Detroit Tigers Hire Disgraced Manager A.J. Hinch; Bring on New Pitching Coach
The Detroit Tigers announced the hiring of A.J. Hinch, who will be charged with leading the franchise to its first playoff berth since 2014. The announcement came on October 30th, just three days after the end of Hinch’s suspension which coincided with the final out of the 2020 World Series.
Hinch said he received a phone call from Tigers’ General Manager Al Avila within thirty minutes of the final pitch of the 2020 MLB Postseason. Detroit clearly had their eyes locked on Hinch once it became clear that former manager Ron Gardenhire was retiring.
The move does not come without criticism, as Hinch sat at the forefront of one of the game’s most infamous cheating scandals. Under his watch, the Houston Astros devised a system to electronically steal opponents’ catcher’s and dugout signals to the pitcher, which they then relayed in live-time to the batter. Major League Baseball suspended Hinch for the 2020 season after finding that Hinch failed to stop the cheating during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Commissioner’s report also included the confirmation of evidence that indicated Hinch knew about the cheating and decided to destroy a video monitor in the team’s clubhouse, as he knew the Astros used said monitor to capture opponents’ signs. The Astros won the 2017 World Series over the Dodgers. Throughout the next two seasons, Hinch furiously denied claims by opponents that Houston was illegally stealing signs. Since MLB’s investigation, Hinch has acknowledged that what occurred in Houston was wrong.
The Tigers took a step forward this past season and look to improve drastically with Hinch in control. Young, talented prospects such as starting pitchers Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal earned some time in the Big Leagues during the shortened season. Starter Franklin Perez and outfielder Riley Greene also inched closer to playing at the major league level, with the former being added to the active roster and the latter playing at the Alternate Site after spending Summer Camp with the team. The team’s top prospects also tend to occupy the top of the league’s prospect lists, and with Major League ETA’s on the horizon, Hinch will have some talented ammunition.
Along with Hinch, the Tigers brought on Chris Fetter as the team’s new pitching coach. Fetter comes from the nearby University of Michigan, where he coached the school into the College World Series Finals. At only 34 years old, Fetter becomes another example of the trend of younger coaches at the major league level.
