On Friday night’s interview with MLB Network’s Tom Verducci, A.J. Hinch was asked some pointed questions, and some of his answers were surprising. Hinch was fired by Astros owner Jim Crane after the Manfred report, detailing the Astros sign-stealing scheme. When asked if he thought that his 2017 team championship was tainted, he responded: “It’s a fair question, I think everyone is going to have to draw their own conclusions [as to whether the championship is tainted]. I hope over time and the demonstration of the talent of this team and the players and the careers that are being had — we have some of the best players in the entire sport all together on the same team — I hope over time it’s proven that it wasn’t [tainted].