Kapler has been booed by fans and ripped apart by the media, and it's only a week into the season.
- The new Philadelphia Phillies manager was booed by fans at the home opener, has been heavily criticized by the media, and some players are reportedly already unhappy with him.
- Kapler has an unconventional approach towards managing his bullpen that has already lead to a string of decisions which backfired.
- Kapler was a controversial hire before the questionable decisions.
The MLB season is only a week old, but it has already been unkind to new Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, who appears to have alienated the fans, media, and even some of his players.
The Phillies, who are currently 1-4, had their home opener on Thursday, in which fans showed that they are already frustrated with Kapler's management.
According to Fanrag Sports, "There are signs that some – even team members — are having their early doubts."
"We’ll be OK … We just need the manager to get out of the way," one Phillies player said.
Kapler has come under fire for several decisions, in particular taking a pitcher out of the bullpen who hadn't had time to warm up. He also pulled starter Aaron Nola from the opening game after he had thrown 68 pitches and led the Phillies to a 5-0 lead, a decision which backfired massively when the Phillies went on to lose that game, 8-5. And in general, Kapler has an unconventionally short leash when it comes to his pitchers.
The reviews from the media haven't been particularly kind either. One Philly Voice headline read, "In record time, Kapler has turned promising young Phillies into a total embarrassment."
Kapler is only a handful of games into his managerial career so far, so he has time to turn things around. Still, it's a bad start for a someone who had no managerial experience before taking the Phillies job (he was previously a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers front office) and was a controversial hire, even before his questionable decisions.