Gabe Kapler booed in his return to Philadelphia

Gabe Kapler managed 162 games in South Philadelphia, providing him a decent understanding of the city’s sports fans. But Kapler, in his second year as San Francisco’s manager, said Monday afternoon that he had “no idea” what type of reaction he would receive in his return to Citizens Bank Park.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Kapler was booed as he met with the umpires before first pitch. The Phillies decided to show their former manager on Phanavision and play the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter. It was intended to be a tribute to Kapler, but instead provided the fans with a chance to greet him.

“I understand any reception, any reaction. I can always put myself in the shoes of a fan,” Kapler said before the game. “I can put myself in the shoes of a player, of another staff member, and just lead with as much empathy and understanding. That’s probably what I’ll do and how I’ll feel.”

Kapler went 161-163 in two seasons with the Phillies. His teams nose-dived in consecutive Septembers, missed two straight postseasons, and cost Kapler his job. At the end of the day, Kapler said Monday, “wins and losses are always going to be the most important thing.”

He was polarizing in Philadelphia almost as soon as he was hired. Fans either loved or despised his deep-rooted approaches in analytics. They derided him in 2018 for removing Aaron Nola after 68 pitches on opening day in Atlanta and then mocked him a day later when he called on Hoby Milner before warming up the reliever.

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Days later, a loss in New York was blamed on an analytically-inclined defensive shift to finish the season’s first road trip and the tone for Kapler’s tenure in Philly was set. He was booed at the home opener before managing his first game in Philadelphia and seemed unable to win over a portion of the fan base before being fired after the 2019 season.

Kapler’s Giants finished a game better than the Phillies last season, but still missed the postseason. They entered Monday — Kapler’s 400th career game as a manager — with a 9-6 record.

“I think I just have more exposure and more experience,” Kapler said. “I can put myself in the shoes of more players and more people and understand their positions. I also think that I’m less certain than I was in, let’s say, 2018 with the Phillies. I think that’s a good place to be. Just kind of questioning my position on things as much as possible and asking for as much perception from other coaches. I think I delegate more. I trust a little bit more that things are going to be handled in an effective way. I don’t think my growth is done by any stretch of the imagination.”

» READ MORE: Gabe Kapler returns to Philadelphia, with lessons from his Phillies years in tow | Scott Lauber

The Giants arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday night, but Kapler was limited by what he could do in town because of the league’s COVID-19 guidelines. He came to Citizens Bank Park early on Monday afternoon and walked the field like he would do as Phillies manager.

“It felt really good to be out there walking around,” Kapler said. “I had some phone calls out there and just walked around early in the day like I did when I was managing here. I also had the chance to connect with some friends, send some text messages back and forth, those have been enjoyable. We all kind of wish we could see each other in person and have this be a normal environment, but it’s not. It’s fine that we’ll have to push those greetings to another time.”

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