For Tigers manager AJ Hinch, his team’s victory represents a taste of redemption

DETROIT – For a moment, AJ Hinch stood out next to the pitcher’s ward as delirium gripped the rest of the field.

While his players and coaches celebrated, Hinch stayed away from the action. He hugged his wife and daughter. He craned his neck and looked toward the stands, immersing himself in the exuberance of a fan base that hadn’t seen postseason baseball in a decade. That drought ended on Friday. Hinch led a team that faced a more daunting climb than perhaps any other. The little thing was brought up several times throughout the week: These Tigers and the 1973 Mets are the only teams in history to be eight games under .500 in August and make the playoffs. No one in the Wild Card era has come this close to the mathematical impossibility of fighting for a playoff spot.

Hinch led the Astros to a World Series in 2017 and then served a one-year suspension for his role in a monumental sign-stealing scandal. Now he is part of history again. By October, he had come a long way in four seasons in Detroit, 3 1/2 of which were spent managing a losing team. There were many nights when he left the Tigers’ parking garage and headed his car north toward his suburban Detroit home, unable to keep his mind from racing as his spirits simmered after another loss. When asked Friday evening how he was different as a leader than the last time in October, he quickly replied: “I’ve had to be a lot more patient.”

Here is the highlight. Hinch stood in the middle of the clubhouse Friday night after defeating the Chicago White Sox 4-1. Plastic covered the walls. A car full of alcohol. Hinch held a bottle of champagne and turned to his team. “When I asked you in the middle of the season … do you remember I asked you, ‘What kind of team do you want to be?'” Hinch said.

He paused for effect.

“I guess you wanted to be a playoff team.”

I guess we wanted to be a playoff team pic.twitter.com/MaaFrcO5st

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 28, 2024

Hinch uncorked the champagne. The players spat the brutality all over the room. His eyes burned.

Half an hour later, he was sitting at a podium, doing his best to maintain the façade of a manager focused on the next task, until finally the tiniest cracks began to appear.

“When I first came to Detroit, I didn’t know if I could do it again,” Hinch said. “It means a lot to me to be a leader on this team and for an organization to take a risk.”

Reflecting on his look across the pitch, Hinch said: “I don’t know the emotion, I don’t know the word… I’m just so proud of this group.”

If the bin banging and the monitors had never happened, if Hinch had put an end to the blatant cheating, if Jim Crane hadn’t taken a tough stance and fired his manager after MLB imposed his suspension, everything would be different. Maybe Hinch would still be the manager of the Houston Astros. He might have been baseball’s closest thing to a modern dynasty. Nine playoff appearances, seven division titles, the infamous World Series victory in 2017 and another title in 2022. With Hinch as manager, the Astros might have had even more hardware, an even stronger claim to that dynastic title. In this alternate universe, Hinch would be the most decorated manager in the game, paving a path that would end with a plaque in Cooperstown.

On the hard days, it would have been natural to wonder…what if? But on nights like these the path seems clearer. The twists and turns make a little more sense.

Hinch is here because former Tigers general manager Al Avila called him minutes after the end of the 2020 World Series — and Hinch’s suspension. He’s here because the White Sox, in the infinite wisdom of owner Jerry Reinsdorf, hired Tony La Russa. Hinch canceled his flight to Chicago and never gave an interview. Hinch had spent most of his year in the shadows. His family rented a home in San Diego, where they tried to block out all the anger over the scandal and fears of COVID-19. He then took on a difficult task at a reconstruction organization. He immediately regained his credibility as one of the game’s most thoughtful and prepared managers. His first Tigers team got off to a miserable start and then finished the season 68-61. One could easily imagine the neat script, the tidy redemption arc, that could have ended with Hinch steadily moving upwards toward cult status in Detroit.

However, the next season was a disaster. The season after that was similar to the first: brutal start, strong finish. There were promising prospects and more games where the future seemed bleaker than the day Hinch took the job. “Manager years are like dog years,” Hinch said two years ago on the morning of his 48th birthday. Now in his fifth decade, his hair has turned gray and his face has aged. And his baseball team has finally started winning.

(Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The Tigers made this run thanks to the resilience of their players, the Cy Young-level heroics of Tarik Skubal and the All-Star game of Riley Greene. But it’s impossible to tell their story without touching on their manager, who mixed and matched his bullpen after the team traded away its most experienced players, the one who uses pinch hitters at a rate 38 percent higher than the average Manager , the one whose team now consists of 12 rookies and a group of unheralded and unproven players who are heading into the playoffs after a surprising 31-11 record.

On Thursday night, wide-eyed rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy said: “AJ does a really good job of predicting the game. It’s kind of weird how he kind of knows.”

The next evening, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris explained the mood amid the celebratory crowd.

“We intentionally built the roster a certain way because we knew he was going to get the best out of that roster,” Harris said. “Yesterday we used all 14 position players. Today we had a bullpen that could be combined in different pockets. When you have a talented manager like AJ, it’s pretty fun to build a squad.”

Hinch has led his Tigers teams with a deft hand despite their previous records. The players praise his direct communication style. Sometimes they are impressed by his ability to hold court and captivate with stories from his years in the game. However, Hinch’s influence is never more evident than in the games where he is considered one of the sport’s best tactical managers. His players always seem to be in positions where they have a mathematical advantage.

“I think he will take that spot again on a championship team,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker predicted back in May. “I think they have the right man leading this team.”

At a time when managers shouldn’t matter, Hinch has proven once again that he makes a difference in the dugout. For the first time in his tenure in Detroit, the record and year-end results support the theory.

“He was here long before I got here,” Harris said. “He has seen through the ups and downs of this organization. He should be very proud of what we did this year because he was right in the middle of it.”

His mantra is “Win ​​today’s game,” and for the last six weeks he has largely ignored questions about the standings and the playoff race. He preaches a consistent message to his team. But he was also watching games with the multiviewer on one evening last week and was emotionally absorbed in what was happening around the league.

His dugout character is stoic. His temper rarely flares up. Sometimes fans have asked him to show more emotion, to blast a referee after a botched call or to blast a player after a stupid mistake. That’s never been his style. But the losses of the last four years have taken a toll on his psyche and gnawed at his competitive spirit. After the Tigers won Thursday, he smiled. “I know what it feels like to achieve something and I really want these guys to taste it,” he said that night. “We’re getting closer every day.” After the Tigers won Friday, Hinch hugged his coaches and flashed a boyish grin.

In public, he chooses every word carefully. He can be calculated and conscientious down to the smallest detail. But one day this summer, he complained about radio hosts and bristled at the direct question: “Do you think you’re doing a good job?”

Despite the odds, Hinch led a team that changed the odds, that won dramatic games and simply believed until the clichés turned into results. The field for the American League Manager of the Year is full, and Stephen Vogt from Cleveland and Matt Quatraro from Kansas City also have convincing claims. But Hinch has put his hat in the middle of that ring. A team selected under the PECOTA projection system to win 75 games now has 86 wins with two more to go. Placement in the playoffs has yet to be determined. They will open the AL Wild Card round in either Baltimore or…Houston.

In the coming days, whether it’s the Astros or the Orioles, the manager will continue to say the right things. Wearing a navy blue shirt that read OCTOBER BOUND, Hinch made it clear that the Tigers’ ambitions are bigger than just getting there.

“I will be as steady in the next series as I have been in this period,” said Hinch. “Do I like it? A ton. Will I be determined to beat this team? You’re damn right because I know what October brings, what decision points there are and what pressures and fears experienced teams have, let alone a young team, and they won’t notice me shying away.”

But think about the journey and read between the lines. Watch the sparkle in his eyes as he looked out into the crowd. There’s so much more bubbling inside.

“I’ll be emotional in my own way, probably behind closed doors,” Hinch said. “I won’t tell you what returning to October really means to me.”

(Top photo: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)