The Detroit Tigers hired A.J. Hinch to be their new manager Friday, 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.
Hinch replaces Ron Gardenhire, who retired late this season, and he takes over a rebuilding team that is hoping to start climbing the standings behind a handful of highly touted pitching prospects.
For the 46-year-old Hinch, this is an opportunity to revive his managerial career. He guided Houston to the 2017 World Series title, but that championship — and a lot of what Hinch 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.