A.J. Hinch talks spring training, closers and raising the bar | Tiger Territory
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch joins The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and cohost Kieran Steckley as the Tigers prepare to depart for spring training.
Listen as A.J. reflects on the highs and lows of the 2025 season, why the Tigers could be better in 2026 despite a similar roster, why he never appoints a set “closer,” how he’s communicated with Tarik Skubal in a high-publicity offseason and and much more.
Tiger Territory is the official Detroit Tigers Podcast of the Foul Territory Network.
17 comments
wow~! nice get boys! A.J. gonna pilot the Tigers to the W.S. this season! Sign J.V.!
Complete small market mindset money ball bullshit. We don't need to add better players to get better we just need our guys to keep improving beyond what they are capable of… blah blah
"The experts" told me that I'm supposed to doubt everything A.J. says and just make fun of the players and call them a "trash organization". 😂🤷♂🤦♂🤓😣😡🙄
I think the term "closer" should be called "stopper". I think Finnigan, Jansen, and Vest are all "stoppers". They have "out pitches"
All he does is give word salad answers. I really can’t stand this guy, and it shocks me how many people like him. Talent wins, end of story. He makes the game about him. He’s under 500 as the tigers manager, and people pretend he’s a genius.
We're definitely in good hands with AJ Hinch. Maybe tops in MLB
Hinch is handcuffed by theHorse-Bleep Trash Heap Harris/Illich Cabal.
we are in good hands with AJ 🙂
Did he really say, "It got away from us a little bit"? Yikes!
AJ is a good guy. Very personable and not afraid to talk; very different from managers in the past
All the way in 2026!
We have hitters on this team – I would have believed him more if he said we have some strike outers on this team and we need to control that… lol
Gotta be rare for a fan base to be so fond of a manager, but I think our team will always put its best foot forward with AJ at the helm. Never a doubt in regard to his preparedness and thoughtfulness in his decision making.
2025… a tale of 2 seasons. the tigers are a young team. like many developing teams the players become better hitters through at bats and experience. at least that's the hope. great set of questions from kieran and cody here. i like aj's method for using his relief pitchers. it demonstrates open mindedness and an ability to adapt to situations.
Torres came back bec nobody else would've paid $22M
This is the year
Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter better get ABs against mlb quality left handed pitchers especially Carp and Meadows