SAN FRANCISCO — Earlier in the summer, before the Giants entered such a deep decline that Farhan Zaidi felt he had no choice but to fire his manager, Gabe Kapler began visiting burger joints in town and on the road. He once again referenced the burger on his Instagram account on Saturday, but this time it was as a farewell.
One day after being let go with a year remaining on his contract, Kapler posted a message on his Instagram page expressing his view, at least to some extent. He said he couldn’t wait to eat a burger and watch Saturday’s game, adding that he would “try his best to get the SFG dub.”
“It is disappointing to say goodbye,” Kapler wrote. “My father introduced me to this city and its history. As I’ve lived here and been exposed more to it, the imagination has been amazing. I’ve felt a real connection, maybe not with everyone everywhere of course, but with most people. I’ve heard loud criticism, and I’ve heard Support. I think we all aspire to come to work every day and believe that the work we do has meaning, and that was true for me with this group.
Kapler said he misses the players, coaches, staff and everyone else, noting that while serving as manager, “I probably didn’t express enough how much I care about everyone in this organization.”
The organization will now move on without him. Zaidi fired Kapler on Friday, hours before the final series of the 2023 MLB season that will end with the Giants under .500. In the afternoon, the players said they enjoyed playing with Kapler and felt bad about the way things turned out. After a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, interim manager Kai Correa said he was grateful to Kapler for giving him the life-changing opportunity to remain a bench coach.
A search for Kapler’s replacement is already underway, and the Giants plan to have a new manager in place by the start of the offseason in early November. After his second firing as manager, Kapler said he’s really excited about what’s next. If there were any hard feelings, they didn’t show up in his post.
“I know I was fortunate to be the manager of the San Francisco Giants,” he wrote.
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