Searle: Giants manager Gabe Kapler, a history of inaction
From Ginny Searle at Baseball Prospectus on November 15, 2019:
Let’s do a thought experiment: think of the team you follow most closely. When was the last time it was involved in an incident—one which goes beyond on-field play—that made you feel embarrassed to follow that franchise?
If it’s the Astros, the answer is simple, except maybe in the overflow of recent options—they’ve been so defined by stepping on upturned rakes over the last month it’s hard to remember when they weren’t 29 other fanbases’ least favorite. Their underdog upsetters, though, last week emphasized the perils of defining oneself in opposition when (not all, though most of) the Nationals raucously celebrated their championship with the president who had been booed in their own stadium a week prior. It almost seems the larger a team’s profile, the more inevitable their disappointment is. Just to gloss a few other playoff teams: the Yankees matched the Astros with an abusive reliever in the decisive inning of the ALCS; the Rays before the season chose to renew the reigning Cy Young’s contract rather than offer him a substantial raise; news of the Dodgers’ crimes.xlsx came to light just a year ago.
Read the full article here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/55299/kaplers-hiring-recalls-yet-another-mlb-failure-of-inaction
Originally published: November 15, 2019. Last Updated: November 15, 2019.