A.J. Hinch Achieves Notable Career Feat as Detroit Tigers Manager
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The Detroit Tigers were in need of something to go their way on this home stand and with how it's started, their prayers are being answered. Taking the first two games against the Miami Marlins, looking to sweep them out of Detroit, the Tigers are slowly climbing back into the AL Central.
Detroit has been heavily favored to win its division this season, and some have even bolder predictions for the franchise, but that can be discussed as the season progresses. At face value, the Tigers are on a two-game winning streak, with their sixth win of the season being an important one for manager A.J. Hinch.
Hinch Punches 400th Career Win as Tigers Manager
Beating the Marlins 6-1 on Saturday marked Hinch's 400th win as the Tigers manager. According to Tigers PR on X (formerly Twitter), he is the eighth manager in franchise history to reach 400 wins and joins Cincinnati's Terry Francona (Boston and Cleveland) as the only two active skippers with 400 wins with more than one team.
In five seasons as the Tigers manager, before entering his sixth in 2026, Hinch has taken Detroit back to the playoffs twice, most recently in 2025. He took over the duties and has turned this franchise into one of the more underrated lineups and pitching rotations in the league.
His first few seasons in Detroit weren't pretty, but that's not entirely his fault. The Tigers won 77 games in Hinch's first year as manager, 66 in 2022, 78 in 2023, and 80-plus in 2024 and 2025. Detroit has a ton to live up to this season and could help increase Hinch's career statistics in doing so.
He also brought "pitching chaos" to Detroit, which ultimately got them into the playoffs after having a 0.2% chance in 2024. While the Tigers don't use pitching chaos as much as they used to, it shows that Hinch and the team will do whatever it takes to help land some victories.
While he may not have brought the Tigers to the World Series, it doesn't mean he isn't the one to do so.
This roster, when all performing at their best, has deep playoff caliber to its name. They have the back-to-back American League Cy Young in Tarik Skubal, a fantastic second in Framber Valdez, and a young lineup that is only going to continue turning heads, despite its poor start to the campaign.
Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.