A.J. Hinch’s first public appearance in The Bronx A.S. (After the Scandal) went surprisingly quietly.
“I’m well aware I’m not the most liked person in New York,” Hinch said Friday afternoon, hours before his Tigers opened a series with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Yet Hinch stepped on the field twice, bringing out his team’s lineup card moments before the first pitch and then changing pitchers in the fourth inning of his club’s 10-0 loss. No significant booing greeted him either time.
Which wasn’t the anticipated outcome for Hinch’s long-awaited return to the Stadium, his first time here since Major League Baseball revealed its findings that Hinch’s Astros illegally stole signs, by use of a monitor situated near their dugout at Minute Maid Park, during their 2017 American League Championship Series victory over the Yankees. That confirmation, in January 2020, resulted in Astros owner Jim Crane immediately firing Hinch as well as Houston’s president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow; MLB suspended both for the 2020 campaign. The Tigers hired Hinch last offseason.
AJ Hinch didn’t hear many boos in his return to Yankee Stadium, but he understands his local status. AP Photo“I understand it’s going to be attached to me long after my hope of that day we can move forward into the future,” Hinch said. “So coming back to Yankee Stadium, I’ve got a lot of respect for the people across the way, for the fan base here, for the experiences that I’ve had here. But I’m not denying the fact it’s not going to be the most friendly environment I’ve ever been in.”
