The Philadelphia Phillies have played their way out of playoff contention with a horrible stretch to close out the season, but the disappointing finish is not going to cost Gabe Kapler his job.
On Wednesday, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak confirmed Kaper will be back with the team in 2019 despite what he described as an “awful” past six weeks of play.
In case there was any question, Matt Klentak confirmed tonight that Gabe Kapler will return as Phillies manager in 2019.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) September 27, 2018
The Phillies lost their seventh consecutive game on Wednesday and allowed 10 or more runs for the third straight game against the Colorado Rockies. They were 15 games above .500 on Aug. 7 and appeared to be in prime position to make the playoffs, but it has been all downhill since. Entering Thursday, Philly’s record had dropped to 78-80.
Despite the abysmal final two months, Klentak pointed out that the Phillies have exceeded expectations this season and Kapler led the team to a much better finish than the 66-win season it had a year ago.
“I think Kap has been consistent throughout the year,” Klentak said, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I think he’s made plenty of adjustments. I think he’s learned a lot. I think he’s grown a lot.
The Phillies got off to a rough start, and the season had barely begun before Kapler made his boldest proclamation of the year. While it’s never a good sign when a team falls apart the way his has down the stretch, giving a manager only one season with a young team that has so much potential would seem unfair.
