A.J. Hinch, the Detroit Tigers' new manager, carries a dirty asterisk and unmistakable stain for his role in his last gig, as the manager of the cheatin’, trash-can bangin’ Houston Astros.
Because he could have stopped it. He should have stopped it. But he didn’t. And that should raise red flags about his leadership abilities.
“It happened on my watch,” he told the MLB Network after getting fired from the Astros. “I’m not proud of that. I’ll never be proud of it. I didn’t like it. But I have to own it.”
[ The AL Central just became the 'Murderer's Row' of managers in 2021 ]
Hinch has said he regrets his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal, and by that, I mean, looking the other way and doing enough to stop it.