Two firsts from last night’s Giants exhibition game against the As…
First, before the game started, Gabe Kapler took the knee during the national anthem. And yes, he was the first MLB manager to do that. What’s remarkable is not that he did it, but that he was the first to do it. The front office supported him, which is great! But what’s remarkable is that few front offices have been out front supporting the rights of the players, staff and managers to protest—and the content of that protest—rather than that Gabe Kapler took a knee.
The other first happened late in the game, when Alyssa Nakken, one of the assistant coaches, went down the first-base line and took up position in the coach’s box. She became the first woman in MLB history to be an on-field coach. Again, what’s remarkable is not that she was capable of being first-base coach, but that she’s the first to do it. The front office supported her, which is great! But what’s remarkable is that few front offices have been out front supporting the development of women as coaches, either on-field or in any capacity at all.
I’m very pleased for the Giants, and for Coach Nakken and for Gabe Kapler, but I want to emphasize that it wasn’t really anything remarkable about them or their actions or their characters that brought them to these firsts. What’s remarkable is that nobody else did, or was allowed to, do these totally unremarkable things.
Tolerabimus quod tolerare debemus,
-Vardibidian.
[/raw]