Houston Astros Hire A.J. Hinch as Manager

It didn't take long for the Houston Astros to find their new manager.  Less than a month after firing Bo Porter, the Astros on Monday hired A.J. Hinch as the 18th full-time manager in club history.

Astros owner Jim Crane and general manger Jeff Lunhow hope the hiring of Hinch will break the Astros recent trend of short-term managerial hires. Porter lasted less than two seasons, Brad Mills almost three seasons before Porter and Cecil Cooper also lasted almost three seasons before Mills.

Crane said to MLB.com, "He's (Hinch) got a great resume, he's a smart guy and we felt he understands what Jeff's trying to do and the communication between them will be very good."

Hinch's previous managerial experience was in Arizona with the Diamondbacks.  He had an 89-123 record from May 2009 to July 2010.

Monday night at Minute Maid Park, Hinch was introduced to the media. "The goal is to win championships," said Hinch to MLB.com. "The arrow is turning toward success in talking about winning a little bit and talking about the ultimate goal. I'm proud to be here. To wear this orange and blue is something I cherish, and to put this uniform on and be called the 'Skipper' is something I'm very privileged to be."

Hinch will wear uniform number 14 and he has already retained one member of the Astros 2014 coaching staff: pitching coach Brent Strom.

Listen to Houston Astros games in 2015 on SportsRadio 1340 The Fan