Hinch has short wait before hire by Tigers
A. J. Hinch’s story cannot be told without the Astros. He left a legacy no other manager in franchise history can match: indelible memories marred by an indefensible mistake. He sat in exile for nine months and tried to make sense of the tumult around him. Hinch disapproved of his team’s sign-stealing scheme in 2017 but did nothing to stop it. Owner Jim Crane fired him for his inaction.
The question seemed not if, but when, the sports would forgive Hinch’s sins and offer a second chance. An answer arrived 30 minutes after the World Series concluded on Tuesday, when Hinch was first eligible for a possible return. Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila called. Hinch boarded an airplane the next morning and never returned.
The best manager in Astros history is back in baseball after a year-long suspension that threatened to derail his career. Hinch was hired on Friday to manage the Detroit Tigers, a team in the final stages of a full rebuild willing to welcome a man that needs to rehabilitate his image.
“The last year was the most difficult of my life,” Hinch said in a written statement. “It gave me time to reflect, which was such a big part of this process. Everything that has transpired over the past year, personally and professionally, has put so much in perspective for me, and re-enforced how important it is to do things with integrity and honesty.”
Reports surfaced on Thursday afternoon that Hinch and the Tigers were close to an agreement. After the Chicago White Sox surprisingly hired 76-year-old Tony La Russa to fill their vacancy, Hinch to the Tigers seemed fait accompli.
From the beginning of his
team’s search in September, Avila acknowledged Hinch and former Red Sox manager Alex Cora were on his list of candidates. Cora, Hinch and former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow were given year-long suspensions after Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme. Crane subsequently fired Hinch and Luhnow.
“It’s been a large topic in my life as I’ve reflected back and learned to grow and ultimately to decompress from something that was very wrong,” Hinch said Friday on a Zoom call after the announcement. “As I told (Tigers owner Chris Ilitch) and Al both, that’s part of my story. That’s not part of the Tigers’ story. And I understand the question and I understand how wrong it was and I’m sorry for that. I’ve said that before. I’ll say it again and I continue to say it.”
The league concluded that
Hinch did not order or approve of the team’s trash can banging scheme. Hinch destroyed television monitors in the dugout to express his displeasure. Still, his inaction to stop his players led to his suspension and termination.
“I wish I would have (done more to stop it). I really do,” Hinch told MLB Network in March. “I think that’s a big question I’m going to process over what is now a season-long suspension. It’s something I’ve continued to think about certainly through the investigation and when you have to openly talk about it.”
"I wish I would have done more. Right is right, wrong is wrong, and we were wrong.”
Hinch acknowledged during that interview his desire to manage again. His reputation throughout the game, though undoubtedly stained due to the scandal, was still strong enough to keep his managerial hopes
afloat.
“As time went on, and I just sort of watched from afar how everybody that was involved with that handled themselves, I really admired how A.J. handled himself,” Ilitch said. “The way he expressed himself was exceptionally sincere and I felt it. He spoke from the heart. This was a man that had learned and grown from the experience. So that resonated with me.”
Hinch’s rapport with players, affable nature and culture-building are renowned throughout the sport. The lessons he learned following an awful, but abbreviated, tenure as the Diamondbacks manager manifested in Houston. On Friday, Hinch mentioned his cellphone was overflowing with congratulatory texts from former players. Among them: Justin Verlander, the longtime Tiger who raved about what the city is like with a winning team.
Hinch’s ability to connect with players and win over a clubhouse will receive its ultimate test — when he must confront a group of men that may still harbor ill will for the Astros’ rulebreaking in 2017.
“I’m sorry that they’re going to have to deal with it and that we’re going to have to talk about it, but that is our reality,” Hinch said. “Because wrong is wrong. And it was very wrong. I’ll be sure that everyone knows that I feel responsible because I was the manager, and it was on my watch and I’ll never forget it.”
Hinch played for the Tigers in 2003, taking 82 plate appearances during a season in which Detroit lost 119 games. The situation he’s inheriting is almost as dire.
The Tigers are mired in a complete rebuild, one signaled in earnest when they traded Verlander to the Astros in Sept. 2017. Detroit lost 98 games in both 2017 and 2018 before going 47-114 during the 2019 season and improving to 23-35 this year. After picking first overall in 2019 and 2020, the Tigers’ farm system is ranked sixth in the sport by Baseball America.
Hinch’s new position has parallels to his time in Houston. He arrived in 2015 after four straight seasons of 90 or more losses and guided the Astros through their renaissance. His 481 wins trail only Bill Virdon for the most in Astros history. Hinch’s .594 winning percentage is the highest of any manager in franchise history.
“The manager has to be the leader of the club,” Avila said. “Throughout the interview process and the different questions and the way he answered them and the way he expressed his experiences — good and bad — convinced me that he was ready to lead again and the players will follow.”