HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- A.J. Hinch said he was emotional upon landing in Houston on Sunday night an arriving at a hotel prior to his first game at Minute Maid Park since his firing as Astros manager in the wake of the team's 2017 sign stealing scandal, and he didn't expect those feelings to subside before the start of Monday's game between the Astros and his Detroit Tigers.
"I wish I had a great quote for the words or the right thing to say about what I'm feeling," Hinch said. "I know Jose (Altuve) described it as weird. It's different coming to the visiting side as the ex-manager.I think emotions will be on full tilt"
The Astros will play a video tribute for Hinch, who managed the team to four playoff appearances in five seasons, but the most successful of those teams is why he'll be in the opposite dugout the next three days.
"I do believe that we did some good things in Houston," Hinch said. "I do believe we were wrong in the behavior and the decisions in 2017. It's hard to have that cloud over the sport and be responsible for that and be the man that was the manager that it happened under my watch, so my relationship with with that time is complicated, it's very personal, it's it's something I take very seriously I will continue to apologize not only to the Houston fans, but to all the fans around baseball and and continue to repeat how wrong it was."
Hinch said his relationship with the Astros is "fine" and that he's been in communication with his former players and coaches since his suspension for the scandal ended at the conclusion of the 2020 World Series, and while he says he's trying to move past how his time in Houston ended, he's not running from it.
"We kind of made our own bed. We have to deal with the consequences of that. It's a it's a very important topic for us to deal with directly and then move forward into whatever futures bring for all of us, but it's, it's something that's going to be attached to all of us that were on that team, and it's our reality. I don't think we have the right to tell people how to feel or when they're done with it. Just continue to do good things continue to be the best version of yourself and hopefully this sport moves forward."
