The Diamondbacks announced tonight that they have reportedly fired Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Josh Byrnes. Jerry Dipoto was named the interim GM and Kirk Gibson as the interim Manager. Arizona has the third worst record in the MLB, at 31-48.
Josh Byrnes was hired as the GM in 2005, with his contract expiring in 2015. Hinch was hired as the manager before the 2009 season and he had two years left on his current contract. Hinch had no prior managerial experience, so it was immediately a questionable hiring.
Arizona's managing general partner, Ken Kendrick, commented tonight saying, "I appreciate the commitment and dedication that Josh and A.J. demonstrated during their tenures. Their dismissal is a significant decision, but one that we find necessary in order to achieve a direction of winning consistently on the field again."
This season gets even worse for the Diamondbacks as they are almost certainly a lock to miss the playoffs once again this year. They started playing in the MLB in 1998, facing the Colorado Rockies in their first game. They won the NL West three times in their first five years of existence (1999, 2001, 2002). 2001 was the best season ever for the Diamondbacks, as they defeated the almighty New York Yankees in the World Series, which many consider one of the biggest World Series upsets in recent memory. The Diamondbacks won the series in seven games to become the youngest expansion franchise to win the championship. They have failed to appear in the biggest stage in baseball since that year.It is now Kirk Gibson's chance to show off his managerial skills. He is perhaps best known for one of the best plays in MLB history, usually ranking in the Top 5 on most people's lists. He played for the Dodgers in 1988, and they advanced to World Series to face off against the Oakland Athletics. With leg injuries and a virus, he was not expected to play at all in the championship series. In Game 1, the Dodgers were trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th. Tommy Lasorda, the manager, inserted Gibson as a pinch hitter in the bottom half of the inning. On a 3-2 pitch, Gibson hammered the pitch over the right field fence and won the game with a walkoff. He hobbled around the bases and his teammates greeted him at home plate, recognizing what had just happened. It could very well be the most important moment in Dodgers history.
Gibson has had no prior managerial experience, but he has been noted to be an up-and-coming coach. The Diamondbacks can't go anywhere, but up and hopefully Gibson can lead them. It is not known who is in the running to take over for the replacements. I wouldn't necessarily say it was a good decision to fire both people, but it was expected. The Diamondbacks' next game is at home against one of Gibson's former teams, the Dodgers.
