Tigers manager A.J. Hinch joins FT

00:00:06
Speaker 1: It's Tiger's manager A J. Hinch joining us on FT. Good to see you, Aj, and what a week for your team?

00:00:14
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.

00:00:15
Speaker 1: First off, thanks for joining us. But i'll just get your description of the week in Tigers baseball. We'll start with Frambourg in a moment.

00:00:21
Speaker 3: But just what kind of week is this for you?

00:00:23
Speaker 1: First week of February supposed to be kind of chill, last week with the fam right a.

00:00:28
Speaker 3: Little bit, you know, it hasn't been. I mean, that's what we've been busy. You know. I just got to Lakeland today and ran into a bunch of our guys and and there's a little bit of energy around our team, and you know we're getting better. I mean, there are some things I can talk about, some things I can't, but I I love this time of year when you feel like it was a productive offseason, you made some additions, you you come in with a with a real chance to have a good team. And now I just want everybody to get here and get underway next week after what you know, super Bowl weekend is always kind of that last hang time, whether you're you're already a spring training or or home.

00:01:10
Speaker 2: You're really good at measuring the pulse or taking the pulse of a team. Do you feel like that energy from the guys you talk to or the guys that you've seen is different now that the Terek thing happened and the rumors they're just rumors about a free agent left handed pitcher. I know he's not official yet, But do you feel like the pulses or the the energy is different.

00:01:34
Speaker 3: I think I think for this particular offseason. Yes, obviously there's been a lot of talk around our team. There's been a lot of talk about Terrek and and his situation. And by the way, like when those situations come up, I think we need to remind everybody that the players earn the right to that to that process. Like I I understand how how volatile it can be and sometimes never went through arbitration, but I know so I know a lot of players who have. But I that's part of growing up as a big leaguer, and only the select few really get to that powerful position to be able to go through it at that at that stage of their career. So, but it's not part of what we're doing in the clubhouse, or what we're doing building a team, or our banter or our techs or our conversations, the business side that separates itself out. But the energy around our team is because I think for you know, last year was similar this year, like there's an expectation to win and there's an expectation to be better and better is pretty good off of the last two seasons that we've been able to put together and experience postseason baseball, and you got guys that come back that want to want to be a part of it, you know, like Glabor and Jack and and Finny and that that makes me feel good as a manager. And we have some young prospects in their first big league camp that's cool. And we're headlined by by Terrek, who's who's put together two of the most historic seasons in an organization and across baseball. So there's a lot to like about what we're doing. And now we're at the bottom of the mountain. Got to climb up again and see if we can win this division.

00:03:14
Speaker 1: A Jay, I know this is going to be difficult to answer, but you're a former player and you have reaped the benefit of one of, if not the best pitcher in baseball. Yeah, we can have the schoons, the skiing s Google conversation. So from this past week with the arbitration hearing, do you have a rooting interest, Like how did you view this thing? Because you know him, you love him, you want them to get paid. You're a former player, you also work for the team, and you want the team to spend on free agents, which seems like it's happening anyway, So how did you view this case?

00:03:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I want I want the players to get their due and I want teams trying to win the World Series, right, So like those are those are two things that are aligned all the time. And what I love about Terrek, you know, I was with them a couple of weeks ago with you guys in in New York City when he got the cy young I was, you know, he and I text quite a bit and and have some banter that we go back and forth about. And I it just has been separated from from what we're doing. And so like it's part of the business, it's part of growing up, you know. There it's easy to get hardened by the by the process of growing through you know, the pre R years, so the RB years to the potential of free agency. And I've seen it in my day across from when I was in Houston with a bunch of guys that now have gone on to make hundreds of millions of dollars. And what I what I love about Terrek is he's handling it like a true pro. Like he is. He is getting his work in at six o'clock in the morning with Justin Wakefield and the boys in Arizona. He's scheduled his flight to come out here and join the group in Lakeland, and he's got the business aspect, you know, going on in the background, and and he's doing his part. So I was rooting for just dead straight communication and let it go where the where the process goes while maintaining the culture and the idea that we have a kick ass team. He's a huge part of it. We got to turn turn the off season page into the regular season, and now we can knowing that Terror can pick up another bill or two.

00:05:20
Speaker 2: I have a two part, Yes, he definitely has to pick up the bill. I have a two part based on what you just said, have you ever seen anybody and can you tell who or can you tell me who it compares to as far as somebody who I've heard you say in other interviews separates the business and the baseball Nobody does it better than Scooble. Who would that be that did it just as well or close to it? And we need to know what some of those texts sounded like on that thread between you two before and after the hearing.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: So that the guy that I mean a very similar situation was Garrett Cole in Houston into the nineteen I mean, he was on the cusp of hitting free agency and he now has turned that into a major contract with the Yankees, and he was a cy young runner up I believe that year to Justin Verlander, who was also on our staff. So those two guys were huge and introducing me on like what that level of player and that level of star pitcher, what he goes through every five I think like his position players, it's a it's a little bit of an everyday mentality that you bring. You know, you bring your your bat and your glove to work and you get to play pitchers don't. So those those premium starts, in those premium years are are pretty unique, right like thirty two, thirty three, thirty four, hopefully thirty eight stars or whatever it takes to win the World Series. It's a little bit different for a pitcher than the position player who plays every day. So those two to me were huge. And you know, the thing I talked to Trek about aft or the hearing was you know, now are you ready to go, you know, win the Central and try to win the World Series? And he was, you know, in a few exclamation marks, was ready to go. And and we'll be down here this weekend. So you know, I my job in this as the manager is to is to continue to push him and continue to build an environment that has that has helped him at the very least thrive in in being Trek Scooble and being the dominant pitcher that he is. And so we get right to work if that's going to have a player plan for him on how we're going to continue to push him. He's been doing the bullpens. We're going to line up his his his work in spring, so he's ready for the for the you know, when he leaves Good Team USA for WBC, like we're we're here on the field and in the trenches to like keep that environment you know, you know, can conducive to to success and winning. And he's all about it.

00:07:55
Speaker 4: Yeah, I want to you brought up the World Baseball Classic, any concerns about him going there, and it's just gonna let him be and do what he has to do.

00:08:03
Speaker 3: I think we all have concerns at the time of the year for all of our guys. You know, I saw earlier today. I think I don't know if we're in the top ten. We have ten twelve guys who are going to the WBC, and they pick a lot of your good ones, right, Like we have a lot of good players on our team. But you know, the pitching getting ramped up that fast, Like I love the theater of Otani versus Trout, and you know, there's downside to potential, what can happen. It's good for baseball, but the timing of it always makes us a little bit nervous. Now a video Scoople throwing like ninety eight miles an hour, fitting in throwing ninety nine miles an hour, Like we have guys going live vps today. You know, Troy Melton, one of our young young pitchers, is in town. Like these guys are getting after it. Compared to how we used to ramp into spring training back in the day, it was a little bit of a slower pace, So maybe less concern knowing that these guys are already at full speed. But it's a lot to ask, and you just don't want anybody on my team or anybody else's team to to come back, come back, beat up.

00:09:09
Speaker 4: Was there ever any concern about a particular team throwing their top ten farm System guys they're best guys that get rid of.

00:09:18
Speaker 3: Tarik school Ball. I mean, were you ever concerned about that?

00:09:20
Speaker 4: Because I know there's a bunch of teams that would do probably anything to get a picture like that.

00:09:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I think the thing it's, you know, it's obviously flattering when you can upgrade every single team like he literally you know, like I said, there's tons of good pictures, you know, Skiings and Crochet and Wheeler and and guys that are amazing pictures. But Trek Scooble, you know, is it walks in the room and and it's a huge presence, and so you know, I always took it as like I have the best job in baseball. I get to put Terrek Scooble on the mountain, you know, in San Diego on day one and as many times as as we can get them on the mound and and and get as many wins as we can, so I you know, obviously you try to stay away from the rumor mill. And and of course people are going to express interests Trek Scooble like he people should want him on your team, But he's a Tiger. And I'm really happy that that he was able to navigate all of this offseason with relative eas and a ton of class and and and ultimately get focused on on next season.

00:10:22
Speaker 2: All right, one last scoobl question for me. You said your job as the manager and coaches is to motivate Terrek Scouble. What's one thing that motivates him? You know, some guys it's candy, other guys it's contracts. What motivates him. And I've seen you navigate it with bad players, and I've seen you navigate it with elite Hall of Fame players.

00:10:47
Speaker 3: So he needs feedback like you can't. You can't bs this dude like he needs like when you take him out of the game and you know, maybe he's had a rocky start, which it happens like two or three times year where he's just not quite feeling it or not quite punching out the world. Or whatever, Like he wants you to kind of punch him in the face and tell him that he's stunk that day, or you didn't like the way he did this, or you didn't like the way. He needs feedback, And so motivating him is hitting him, you know, dead dead straight with with the information that you have and what you're doing, and what the expectations are, why you're doing what you're doing, and and getting him into his routine and his process. So I I love that about him because like there are there are times where you you want to pat him on the back and just hand the ball to will Vest or hand the ball to Holt and or hand the ball to Finnegan or or ken Lee, but you know, and protect a little bit of what what Terrek is all about. But he needs, he needs feedback and that that to me, is the biggest fuel for him on getting him back into his routine for the next start.

00:11:52
Speaker 1: Okay, we're going to go to a different pitcher. And I know I mentioned him earlier and agent, you know, I've been in media for a minute at this point, and I know how to dance around this perfectly. I know how the rules work to a t Okay, So you trust me on this one. Tell me about your thoughts of fran Bervaldez as a pitcher, give me the scattering report, what you like about him. You're allowed to talk about any player in baseball. We're not talking about money, your business. We're just tell me how you view this player on the field and your experiences with him off the field.

00:12:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's tough to be, you know. I mean, he's he does a lot of things that that we love here right Like, he pounds his own, he gets the ball on the ground, he doesn't give up homers. He you know, he he he puts in the innings, but not just innings, but quality that come with it. And so the fact that he's been able to post year after year and and and continue to perform and continue to keep the ball on the ground and continue to evolve and adapt with it. He's got a ton of really good pitches. It's not sort of a one trick pony. So I I love what he brings to the to the to the mound with them. And we you know, we beat him a couple of years ago in the playoff game in the Wildcard series, specifically because we tried to just take away what he does best, which is try to get you to launch and try to get you to to pull the ball, and you know he comes back for more the next the next time, next go round. So I you know, I had him as a young player. I respect him, I trust him. I know that he can. He wants the ball and he wants to be great. That's one of the things that I that I learned about him early on. And you know, I'm looking forward to the resolution of this obviously, And there's no secret that that that he's a He's a major upgrade to any team and would be an upgrade to us.

00:13:40
Speaker 2: How do you navigate a player who has that energy, that fire and then has the situation where you know, with saysar sALS, are you being a next catcher getting crossed up or not getting crossed up? How do you navigate that with a player with the relationship that you've had with him, with that type of player in in your career.

00:14:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I take it back to like when you and I were together. You know I and I know you you know me, and like we both want like direct communication, right, like there's no dancing around anything, Like when you came on our team. You know you in Houston when I had you, you were you knew your role, you knew your what your situation was, you knew that the game is always a little bit unfair, especially to us backup catcher types. And you're like, but you just wanted informa. You want feedback, You want like be dead with me, be dead straight with me. Hey, shoot it out. You know what do you think? And so that's how I handle all these situations, which is like I look you in the eye and tell you what I think, and you're gonna look me and eye and tell me what you think, and then we're gonna find common ground on whatever happens and what you're gonna what you're gonna do about it. So like to me, finding a path to understanding each other in each other's perspective goes a long way in conflict, whether it's this situation or any other situation. And that's the communication art that comes with, you know, being in the clubhouse twenty four to seven and being around all sorts of different type of players who are motivated differently, or communicate differently, or have different thoughts like give them the floor, man, give them a chance, and rely on that trust that you build over time in the game that good things can happen moving forward.

00:15:27
Speaker 2: Is there a concerted effort in spring training for your team to score runs differently than you guys did it last year because you weren't able to bring in the massive offensive upgrade is what everybody's going to talk about. But you still have really good hitters. But you guys did strike out in the second half. You guys didn't score as many runs going culminating in the final game of your season, went for a lot of innings and you didn't score runs. Is there going to be a concerted effort to do something that is maybe just a minor tweak that makes a major adjustment.

00:16:02
Speaker 3: Uh? Probably. I mean, we're always gonna look for more. I mean, I we did score the most runs in in in Tiger's history for the last decade, like last year. Like we have a good team, we have a good offense, so I I know, we had a really tough stretch, you know, towards the tail end of the season. And then when you do it that way, the narrative seems to run in the other way a little maybe too far, Like we were top eleven offense. I believe we were top ten all year until the very end, and the swing and miss got us some of those games in the playoffs. You know that pitching we were facing wasn't terrible. They're pretty good, and so you know, these long, long games against the best teams aren't necessarily in the indication on whether you're a good offense or not. And we need growth and development. We need to we need to cut down on a few of the strikeouts, of course, but we we also see some emerging players who are probably gonna be a little better than they were last year based on how their offseasons have gone. We're gonna continue to chip away at being a tough offense. It hits the ball hard in the air. We need to pick the right pitches we you know, we need to. Obviously, ball and play is going to be is gonna be key for us, But our players deserve credit for what we actually did, not necessarily how we did it. But we we have a good team and we were one of the better offenses for the vast majority of the season. Just doesn't feel like it when the season ends the way it is. The lead the lead ends the way it does. The playoffs ended in a fifteen inning grueling. Just score me one more one and we're playing in Toronto. Totally get it, But that doesn't mean that we were a colossal bad offense that can't score.

00:17:39
Speaker 4: Two youngsters that are going to big league camp, Kevin mcgonagal and Max Clark talked to me a little about them, and where do you see them, you know, fitting in this twenty twenty sixth year.

00:17:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just saw them today. So it's what Friday before a Wednesday pitchers and catchers, which is then another four or five days until position players report, and those two kids are here in Lakeland. They were taking live VP off a couple of our pitchers. So like, that's a good start, right, If you're gonna come to camp that early and get after it, that's pretty impressive. So I love these kids and the energy they bring. And you know, the reputations are obviously out there. There are no more secrets anymore when it comes to these prospects. They get a ton of attention, a ton of love, and deservedly so for what they're doing. So I gotta get them to be themselves this spring. Like the guys we brought to camp are the high energy, high performers, guys having a good time. They're good baseball players. They're gonna walk into a major league clubhouse and maybe a little bit more nervous than they've been before when you look over and see Glabor and Hobby and ken Lee and Tarek and Jack and the boys. But I got to get those guys comfortable, you know, with this group of players, and then see what they can do. I mean, the better you play, the more you play, the better you play that the faster these timelines get going. And so there's a a little bit more increased pressure on these guys to show up and be good because of the attention they're getting. But I just want them to soak up our environment, our culture, the continuous learning, the hang with the with the with the boys they've watched play in the playoffs, and and see if they fit in, see where they fit in, and and and see what they can do to help contribute to a win. That's like a productive camp. And both of those two guys, along with a handful of other prospects who are with us, will we'll we'll make an impression. For sure.

00:19:30
Speaker 2: You're not a scripted person at all, but the day one meeting when everybody's in town. You know, pictures and catchers show up, and you're like, I'll talk with you guys when pictures and catchers show up them is your meeting? Is your speech after you introduce all the assistance, to the assistance, to the general manager, to the all that stuff, is your meeting going to be over under two and a half minutes because we're betting right now on the national anthem for the super Bowl? So is your meeting and your speech gonna be over or under two and a half minutes over? It'll be over, but it'll be under what people think. But it'll be over because I got a few things I want to show them to you. I'm gonna there's a video component of my of my first day that I want to show him something, so that that's gonna that's gonna take up probably two of those minutes. And I got a few extra things to say that may take me over the thirty extra seconds. Can you give us a sneak speak of what the video is?

00:20:27
Speaker 3: Now? The only person I shared with is my friend right here, Taykab.

00:20:32
Speaker 2: I was gonna ask you. I was gonna ask Todd if he knew who that was. Dang it, that's question.

00:20:39
Speaker 3: You didn't think I knew who that was? Dude, I know you didn't know who that was. Here we go. I got to bring this story back to lights. So this is in my office in Lakeland, and and there's a there. It's it's cracked. You can see there's a little cut. Do you guys know that story of how that how it was damaged? No? No, so as Led has told me, now, I wasn't there, but as as the legend has grown, none other than Jim Leland did not love the way that his team was playing at one point, and apparently a spike was thrown it at Ty Cobb. So you know, I'll try to confirm it again This spring was when when Jimbo comes down to spring training, but he saved down to No. This picture's been in in uh, in this office for probably since this this place was built. But Jim Leland has his fingerprints all over it.

00:21:33
Speaker 1: That makes it more valuable. It's a tip photo in the Tiger's facility and it's got the Leland component. All right, I got one more for you. I don't want to say it's hard hitting. I just wanted to get your take on this overall WBC. You've got Hobby bias. Recently we learned he can't play because of a marijuana suspension, which does not exist in baseball, and I'll say you don't have to, but many players go that route. So, uh, your thoughts on Puerto Rico, I'll kind of spin it that way too. They've really gone through it. And as it just a fan from the outside, that's the game that I play. It sucks because they're missing so many guys and it's just you're getting one story after another with this team not being able to put their best guys on the field. So what do you think about it?

00:22:17
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm bummed because I I want our best players across all of these countries to be represented. And that is such a fun team, you know, I I I grew closer to it. I had Alex Cora on my staff in Houston. Correa was obviously there and and you know, I've gotten to know Lindor over the years. I hear I manage Hobby and Joey Korra and janiev as two of my staff members are going to be on that coaching staff, and that to me, that that that's the that's the environment that that is so fun about our sport, and so I listen. I don't have to pay out the contracts and the insurance and all that stuff, but I I love the the when when you see the passion that's played amongst these countries, and and I do encourage guys to play when they can, when they're healthy and win it all. You know, check mark every box you have to, because it's it's unique.

00:23:08
Speaker 2: I have.

00:23:09
Speaker 3: I got to play in the ninety six Olympics. It forever as a memory in my life. Putting the USA across my chest and in Puerto Rico for me, such a rich history, especially this year with Carlos Beltron getting in the Hall of Fame like it. You know, it's gonna be missing something by not having you know, their best team available to them, and it's the nature of the rules. I get it. I don't have to pay it out, but I'm gonna miss it. Yeah, I'm with you.

00:23:36
Speaker 1: I know you're just a huge fan of the game too, and you'll be keeping an eye on those while you're running spring training, right, you got the Knights to watch WBC. So yeah, that one hits when I just see the names racking up I'm like, Damn Lindor Bias Correa. It's just that team could could shock the world, right, So a J, you're the man. Thank you so much for joining us. We really enjoy this. Appreciate it before things get really crazy for you, and you'll see some of us in camp. I think Prazinski's got your camp. So the AJ battle, you'll see Orlando.

00:24:08
Speaker 3: You know, he doesn't straight too far out of Orlando, so I don't blame him exactly.

00:24:12
Speaker 1: Easy commute to hit for him to Lakeland. So thank you, AJ. Enjoy the weekend. We'll talk to you soon.

00:24:17
Speaker 2: See Yeah,