Houston Astros Hire Former Diamondbacks Manager A.J. Hinch
By Mario Hicks
A.J. Hinch, former Arizona Diamondbacks manager, was hired as the manager of the Astros today.
House of Houston reported the story first, click here to read their article.
General manager, Jeff Luhnow, is confident he’ll be the man to return Houston to success.
“I think A.J. is going to be the manager that’s going to be here when we win the World Series,” Luhnow said.
A.J. Hinch was brought in to replace Bo Porter, who was fired Sept. 1 in his second year and replaced on an interim basis by Tom Lawless. The Astros finished 70-92 and fourth in the AL West.
Houston has been in a long rebuilding process and hasn’t finished above .500 since going 86-75 in 2008.
ESPN.com reports:
"“The goal is to win championships,” Hinch said. “It’s easy to say but a lot of work. We need to build on the success that this organization has seen.”A.J. Hinch managed Arizona from May 2009 until July 2010, when he was fired after a 31-48 start. He was the vice president of professional scouting for San Diego from 2010 until August.Porter was a first-time manager, and Luhnow said he wanted someone who had managerial experience this time around. A.J. Hinch also was attractive to Luhnow because he had worked in baseball front offices as well as been a manager.“He’s well-rounded — understands my perspective,” Luhnow said. “He comes with a breadth of experience that very few guys have. The whole combination, the whole package was very unique.”He thinks his experience with the Diamondbacks will help him in his second shot at managing.“You learn a lot in this game every day,” A.J. Hinch said. “Through getting knocked down a little bit … through losing a little bit too much, you reflect on that and try to get better.”He wouldn’t put any numbers on what he expects from the team next year.“We’re going to get this right … however many wins that means,” Hinch said. “I believe we can do things sooner rather than later.””"
Though the Astros certainly weren’t serious contenders in the 2014 season. For the first time in years they felt like they had come to the point where they were able to compete every night. It’s a key shift for a team that had lost 324 games over the previous three years combined, including a franchise-record 111 games in 2013.