San Francisco Giant manager Gabe Kaple was named the National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday.
In his second year at the helm, the Jewish Kapler guided the team to a franchise-record and league-leading 107 wins in the regular season.
San Francisco lost to their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the division series of the playoffs.
Kapler received 28 of 30 first-place votes and joined Dusty Baker, a three-time winner, as the only men in Giants history to receive the award. The Milwaukee Brewers' Craig Counsell finished second in voting, with Mike Shildt at third — a month after he was fired from the St. Louis Cardinals.
"My goal is obviously to support the players and what their goals are, create an environment that's helpful for players to grow and develop and for staff members to also grow and develop," Kapler said after receiving the award. "And so those things are happening as my main focus, rather than what is truly impossible, which is to replace someone as successful and legendary as Bruce [Bochy]."
The 46-year old Hollywood, California native has a Jewish tattoo on each leg: a Jewish star on his left leg and "Never Again" — a reference to the Holocaust — on his right leg.
Kapler played for six teams during his 12-year major league career, largely as a role player and backup outfielder. After retiring in 2010, Kapler played and coached for Team Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.