Giants Manager Gabe Kapler Named NL Manager Of The Year

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- After leading the San Francisco Giants to a record-setting 107-win season, manager Gabe Kapler was named Nation League Manager of the Year Tuesday.

The Baseball Writers Association of America voted 28 out of 30 to give Kapler the award, making him the second Giants manager to earn it -- Dusty Baker won the award in 1993, 1997 and 2000.

The Giants hired Kapler in 2019, after he spent two years with the Philadelphia Phillies. Under his guidance, the team was one game out of the playoffs in 2019 and in 2020, besides winning a franchise record 107 games, they won the NL West Division, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers' eight-year reign.

Kapler beat out Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers and Mike Shildt of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Giants hired Kapler after Bruce Bochy's retirement, giving him some both big shoes to fill -- Bochy won three championships with San Francisco -- and a struggling team to take over. When the Giants went 29-31 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, it was their fourth straight losing record.

Then, in a year when the star-laden Dodgers and Padres were supposed to compete for NL West supremacy, San Francisco surged to the best record in baseball. The Giants beat out the Dodgers by a game for the division crown, although they lost to Los Angeles in a tightly contested Division Series.

Counsell finished second after leading the Brewers to the NL Central title. Shildt was third — a month after he was fired over what Cardinals president John Mozeliak described as philosophical differences.

Brian Snitker of the Braves and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers were the other managers to receive votes.

The AL Manager of the Year was to be announced later Tuesday night.

This story will be updated.

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