Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria tapped back into some of their prime form to bolster the offense; Kevin Gausman, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani, all obtained through one-year commitments, outperformed their contracts to make up a formidable rotation.
The Dodgers pushed hard over the final two months, acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner before the trade deadline and winning 43 of their last 56 games.
After a tightly contested season series, the Dodgers and Giants engaged in an intense NL Division Series that wasn’t decided until the final inning of the final game.
Kapler spent 13 years in the majors and quickly built a reputation as an analytically savvy, outside-the-box thinker who could also relate well to players.
The Giants missed the expanded playoffs by one game during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, then set a franchise record for wins in 2021 and extended Kapler’s contract through 2024.