He's Out! Detroit Tigers Manager AJ Hinch Was Suspended for a Game Due to Player Violation

When you hear that a baseball player was suspended from one game or a handful, it’s easy to chalk it up to being due to the use of performance enhancement drugs or being linked to gambling.

Through the years, various players have made headlines for accusations that were proven to be true. And aside from losing playing time, they’re often not compensated during the suspensions.

However, things take a different turn when you learn of a baseball team’s manager being suspended. While managers are held to the same standard as baseball players and more, it’s easy to believe their suspension stems from a harsher violation.

And with the news of Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch being suspended spreading like wildfire, fans have questions.

According to ESPN, AJ’s suspension comes at the hands of one of the team’s players, Framber Valdez. The left-hander was responsible for throwing a pitch at Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story that didn’t go as planned. The pitch hit Story on his back, which caused the player to go berserk.

Story immediately ran up to the mound, as home plate umpire Adam Beck and Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler attempted to intervene. From there, both benches cleared with players running on the field.

Per MLB policy, managers are held accountable when players are involved in on-field violations. As such, AJ was suspended for one game.

“We play a really good brand of baseball here. That didn't feel like it," AJ said via the outlet. "It's not judging intent; I have no idea. But I know when you go out on the field, and you end up sort of in those confrontations, you usually feel like you're in your right. And it didn't feel good being out there."

He continued: "So, I understand [Boston's] frustrations. I understand the moment, and it was a low moment of a frustrating night."

Although AJ was suspended for one game, Framber will be out for much longer. The outlet shares that Framber landed a five-game suspension.

Interestingly, the suspension was reduced from six games to five.

"It's completely unfair," Framber said via the Detroit Free Press. "First of all, they should have given me a warning."

He continued: "I do not expect to get suspended. If it had been on purpose, I would have gone towards the hitter, saying something, yelling something, threatening them or something like that, which didn't happen. I was just calm, staying out of the situation. I even quietly left the field because, of course, it was not on purpose."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Framber hit a player. ESPN shares that he once hit his former Astros player Cesar Salazar, in the chest. However, both men shared that the incident was an accident.

There’s no telling if this action will affect his time with the Detroit Tigers. Hopefully he can avoid this situation in the future.