Brewers reaping rewards from Kapler's change in course
There was one other hint — Kapler conveyed an urgency to spend more time with Lisa and their sons, Chase, 8, and Dane, 6. Not a bad thing; the family grew closer. But as a player, Gabe had always been independent. Lisa wanted to know: What the heck was going on?
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| Lisa Kapler is sharp enough to know when something isn't right with her husband. ( / Special to FOXSports.com) |
Together, they figured it out.
Gabe, 32, had ended his playing career too abruptly. He hadn't gained closure, hadn't said goodbye.
Neither Gabe nor Lisa could have predicted it then, but their soul-searching led to one of the new season's biggest surprises — the re-emergence of Kapler as a force with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kapler, substituting in center field for the suspended Mike Cameron and injured Tony Gwynn Jr., has been the Brewers' hottest hitter, going 11-for-26 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
"We never expected this in 1,000 years," Lisa says. "My heart is soaring for this man."
Kapler hit all four of his homers — including one off Mets ace Johan Santana — in a seven-game stretch, his biggest display of power since an identical burst in May 2001.
His future is uncertain; his playing time will reduce after Cameron and Gwynn return. He already has missed the last two games after bruising his right shoulder while making a catch against the wall during batting practice Tuesday night.
Kapler, who played for four teams in his first nine seasons, including the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox, isn't preoccupied with such concerns. He made it back by living in the moment, by following his intuition and trusting his heart. Why stop?
"It's a win-win, no matter what, from this point on," he says.
The journey back
After the 2006 season, Kapler spoke with his agent, Paul Cohen, about becoming a major-league manager by 35. When he took over at Greenville, he attacked his new position with typical gusto.
"I really thought that would be my path for the rest of my life," Kapler says.
Funny thing, though: Cohen's young clients in the South Atlantic League would notice Kapler moving around the field during batting practice, still athletic, still tremendously fit.
"Didn't you used to represent Gabe Kapler?" the players would ask Cohen. "He looks like the best guy in the league."
No surprise, Cohen thought — Kapler was only a year removed from a reserve role with the Red Sox and almost two full years removed from surgery on his left Achilles' tendon.
In August, Cohen asked Kapler if he had any interest in playing again. Cohen had been through similar circumstancess before; three of his other clients — Todd Worrell, Damion Easley and Troy Percival — had revived their careers after they were out of the game.
Kapler told Cohen it wasn't the time to talk; he was focused on the team. The Red Sox called soon after, wanting Kapler to sign his contract for the following season. Again, Kapler demurred. Not the right time.
The season ended; Greenville finished 58-81, in seventh place. Kapler and Lisa started talking. And finally, Kapler asked Cohen: "Do you think you could get me a job if I wanted to come back?"
"I guarantee I'll get you a job," Cohen said. "I can't guarantee I'll get you a big-league contract."
In other words, Kapler might need to make a team out of spring training, end his managing career only to get stuck playing at Class AAA.
Undaunted, Kapler pushed forward.
"It was a heartfelt decision, but I knew it was the right decision the moment I made it," he says.
Cohen began contacting teams in need of outfielders. He thought Kapler could be another Eric Byrnes, who appeared to reach a dead end playing for three teams in 2005, only to revive with the Arizona Diamondbacks in '06. If nothing else, Cohen knew that Kapler would be in great shape.
"He's the single-most dedicated professional athlete I've seen in any sport," says Cohen, who also has represented players in the NFL, NBA and NHL.
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| Kapler has provided a power stroke that the Brewers weren't expecting. (Ed Betz / Associated Press) |
The Brewers, Diamondbacks, Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays came to watch Kapler work out. Kapler, not surprisingly, was in mid-season form. Bruce Seid and Corey Rodriguez, the two Brewers' scouts in attendance, reported back to general manager Doug Melvin: "Worth taking a shot."
Melvin, as GM of the Texas Rangers, had acquired Kapler from the Tigers as part of the Juan Gonzalez blockbuster in Nov. 1999. Kapler hit two home runs the next Opening Day for the Rangers and had a 28-game hitting streak later that season.
"There's a sense of urgency in the way he plays," Melvin says. "It rubs off on others."
The Brewers signed Kapler to a one-year, $800,000 contract on Dec. 20 — a major-league deal, but with only one-sixth guaranteed. Kapler, just as Cohen had suggested, would need to fight his way onto the team.
Nearly a month later, the Brewers signed Cameron to play center and moved Ryan Braun to left. Corey Hart was set in right. Gwynn and Gabe Gross were the likely reserves.
If Cameron had not already been suspended 25 games for testing positive for a banned stimulant, Kapler's comeback might have been over before it started.
Instead, he made the team.
The Red Sox, naturally, were taken aback by the entire episode; Kapler had been adamant that he was finished as a player. Then again, who can begrudge a man's wish to keep playing a little boy's game?
"Gabe's a great guy," Sox GM Theo Epstein says, "and we're happy for him that he's doing well."
Sox manager Terry Francona, informed Saturday of Kapler's homer off Santana, smiled broadly, as if the ball had been hit by his own son.
"That's great," he said. "That's great."
What's next?
The crazy thing about Kapler's return is that it could end as unexpectedly as it started.
"I reserve the right to change my mind," Kapler says. "There are no rules to this, absolutely no rules."
He had established a foothold with the Red Sox, laid the initial foundation for a fast-rising managerial career.
What happens next is anyone's guess, including his own.
In the past, Kapler says, he would try to plan the rest of his life in a single day. Now, he's reveling in the simple joys of playing baseball again.
"Let's not be naïve;: A lot of it has to do with the start," Kapler says. "But riding the subway to the park, thinking about the game, preparing for pitchers, watching video, putting on my socks, drinking the coffee, the whole buildup to the game ... I realize how much I love it."
Cohen says that he can envision Kapler, health permitting, "running off 8 to 10 more years" as a player. Kapler is disinclined to make such a commitment, or for that matter, any commitment. Lisa calls him a "creator." Gabe puts it differently.
"I'm a searcher," he says, "an explorer."
He might play. He might manage. He might give himself entirely to the Gabe Kapler Foundation, which is dedicated to ending domestic violence.
Or, he might dabble in something else.
"Will he manage one day? Yes. Could that be in Africa? Sure," Lisa says, chuckling. "I expect anything at any time. I never say, 'No way we won't do X, Y and Z.' The beauty of Gabe is that you just have to go where the wind takes you."
Right now, the wind is at his back, whether he's swinging a bat, running the bases or roaming the outfield.
"I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life," Gabe Kapler says. "I just know I want to play baseball tomorrow."
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