HOUSTON – Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch reflected on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal that cost him his job as the team’s manager in his return to Houston on Monday, saying it put a “cloud over the sport.” Hinch was suspended by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for a year in January 2020 and subsequently fired by owner Jim Crane for his role in the scheme that violated rules by using a video camera to steal catchers’ signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and again in the 2018 season.
He was hired by the Tigers this off-season and discussed the scandal prior to Monday night’s opener of a three-game series against the Astros.