Off suspension, Hinch hired by Tigers as new manager
As he waited out his suspension this year, AJ Hinch knew he wanted to return to baseball. The question was whether anyone in the sport would be ready to welcome him.
His answer came pretty quickly. “About 30 minutes after the World Series’ last out, my phone rang,” Hinch said.
It was Detroit general manager Al Avila, telling Hinch to get on a plane. The Tigers quickly hired Hinch as their new manager, giving him a chance to return to a major league dugout after he was fired by Houston in the wake of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
It may take a while for Hinch, the former Stanford and A’s catcher, to overcome the stigma of what happened in Houston, but he and his new bosses were ready to address the topic Friday.
“I understand the question and I understand how wrong it was, and I’m sorry for that,” Hinch said. “I’ve said that before, I’ll say it again, I’ll continue to say it. I’ll never forget the feeling that I’ve had throughout the past year as I’ve navigated this with my family, but you quickly get to the exciting
time of getting back and leading a group of men again, and establishing what Tigers baseball’s going to be all about.
“I’m sorry that today, that has to be a topic, and I understand why.”
The 46-year- old Hinch replaces Ron Gardenhire, who retired late this season. He takes over a team that has been rebuilding for the past few years.
Hinch guided Houston to the 2017 World Series title, but that championship — and a lot of what he accomplished there — is now viewed in a different light after an investigation found the Astros used a video feed from a center field camera to decode the opposing catcher’s signs, and players banged on a trash can to signal to hitters what was coming. In January, Major League Baseball suspended Hinch and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow for the season and the Astros immediately fired both.
Detroit went 23-35 in this shortened season, finishing last in the AL Central.
When Hinch took over the Astros before the 2015 season, they had not finished above .500 since 2008. Houston then had a winning record in all five years under Hinch, including that 2017 World Series title and the 2019 American League pennant.
Hinch is 570- 452 as a major league manager.
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Evans joins a group that also includes former Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Washington Nationals special assistant Dan Jennings and Chicago Cubs vice president in charge of player personnel Jason McLeod and Seattle Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander, a source confirmed.
The Angels have also interviewed Oakland A’s assistant GM Billy Owens.
CUBS’ LESTER BECOMES FREE AGENT >> Jon Lester’s $25 million mutual option for 2021 was declined by the Chicago Cubs, completing a $155 million, six-year contract and allowing the 36-year- old left-hander to become a free agent.
Lester was 3-3 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts this year with 42 strikeouts and 17 walks.
MLB CANCELS IN-PERSON OWNERS’ MEETING, WINTER MEETINGS >> Major League Baseball has canceled an owners’ meeting and the annual winter meetings because of the coronavirus pandemic. Owners had been scheduled to gather from Nov 17-19 in Arlington, Texas.
The winter meetings had been set for Dec. 7-10 in Dallas.