NEW YORK -- Astros manager A.J. Hinch has been inside both versions of Yankee Stadium many times, but Friday marked the first time he toured Monument Park in center field. Hinch snapped a photo of the plaque for former Yankees pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Sr. and planned to text it to him.
Stottlemyre was an advisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks when Hinch was the farm director. Mel Stottlemyre Jr. was the pitching coach at the time, and Hinch has remained closed to both father and son. Mel Jr. is currently the pitching coach in Seattle.
"When both of us went to the big leagues, Mel Sr.