A.J. Hinch has endured the highs and the lows in his career as a manager.
He managed a team in rebuilding phase, the Arizona Diamondbacks, in 2009 and 2010.
Baseball gave him another chance at a rebuilding franchise with the Houston Astros in 2015 but this time, they were about to blossom and he helped them.
In 2017, he won the World Series with Houston and, after two excellent seasons in 2018 and 2019, the fallout of the sign-stealing scandal resulted in a suspension for 2020 and him parting ways with the Astros.
The Detroit Tigers were there to offer him a managerial job in 2021.
Detroit’s roster was in shambles back then: he still hasn’t had a winning season with the Tigers.
However, the organization saw enough progress being made at all levels of the roster to give Hinch a deserved contract extension.
“AJ Hinch has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Tigers. The terms of the deal were not announced by Tigers president of baseball operations, Scott Harris,” MLB on FOX tweeted.
AJ Hinch has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Tigers.
The terms of the deal were not announced by Tigers president of baseball operations, Scott Harris. pic.twitter.com/5S00bb1lF6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 4, 2023
Now, Hinch will be around for the long haul.
After finishing with a disappointing 66-96 record in 2022, the Tigers improved to 78-84 in 2023, good enough for second place in the AL Central.
Hinch, his coaching staff, and the Tigers organization as a whole helped key young players improve their performance considerably in 2023: Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Andy Ibanez, Tyler Holton, Alex Faedo and others had positive campaigns to build around for the future.
The front office believes that Hinch can help them, plus others, take the next step in 2024.
They will be without ace Eduardo Rodriguez, sure, but the young Tigers could be a year or two from truly breaking out.
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