PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 08: Gabe Kapler #22 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on from the dugout during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 8, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

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Believe it or not, some think Phillies manager Gabe Kapler is a better coach than Brett Brown

ESPN produced a top-50 coaches in the four major North American sports, and Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was rated as the 39th best manager/head coach in the four major North American sports leagues.

Before we break down what that means, here’s how ESPN got to this conclusion. The World Wide Leader in sports hypothetically looked at which coach in MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA they’d want to take over a new franchise, regardless of what their sport is.

ESPN had their league experts create a big board of head coaches/managers in their respective league and then had a select group of writers anonymously rank the coaches.

When the votes were tallied, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was ranked as the 39th best coach.

Ironically, 76ers head coach Brett Brown was one spot behind Kapler. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was ranked 15th overall and Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol fell outside of the top-50 and his final ranking wasn’t provided.

Here’s what ESPN had to say about Kapler:

The Phillies underwent a 14-game improvement in 2018 and played meaningful baseball in September for the first time in years, but notoriously hard-to-please Philadelphia fans probably won’t quite view Kapler’s first year through that lens. The Phils were 64-49 and in first place on Aug. 7, then went 16-33 the rest of the way, which elicited some Kapler-focused grumbling.

What they say is fair, because when the Phillies were winning the public heat on Kapler was dramatically lower than it was the first week and the final month of the season. The team did have a dramatic win increase and if they had made the playoffs Kapler would be high on Manager of the Year ballots.

Philadelphia fans might not agree with Kapler being this high on the list, especially when you look at who is below him.

The Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll (42nd), Montreal Canadians Claude Julian (46), Carolina Panthers Ron Rivera (50), and San Francisco Giants Bruce Bochy (51) have either won titles or been in their respective title game.

To no surprise, Bill Belichick was number one overall on the list, followed by Brad Stevens, Sean McVay, Steve Kerr, and Gregg Popovich.

Now again, this is a list of coaches you would want to take over any franchise, so things outside of overall wins likely came into play such as age, which would help Kapler at 43-years-old. Kapler appears able to engage with players, something this list might suggest older coaches can not do.

How high should Kapler have been on the list? Comment below or on our Twitter page @FS_TBOH.