Bob Melvin will not be manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, according to a report in the Arizona Republic. Melvin has already been fired, a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Associated Press.A.J. Hinch, a catcher who played seven years in the majors, will replace Melvin, according to a report by SI.com.
Arizona is 12-17 after Thursday's 10-inning loss at San Diego and in fourth place in the NL West. The Diamondbacks' core of young talent has not progressed as some had expected after the team reached the 2007 NLCS under Melvin. He was NL Manager of the Year for that season.
But since bolting out to a 27-15 start (and 5 1/2-game lead) last year, Arizona is 67-82.
This is the second time Melvin has been fired, and the second time he took a job and then saw the front office above him change.
After serving as Arizona bench coach when they won the 2001 World Series, Melvin was hired by Seattle for the 2003 season. But then Pat Gillick left as GM, and Bill Bavasi took over. He fired Melvin after the 2004 season.
Melvin returned to the Diamondbacks that offseason after the bungled hiring of Wally Backman as manager. But an ownership shift was followed by another new GM, Josh Byrnes.
Overall, Melvin is 493-508 in 1,001 games as a manager, including a 337-340 record with Arizona.
