Phillies manager Gabe Kapler striving for better communication with fans
In an interview with Philly.com, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler explained his desire to communicate with the fans more effectively.
Gabe Kapler’s first season as the Phillies manager was a polarizing one. Some fans welcomed his new-age thinking and management style; others loathed it. He had his rocky moments, from the opening series bullpen debacle to the team’s collapse at the end of the season.
Kapler and the team know things need to better in 2019. Fans saw the promise the team had through the first four months of the season before the bottom fell out. They are working hard to improve, which includes improving how they communicate their message.
Kapler spoke with Scott Lauber of Philly.com about the team’s goals moving forward. One of the main topics of their discussion was how the fanbase views Kapler, the team, and their decisions. Kapler told Lauber that he wants the fan base to know that each decision is made with a lot of thought behind it:
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“We have to work hard — and we should have to work hard — to market and convince our fan base that the decisions we make are rooted in a tremendous amount of research and care. And there’s never anything that is flippant. It’s our responsibility to message that effectively. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win everybody over. But at least we keep working at it, we keep trying to communicate, we keep trying to share the vision, and we’ll acquire a larger degree of trust.”
Kapler is willing to listen to the fans and their criticisms. He told Lauber he is considering town hall meetings with the fans to answer the questions that they usually ask online somewhere.
Kapler wants them to understand the process behind the team’s decisions. He is willing to listen to their feedback and add them to his own decision-making process. He already has taken in feedback from end-of-the-season surveys and meetings.
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To that end, Kapler is willing to implement changes to improve the team. One potential change could be stricter rules with the team after being a fairly laid-back manager last year. He didn’t elaborate on what those rules could entail. Defense, which was a major issue for the team as they ranked among the worst in the league, will become a point of emphasis in spring training.
Even though Kapler is willing to change some things, don’t expect him to radically change his approach. He said not to expect him to act like Dallas Green. Kapler’s sunny disposition, for better or for worse, likely will be around next year as well.
One Kapler staple, the mixing and matching of lineups, doesn’t appear that it is going anywhere. He talked about the Dodgers leaving some of their best bats on the bench because they were facing two lefties in David Price and Chris Sale to start the World Series. Kapler said that he ultimately believes the best teams are able to vary their lineups based on the matchups, as long as they have the roster to do it.
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Love or hate Kapler, he will still be the Phillies manager next year. As he gets more experience in the role, we should start seeing him make better and better decisions.