61 13 1 4 27 6 2 22 41 .271 .336 .391 .727 85 88 8 0 0 0 1 978/3D  
2003 27 COL NL 39 76 67 10 15 2 0 0 4 2 0 8 18 .224 .307 .254 .560 41 17 3 0 0 0 1 79/8  
2003 27 BOS AL 68 172 158 29 46 11 1 4 23 4 2 14 23 .291 .349 .449 .798 105 71 5 0 0 0 0 97/83D  
2004 28 BOS AL 136 310 290 51 79 14 1 6 33 5 4 15 49 .272 .311 .390 .700 77 113 5 2 1 2 0 *978/D  
2005 29 BOS AL 36 104 97 15 24 7 0 1 9 1 0 3 15 .247 .282 .351 .632 65 34 1 2 1 1 0 98/7  
2006 30 BOS AL 72 147 130 21 33 7 0 2 12 1 1 14 15 .254 .340 .354 .694 77 46 5 3 0 0 0 978/D  
                                                           
2008 32 MIL NL 96 245 229 36 69 17 2 8 38 3 1 13 39 .301 .340 .498 .838 119 114 3 1 1 1 0 879  
2009 33 TBR AL 99 238 205 26 49 15 1 8 32 5 2 29 39 .239 .329 .439 .768 102 90 9 0 1 3 1 978/D  
2010 34 TBR AL 59 140 124 19 26 4 0 2 14 1 1 11 24 .210 .288 .290 .578 62 36 3 3 1 1 0 97/D8  
12 Yrs 1104 3315 2983 443 799 176 16 82 386 77 30 269 480 .268 .329 .420 .749 92 1253 68 17 20 25 6    
162 Game Avg. 162 486 438 65 117 26 2 12 57 11 4 39 70 .268 .329 .420 .749 92 184 10 2 3 4 1    
                                                     
BOS (4 yrs) 312 733 675 116 182 39 2 13 77 11 7 46 102 .270 .321 .391 .713 82 264 16 7 2 3 0    
TEX (3 yrs) 322 1261 1123 161 314 73 3 31 155 36 12 111 157 .280 .342 .433 .775 98 486 25 3 11 13 4    
TBR (2 yrs) 158 378 329 45 75 19 1 10 46 6 3 40 63 .228 .314 .383 .697 88 126 12 3 2 4 1    
COL (2 yrs) 79 204 186 22 52 6 3 2 21 8 2 16 41 .280 .340 .376 .716 78 70 5 1 0 0 1    
DET (2 yrs) 137 494 441 63 107 22 5 18 49 13 5 43 78 .243 .310 .438 .748 90 193 7 2 4 4 0    
MIL (1 yr) 96 245 229 36 69 17 2 8 38 3 1 13 39 .301 .340 .498 .838 119 114 3 1 1 1 0    
                                                     
AL (11 yrs) 929 2866 2568 385 678 153 11 72 327 66 27 240 400 .264 .328 .416 .744 91 1069 60 15 19 24 5    
NL (3 yrs) 175 449 415 58 121 23 5 10 59 11 3 29 80 .292 .340 .443 .783 100 184 8 2 1 1 1    
 

Sources: Jews in Sports.
Wikipedia.
Baseball Reference.

Jacob Gurvis, “Gabe Kapler wins top baseball manager award after historic season,” JTA, (November 17, 2021).

Photo: Keith Allison  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.