Philadelphia Phillies: Is Gabe Kapler the next Chip Kelly?

The Philadelphia Phillies are betting on Sabermetrics by hiring manager Gabe Kapler, but could his focus on analytics bring back nightmares of Chip Kelly?

The last decade has been a tough time to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan.

After winning the World Series in 2008, the team’s time as a contender was incredibly short-lived, ending with Ryan Howard‘s torn ACL on the final play of the 2011 season. Since that game, the team hasn’t recorded a single winning season, and are in desperate need of a new spark to springboard their young-core into contention.

And in bringing in Gabe Kapler as the team’s 54th manager, they certainly are trying something different.

Unlike many of the other names who were linked to the team during the offseason, like Joe Girardi, John Farrell, and Chip Hale, Kapler has no formal experience as a manager at the game’s highest level and has instead worked in the Dodgers front office and as an analyst for FS1.

In Kapler, the Phillies are getting a 42-year-old former player who is absolutely enamored with Sabermetrics and analytics, a lot like another eccentric former Philadelphia head coach, Chip Kelly.

While neither Kelly nor Kapler had coached at the highest level prior to their signings, the similarities between the two actually go much deeper. Much like Kelly, Kapler is a health nut, who according to reports, removed all of the junk food from the entire Los Angeles Dodgers system. While there no word yet on the Phillies installing a full-stop smoothie bar at Citizens Bank Park, don’t be surprised if that news is on the way.

As highlighted by Kapler’s introductory press conference, it seems like the new skipper is going to bring a new, more youthful energy to the to team that it has been sorely lacking over the last decade, but his progressive approach to managing may end up being a bit too innovative for some.

Next: Get to know the Philadelphia Phillies new manager Gabe Kapler

If Kapler can use his experience as a player to empathize with his young wards, it could lead to a match made in baseball heaven, but if the numbers get in the way, he could burn out in extraordinary fashion like Kelly before him.

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