HOUSTON (AP) — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch reflected on the Astros' sign-stealing scandal that cost him his job as the team’s manager in his return to Houston on Monday, saying it put a “cloud over the sport.”
Hinch was suspended by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for a year in January 2020 and subsequently fired by owner Jim Crane for his role in the scheme that violated rules by using a video camera to steal catchers’ signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and again in the 2018 season.
He was hired by the Tigers this offseason and discussed the scandal prior to Monday night’s opener of a three-game series against the Astros.