AJ Hinch Managerial Era

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Hinch was named manager of the Houston Astros on September 29, 2014, replacing Bo Porter. In the 2015 season, he led the Astros to an 86–76 record and a wild card berth, Houston's first playoff appearance since their 2005 World Series run. In the Wild Card Game, the Astros defeated the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium, 3–0, to advance to the ALDS. Hinch's Astros took a 2–1 ALDS lead over the Kansas City Royals, but lost the series. In 2016, Houston began the season 7–17 and finished 84–78, not qualifying for the playoffs. In 2017, the Astros achieved a club-record of 50 wins in 74 games and finished 101–61, winning their first AL West division title since joining the AL. Hinch guided the team past the Boston Red Sox in four games in the ALDS, with his decision to have Justin Verlander pitch in relief in Game 4 receiving attention. In the ALCS against the Yankees, after his team won the first two games at home, the Yankees rallied with three wins in New York. With a pivotal Game 6 in Houston and Verlander on the mound, the Astros won 7–1. In Game 7, he chose Charlie Morton as his starter; Morton tossed five innings, and Hinch brought in Lance McCullers Jr to pitch the final four in relief as the Astros shutout the Yankees, 4–0, clinching their first-ever AL pennant. The Astros faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series and won in 7 games. In Game 7, Morton pitched the final four innings as the Astros won, 5–1, to clinch their first-ever title. With the win, Hinch earned his 14th playoff victory as manager of the Astros, establishing a club record. On August 30, 2018, the Astros signed Hinch to a four-year extension. On May 28, 2019, Hinch won his 500th game as manager. The Astros won a franchise-record 107 games during the regular season, but lost to the Washington Nationals 4 games to 3 in the World Series.

In Their Own Story

On January 13, 2020, during the offseason, Hinch and Jeff Luhnow, the team's general manager, were suspended one year for violating MLB policies in a sign stealing scandal in 2017. The investigation revealed that Hinch did not approve of the players using a replay monitor to decode signs, and even went as far as to wreck the monitor on at least two occasions. However, he admitted that he did not stop the practice or explicitly let it be known that he disapproved of it. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred harshly criticized Hinch for not doing more to stop the scheme. According to Manfred, the manager is responsible for 'ensuring that the players both understand the rules and adhere to them.' Manfred concluded that there was 'no justification for Hinch's failure to act,' since Hinch was the players’ immediate supervisor. If Hinch commits further 'material violations' of baseball rules, he will be permanently banned from baseball. Hinch fully expected to be suspended, but believed Manfred would only suspend him for a month at most. On the same day, Astros owner Jim Crane fired Hinch and Luhnow, saying, 'Neither one of them started this but neither one of them did anything about it.' Crane said that he was going beyond MLB's sanctions because he had 'higher standards for the city and the franchise.' Largely on the strength of his final three seasons–all but one of the four 100-win seasons in franchise history at the time of his firing–Hinch ended his tenure as the second winn...

Reader's Guide

Hinch took over in 2015 after a brief interim period, aiming to stabilize a talented roster. The early years focused on consistency, leading to multiple division titles as the team cemented its dominance in the AL West. By 2017, the squad reached its zenith, defeating the Dodgers in seven games to claim the World Series banner. Following the championship, the team remained competitive, reaching the League Championship Series in subsequent years. However, the atmosphere shifted dramatically after an MLB investigation into sign-stealing methods was released in late 2019. His departure marked the end of a transformative but controversial chapter. Ownership and leadership moved forward with new management strategies, leaving this era as a complex mix of on-field glory and off-field scandal within the broader Astros timeline.

Did You Know?

• Hinch was the youngest person to be named manager of a Major League team since Eric Wedge when he took over the Diamondbacks in 2009 at age 34 years and 357 days.
• In Game 4 of the 2017 ALDS, Hinch had Justin Verlander pitch in relief, a decision that received attention.
• Hinch earned his 14th playoff victory as Astros manager in the 2017 World Series, establishing a club record that eclipsed the 13 attained by Phil Garner.
• Hinch wrecked the replay monitor on at least two occasions to show his disapproval of players using it to decode signs, but admitted he did not stop the practice.
• The year-long suspension was the second-most severe punishment in baseball history meted out to a manager for in-game misconduct, behind only St. Louis Browns manager Jack O'Connor's lifetime ban.