No Experience Needed: D'backs' Hinch Learning on Fly

A.J. Hinch knows he is going to make mistakes. He knows he has a lot to learn.

Truth to be told, one leads to the other.

The new Diamondbacks manager, who created a stir earlier this month when he was hired despite having never managed at any level, told FanHouse over the weekend that he's already learning from his mistakes.

Last week in an extra-inning game in Florida, Hinch used his second-to-last position player to pinch-hit with nobody on base. After the game, he realized that would have been a good spot to use a starting pitcher to hit, saving a player.

"It's something I caught on to after the game, just thinking about it from a different perspective," Hinch said. "So the next day I had the same opportunity, and I used Jon Garland and sent him up to bunt.

"In a short time I've learned this job is all about second-guessing yourself ... The nature of this job is to second-guess yourself. You can only make decisions with sound intentions and conviction. Obviously, you learn from your mistakes."

Hinch knows that he is under more of a microscope than a garden-variety new manager because he represents a great experiment. A gamble.

A former catcher, Hinch was a star at Stanford and a member of the 1996 Olympic team. He played in the majors with the A's, Royals, Tigers and Phillies before retiring in 2005, at the age of 30. He joined the Diamondbacks front office and became the director of player development.

Hinch was following a virtually identical career path of one of his mentors, A's GM Billy Beane.

"This job is all about second-guessing yourself."
--Arizona manager A.J. HinchUntil three weeks ago.

That's when the Diamondbacks made a sharp and stunning switch, taking Hinch out of the front office, sticking him in the dugout and giving him a four-year deal.

"This is a hire that was greeted with a lot of skepticism," Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes told FanHouse. "As time has gone on, a lot of people are believing in the merits of it. The skeptics will believe in time."

Some of those skeptics were within the Arizona clubhouse. Players were not immediately ready to accept a 34-year-old manager who had never made a double-switch, never gone to the mound to make a pitching change, never put on a hit-and-run.

What's more, a lot of them liked former manager Bob Melvin, and didn't feel like he should have taken the fall for their failures in the first place.

"At first I was a little stubborn about the whole thing," right-hander Dan Haren said. "I didn't want to give [Hinch] a chance. After a day or two, I kind of came to it with more of an open mind. I have a pretty good relationship with him now."

Hinch, who turned 35 a week after getting the job, said he's had two meetings with the players to introduce himself and to try to earn their respect. Having spent more time as a player than he has an an executive, though, he knows how players think. He knows the transition will take time.

"I see them being more comfortable as time passes by," Hinch said. "Anytime you go through a manager change, and I went through a few as a player, there is an immediate wall put up, an immediate resistance because they let the former guy down. Bob Melvin is a terrific manager, a good man. He had a lot of good relationships. He did a lot for this club. Taking over for him is not easy. They are not easy shoes to fill. Slowly, over time as you experience things and they get to know me on the field, the walls will slowly come down and we'll get back to the basics of what it takes to win."

The Diamondbacks lost six of their first seven games under Hinch, who took over on May 8, but since then they have won six of eight.

Haren said he's noticed a change already in Hinch.

"I've seen him develop just in the few weeks he's been here," he said. "I've been impressed."

Byrnes said so far he's been satisfied that Hinch has "adjusted very quickly to the speed of the game. We've had some unbelievable games in the first two weeks."

Kirk Gibson, the bench coach under Melvin, kept his job. Haren said Gibson has "helped [Hinch] along the way, helped him grow into the position."

The learning curve is obviously sharp for someone who brought so little experience to the job. Since the surprise announcement, Hinch has heard a hundred questions including the words "no managerial experience." He's gotten more attention, and more criticism, than just about any other manager upon receiving his first job.

"It's a fact: coming into this job I didn't have any managing experience, but I don't think that negates the experience that I did have," Hinch said. "Playing the length of time I did, managing 150 players and 50 staff members in the player development system, being a former catcher and being involved in the pitching side and offensive side. What experience I don't have is the title and the actual function of managing, but the experience I do have is valuable."


It certainly was to Byrnes. He said the Diamondbacks' identity is based on the players who have come up through their farm system, players like Justin Upton, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Chad Tracy and Chris Young. As the next wave of farm products matriculates to the majors, Byrnes wanted the transition to be seamless.

"When a player comes here, whether he initially succeeds or fails, the longer view of that player needs to be in place, and A.J. certainly has that view," Byrnes said.

As the director of player development, Hinch was focused on moving up the front office ranks, likely toward becoming a GM. He didn't give much thought to managing until Byrnes brought up the idea, just days before Melvin was fired. Hinch said he was never reluctant to accept.

"I never doubted being ready," he said. "I love challenges. Sure, I have some nervousness as to some aspects of the job, new parts of it, the reaction of the players... I feel prepared to do a good job. I've got a lot to learn, but I'm not fearful of the responsibility."