His refusing to play in the All-Star game if he was not a starter was disgraceful, and it made the Rangers organization look bad. All the while, people were terribly disappointed when Gonzalez was traded. Supposedly, Kapler had large shoes to fill when he came over with some of his ex-Tiger teammates in the blockbuster trade for Gonzalez. Sports talk show hosts said the Rangers would not be contenders this year and that the Gonzalez trade would come back to haunt the Rangers. People all around baseball have seen the potential that made Kapler the Double-A minor league player of the year in 1998.
People also are ready for an all-around athlete who can be a role model for children.
Although Gonzalez oohhed and aahhed fans with his titanic home runs, he was, at best, an average outfielder who often fell asleep on the base path. In the clubhouse, he was a disruption to the team chemistry, so much so that catcher Pudge Rodriguez's wife publicly insulted him. He was moody, and oftentimes, he acted like a child with Rangers' management and manager Johnny Oates. Kapler has told fans and coaches that he is glad to be here. During spring training, he kept a low profile, and he let his bat, his glove and his arm do the talking.