Ex-Giants manager’s trip to Mexico gives him new outlook on baseball

Kapler returned to the blogging game for the first time in more than 17 months to share his thoughts on reimagining what an MLB reliever’s game-day workout routine should look like. True to his personality, these ideas came together during an inspiring trip to Mexico.

“I’m in Tulum, Mexico, home of some inspiring ancient Mayan archeological sites,” Kapler wrote. “Among other things, the Mayans developed a complex calendar system and were expert builders of systems. This atmosphere sparked some thoughts on how to reimagine our processes and systems in Major League Baseball for improved health and performance.”

Kapler argues that relief pitchers are currently wasting lots of time and energy warming up hours before a game that they might not even play in starts. He suggests that relievers should instead arrive at the ballpark much later than they do, warm up before they’re called into a game, and, if they don’t play at all, save their warmup exercises for a postgame workout.

“If pitchers didn’t throw on days in which they hit the mound to compete, they’re saving themselves 60, 70 or more workouts during the season,” Kapler wrote. “Think about how important that is. The Mayans would probably design a reliever’s day differently.”

That blog was published Friday and was part one of his two-part thoughts on the subject. The second blog, published Monday, outlines the cultural roadblock in MLB clubhouses that would prevent this method from happening. He noted that if he ever told a reliever to go home early after a one-inning performance, the pitcher would push back and stay to support his teammates. This is because, as Kapler writes, “we prioritize performative acts too much over what will actually help us win.”

It’s pretty wild for a very recently fired manager to call out a cultural staple in baseball like that, but it’s far from the wildest thing he’s written on his website. He once wrote in 2014 that he ate an entire chicken, bones and all, because of some animal instincts that kicked in during his meal. The posts are also significantly less serious than his last pair of blogs. In the first one, he expressed disappointment in himself for not protesting during the national anthem in the wake of a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In the second, he announced he’d be standing for the anthem two days later while donating to anti-gun violence and pro-veteran charities.