First, the Boston Red Sox canned its Orthodox Jewish chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, 40, a day before Rosh Hashanah. Now the San Francisco Giants has handed its Jewish manager (and former Red Sox player), Gabe Kapler, 48, his pink slip during the Sukkot holiday.
Also in line with the High Holiday season, some are calling Kapler a “scapegoat” for the Bay Area ball club’s woes.
“I felt like I had a chance to help people grow, and people helped me to grow, and I am thankful for that opportunity,” Kapler posted on Instagram.
“The Giants have fired manager Gabe Kapler after four seasons—and one Jewish Heritage Night bobblehead,” the J. The Jewish News of Northern California posted on social media.
A proud Jew, Kapler has Star of David and “Never Again” tattoos, and he is a former coach of Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic.
Kapler has also been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the lead of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Kapler became the first professional baseball manager to kneel during the national anthem.
He also announced that he would skip the anthem after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, as a protest against the “state of this country.”
