It was another batting practice, another hot afternoon in a South Carolina or Georgia baseball outpost — the exact details are jumbled a decade later — when 31-year-old manager Gabe Kapler detonated. His shortstop looked apathetic. The whole Greenville Drive team, the low-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, dragged. This was not acceptable.
So Kapler, months into his retirement that carried him from the American League to the South Atlantic League, paused batting practice. He grabbed a glove. He darted to shortstop.
“It was unbelievable,” pitcher T.J. Large said. “I’m standing in left field, watching Gabe Kapler diving at shortstop for balls in batting practice.