Gabe Kapler: Difference between revisions

Gabriel Stefan ("Gabe") Kapler (born August 31, 1975, Hollywood, California) is a retired backup outfielder, who played portions of 9 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox. He announced his retirement from professional baseball on December 12, 2006. He will serve the Boston Red Sox as manager of their Class-A minor league affiliate the Greenville Drive in 2007.

Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in 1995. He bats and throws right handed. In 9 major league seasons, Kapler posted a .270 batting average with 64 home runs and 302 RBI.

Kapler played for the Taft High School (Los Angeles) baseball team, and graduated in 1993.

He attended Cal State-Fullerton in 1994 on scholarship, before transferring to 2-year Moorpark College in 1995. He was named 1st team All-Western Conference after hitting .337 with 7 homers and 52 RBI.

Kapler, who is Jewish, is an avid weightlifter and used to be a bodybuilder. He was on the cover of several bodybuilding magazines and became renowned for being the focus of an entire shoe campaign before he had even reached the pros.

In 1996 he led the South Atlantic League in hits (157), doubles (45), and extra-base hits (71), was 2nd in homers (26), RBI (99), and slugging (.534), and 5th in batting (.300). He was named a South Atlantic League All-Star.

In 1997 at Single-A Lakeland, he led the Florida State League in doubles (40) and total bases (262), tied for first in extra base hits (65), was 2nd in games, 3rd in hits (153), tied for 3rd in home runs (19) and RBIs (87), was 4th in slugging percentage (.505), and tied for 4th in runs (87).

In 1998 he won the Southern League MVP award, as he batted .322 with a league-high 28 home runs, 47 doubles, and 146 RBIs (most in the minors in 1998 and most ever in the Southern League). His league record for RBIs broke the 1986 record of 132 set by Terry Steinbach. He also set league records with 81 extra-base hits and 319 total bases, and broke the old doubles record of 44 with 47. He also led the league in hits (176), runs (113), and finished 6th in batting. He played in both the Double-A and Southern League All-Star Games and was recognized as MVP of the Southern League All-Star Game. He was also named to the SL's post-season All-Star team. He was honored as Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today, Baseball Weekly, and The Sporting News and USA Today, and was named Tigers Minor League Player of the Year and Detroit's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America.

He made his major league debut in 1998 at the age of 22. He became the first Tiger since the inception of the draft in 1969 to be selected as late as the 57th round and reach the majors.

In 1999 he hit 18 home runs in just over 400 at bats, 3rd among AL rookies.

In 2000 he batted .302 with 14 home runs, hitting .344 in the second half of the season.

In 2001 he stole 23 bases, and had 8 assists from center field, for Texas. He batted .267, but .329 in games that were late and close. He made just one error in 344 total chances for a .997 fielding percentage, 2nd-best in the AL.

In 2002 he batted .279, but .321 in games that were late and close, and .357 with runners in scoring position.

Kapler played a career-high 136 games in 2004, hitting 6 home runs and driving in 33 runs in 290 at-bats. He batted .272, but .303 in games that were late and close. He also led the team with 6 outfield assists.

Less than one month after the Red Sox dramatic 2004 World Series victory over the Cardinals, Kapler departed the Boston Red Sox for Japan's Yomiuri Giants. He received a $2 million deal plus a $700,000 signing bonus, compared to the $750,000 salary he had received from the Sox. He struggled in Japan and was placed on the inactive list by Yomiuri in the 2005 mid-season. Kapler was waived in July, and signed by the Red Sox just a few hours after clearing Japanese Central League waivers.

In his first at-bat for Boston in 2005, Kapler roped a single up the middle.

In September 2005, Gabe Kapler ruptured his Achilles tendon while running the bases on what turned out to be a home run by teammate Tony Graffanino. This ended Kapler's season. Kapler was usually the go-to guy in the outfield in case of an injury. Kapler, who hits lefties very well, usually would play instead of Trot Nixon in right field when lefties were slotted in as the opposing pitcher.

Kapler is not an automatic out at the plate, though his career-high 28-game hitting streak in 2000 does stand out as an isolated incident. An aggressive swinger who doesn't walk much, his swing is long and slow with occasional power. He is as aggressive on the bases as he is at the plate, and will not hesitate to try for the extra base.

Much of Kapler's value was his defense. He fielded well at all 3 outfield positions, combining good range with a strong arm. On September 29, 2002, playing right field for Colorado, Kapler fielded an apparent single off the bat of John Patterson, and threw to first to beat Patterson to the bag, for a very impressive and unorthodox assist.[1] He did not make an error in either 2005 or 2006.

• 1996 - South Atlantic League All-Star OF
• 1997 - Florida State League All-Star OF
• 1998 - Double-A All-Star OF
• 1998 - Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star OF
• 1998 - Southern League Most Valuable Player
• 1998 - Baseball Weekly Minor League Player of the Year
• 1998 - The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year
• 1998 - USA Today Minor League Player of the Year
• 1998 - Detroit Tigers Minor League Player of the Year
• 1998 - Southern League All-Star OF
• 2006 - Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
• 2006 - BoSox Club Man of the Year, for contributions to the success of the team and cooperation in community endeavors[2]

Kapler and his wife, Lisa, co-founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public about domestic violence and helping women escape abusive relationships. [3]

• Kapler has a Star of David tattooed on one leg, with "Strong Willed, Strong Minded" in Hebrew, and the post-Holocaust motto "Never Again" with a flame and the dates of the Holocaust on the other.

• His mother works at a Jewish pre-school.

• Kapler and his wife Lisa have two sons, Chase Ty and Dane Rio.

• Kapler is well-known in baseball for his extraordinary musculature. Bob Ryan once wrote a column in which he nicknamed Kapler "The Body," and mused on the fact that, traditionally, bodybuilder-type physiques have not been considered desirable for baseball players (as speed and reflexes are more important than muscle).

• Template:Espn mlb - profile and daily updates
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Library - highlights and chronology
• Boston Globe - story on his retirement and plans to manage