OAKLAND, Calif. — Astros manager A.J. Hinch played his first game in this ballpark, now known as O.co Coliseum, on April 1, 1998. His retelling of the day usually turns into something of a joke surrounding the two key facts: the pitcher he was facing was Pedro Martinez and the pitcher he was catching was a knuckleballer, Tom Candiotti.
Hinch went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, plus a passed ball, as the Red Sox won 2-0 over Hinch’s A’s.
Welcome to the big leagues, indeed.
“I remember the stadium being very similar to how it is now without the big fancy jumbotrons,” said Hinch, a Stanford product who went to the A’s in the third round of the 1996 draft.