Nicknamed “Kap” by his supporters, Gabe Kapler is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).
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Born as Gabriel Stefan Kapler on July 31, 1975, this 47-year-old athlete is Jewish who grew up in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. He attended William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he first started playing baseball. His dedication to the sport continued even in college where, after batting .337 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs, he was named First Team All-Western State Conference and was even inducted into the Moorpark College Athletic Hall of Fame.
The former professional baseball outfielder has been playing baseball professionally since he was drafted in the 1995 MLB Draft and was even recognized by national publications as Minor League Player of the Year in 1998. He has played in the major leagues for the Detroit Tigers (1998-1999), Texas Rangers (2000-2002), Colorado Rockies (2002-2003), Boston Red Sox (2003-2004, 2005-2006), Yomiuri Giants (2005), Milwaukee Brewers (2008), and Tampa Bay Rays (2009–2010).
During his brief hiatus in 2007, Kapler managed the Boston Red Sox’s Class-A minor league affiliate, the Greenville Drive. And after permanently retiring as a player, he served as a coach for the Israeli national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Philadelphia Phillies (2018–2019), and San Francisco Giants (2020–present).
Now, there have been rumors about the former MLB star’s sexuality. A lot of baseball fans assumed he was gay. Let’s try to find out what started these rumors and if there’s any truth to them. Is Gabe Kapler gay?
VOTE: What is Gabe Kapler’s Sexuality?
Gabe Kapler’s Sexuality: On Gay Rumors
The rumors surrounding Kapler’s sexuality all started when he openly showed his support to the LGBTQ community — something which was really brave of him to do, considering how being queer in the sports industry still met with hostility and rejection. He was known to be among the very first LGBTQ supporters from the MLB community.
In August 2022, ex-Giants pitcher Solomon Bates made headlines when he came out as gay through an Instagram post. And when Gabe Kapler was asked for his reaction, the Giants’ Manager never hesitated to show his support for the player.
I just have a ton of respect for Solomon’s willingness to lead. I think it’s great that he’s speaking up. I think he’s, in many ways, paving the way for other gay athletes to be willing to come out and be themselves. So good for Solomon.”
Kapler said
Kapler’s support for Bates coming out as gay doesn’t come as a surprise since he had always been vocal in his support for the queer community, even before. On February 11, 2014, he tweeted the following:
I hope when the first actively gay baseball player comes out, he’s a superstar. We need a Jackie Robinson-style earth-shaker.”
In a heteronormative society like the USA, coming out as an LGBTQ ally often leads to assumptions that you are one of them. Kapler being open to his support of the queer community causes misunderstanding, making a lot of fans assume that he was, in fact, gay.
Well, is he?
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Gabe Kapler’s Relationships
Meet Gabe Kapler’s Ex-Wife, Lisa Jansen (1998 – 2013)
Contrary to the rumors, Kapler was actually married to his college sweetheart, Lisa Jansen. The pair met in 1994 while they were both attending Moorpark College. They got married in 1998 in a private wedding ceremony attended by friends, family, and Kapler’s MLB colleagues.
Everything went really well with their marriage at first. They even co-founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation together — a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence and helping women get out of abusive relationships.
The couple had two children, who were both boys. The eldest, Chase Ty, was born on October 8, 1999, while the youngest, Dane Rio, was born on November 3, 2001.
However, not all good things last forever, as the pair announced their divorce in 2013 due to “irreconcilable differences”. This ended their 15-year marriage. The divorce was humane and peaceful, in such a way that their marriage of fifteen years was of zero public scandal.
The divorce went well with the couple agreeing to co-parent their boys, who were 14 and 12 at the time of the separation.
There was no report about whether Gabe Kapler was dating someone new at the moment.
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Is Gabe Kapler Gay?
No, Gabe Kapler is not gay. The ex-professional baseball outfielder has been vocal about his support to the LGBTQ community, which has caused a huge misunderstanding among the fans. But being an LGBTQ ally doesn’t really equate to being queer. Kapler was married to a woman for 15 years and was never involved in any homosexual romantic relationship. There was definitely no reason to doubt that he was straight.