SAN FRANCISCO -- Earlier in the summer, before the Giants went into such a deep slide that Farhan Zaidi felt he had no choice but to fire his manager, Gabe Kapler started visiting burger spots in the city and on the road. He once again referenced a burger on his Instagram on Saturday, but this time it was in saying goodbye.
A day after being let go with a year left on his contract, Kapler put out a message on his Instagram page giving his view, at least to an extent. He said he can't wait to grab a burger and watch Saturday's game, adding he "will be pulling hard for an SFG dub."
"It is a disappointment to say goodbye," Kapler wrote. "My dad introduced me to this city and it's history. Having lived here and been more exposed to it, SF is spectacular. I felt a genuine connection, perhaps not to everyone everywhere of course, but to most. I've heard the (loud, haha) criticism, and I've heard the support. I believe we all aspire to come to work every day and believe that the work we do is meaningful, and that was true for me with this group."
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Kapler said he missed the players, coaches, staff and everyone else, noting that while serving as manager, "I may not have been expressive enough in how much I care for everyone in this organization."
The organization now will move on without him. Zaidi fired Kapler on Friday, hours before the final series of a 2023 MLB season that will end with the Giants under .500. In the afternoon, players said they enjoyed playing for Kapler and felt bad about the way everything turned out. After a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, interim manager Kai Correa said he was grateful to Kapler for giving him a life-changing opportunity to come on as his bench coach.
The search for Kapler's replacement already is underway, and the Giants plan to have a new manager in place by the start of the offseason in early November. After being fired for the second time as a manager, Kapler said he's genuinely excited for what's next. If there are any hard feelings, they didn't come through in his post.
San Francisco Giants
"I know I was lucky to be the manager of the San Francisco Giants," he wrote.