Today marks the return of AJ Hinch to Houston, one season, 15 months, and seeming lifetime from when he was fired as a result of the Astros efforts to steal opponents’ signs in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
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| Yeah, this will take some getting used to. |
Hinch’s return to Houston at the helm of the Detroit Tigers leaves me with a feeling of longing. Hinch is the man who I want to be our manager.
The attitude of Astros fans towards Hinch’s return has been extremely positive. This twitter poll by talk radio host Sean Pendergast may not be scientific, but shows massive support for Hinch among his followers.
Dusty Baker said in his post-game press conference Saturday that Hinch “oughta be embraced like he deserves to be embraced” by Astros fans.
Hinch was complimentary of Houston fans, saying “The Houston fans have been incredible to me. Both before the sign-stealing, after the sign-stealing when I was the manager there..It’s home for me. That city matters to me..Obviously, it’ll be very emotional when I see ‘em.”
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Why are Astros fans so positive about AJ Hinch, who was unceremoniously fired by owner Jim Crane after the release of the commissioner’s report on the details of the “banging scheme?”
The first reason is that Hinch won as manager in Houston. The led the team to four playoff appearances, three straight 100 win seasons, and of course, the team’s greatest moment--the team's only World Series victory.
Astros fans also feel embattled by what they see as an overreaction by fans of other baseball teams to the sign stealing scandal. It's clear that a bunker mentality has developed among the team's fanbase. Supporting Hinch is another way for Astros fans to fight back against the over-the-top vitriol espoused by opposing fans.
For me, the reasons for supporting Hinch go beyond these two, and are more complicated than just he won and the team is getting booed too much. For me, AJ Hinch was unfairly made the scapegoat for sign stealing, and he has paid the greatest price for the Astros's sins. Yet the evidence shows that Hinch did not have a direct role in the sign stealing and trash can banging.
And second, Hinch is one of the most talented and capable modern managers, and his is a substantial loss in managerial talent.
Let’s start with the first point. Who is the only authority figure to object to the “banding scheme?” It is AJ Hinch, who in the legalistic language of Rob Manfred’s report “attempted to signal his disapproval of the scheme by physically damaging the monitor on two occasions, necessitating its replacement.” What does that mean in simpler English? Hinch smashed the monitor being used to detect signs with a bat. Twice.
These two efforts by Hinch proved ineffectual, as the monitor was replaced and the sign stealing continued.
There is a clear contradiction between Hinch’s intention--”My mindset at that point was to demonstrate that I didn’t like it” and the fact that the players told the commissioner that if “Hinch told them to stop engaging in the conduct, they would have immediately stopped.” Hinch later reflected that “In hindsight, I should have had a meeting.” It sounds like that would not have done the trick.
To me, the villain of the sign stealing scandal is Alex Cora, bench coach of the 2017 Houston Astros. Manfred’s report says “Cora was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs. Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’ conduct.”
Bad stuff. And yet, Cora’s punishment for actively running the sign stealing scheme, which continued in Boston after he was hired there for 2018, is the same as Hich’s--a one year suspension. What’s worse? Creating an entire “banging scheme” or not being able to stop it?
Punishment is appropriate for Hinch because as manager, he is responsible for what happens in his clubhouse, dugout, and the hallway in between. But Cora’s behavior was clearly worse, and deserved greater punishment.
Of course, the managers were always going to be scapegoats that received punishment for their role in the sign stealing scandal. Major league rules--written by the owners--limit the ability of their employee--the commissioner--to fine teams and punish owners. Punishment of the players seemed unlikely as the players union has plausible defenses to reduce the culpability of players. Manfred opted to offer players immunity in exchange for their testimony, and leave the punishment of players to booing fans.
But managers like Hinch are not allowed to appeal their suspensions. It is also seems that Manfred and Jim Crane reached a handshake agreement that Crane would fire Hinch (and former GM Jeff Luhnow), though no evidence has emerged to prove my suspicions here.
The firing of Hinch was probably necessary to quell Rob Manfred’s desire for punishment against somebody and to limit the public relations damage to the team. But firing Hinch takes away from the Astros one of the top modern managers in baseball.
Hinch combined an extreme focus on details with an understanding of the psychology of his players. One example: Hinch would notify players in advance when they would get an off-day, allowing players to adjust their routines and preparation.
The Jeff Luhnow era Astros aimed to be at the cutting edge of baseball’s information revolution. But that forward level thinking only worked because of the ability of Hinch and his coach’s ability to explain that information to players in a way that they understood.
Hinch's experience before and between his managerial jobs was in the front office. Based on that experience, Hinch understood the ins and outs of roster construction and front office moves better than most managers. Hinch was able to be an extension of the front office’s goals in the clubhouse, yet was able to carve out an independent identity to his personality.
Evidence of Hinch’s managerial skills is provided by his new boss. Tigers General Manager Al Avila called Hinch only 30 minutes after the last out of the World Series--i.e. 30 minutes after Hinch’s suspension had ended--to arrange for Hinch to fly to Detroit the next day to interview for the Tiger's open managerial job. Avila wanted a high-skilled manager to lead his team, and wasted no time to get him.
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AJ Hinch is the best manager is Houston Astros history. I declared this in 2019, after he passed Larry Deirker for second place on the Astros managerial wins list.
Congratulations to AJ, the greatest manager in Houston Astros history. https://t.co/dTDJXXqzqV
— Breathin' Orange Fire (@OrangeFire_) July 20, 2019
My declaration reflected not only Hinch’s success as manager of our favorite team, but also his skills as a manager. Much has happened since I made that statement in July of 2019. These were seemingly heady days before we all learned the name Brandon Taubman, Gerrit Cole stayed in the bullpen, Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal broke the banging scheme scandal, or we knew what the word COVID meant.
We certainly know more about AJ Hinch and his flaws. He was unable to stop his players and one of his assistants from executing a cheating scheme that would harm all of their reputations for only a tiny bit of benefit. Heck, he left his best pitcher in the bullpen in Game 7 of the World Series.
There may be a villain in this story (Cora), but there is no hero. Hinch did wrong. But Hinch did the least wrong of anybody involved in the sign stealing scandal and was the one person who tried to do something morally good. That he has received the most punishment may be understandable, but seems cosmically unfair.
The absence of AJ Hinch has made me more aware of his talents and skills as a manager. And I am cheering for the Tigers because I hope those skills don’t go to waste on rebuild that goes nowhere.
In short, I miss AJ Hinch. Tonight, I know Hinch to receive a standing ovation from Astros fans when he is introduced as the manager of our opponents. And in my living room, I’ll join them.
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