Grit, determination define Astros under Hinch

Three years ago, when winning the World Series was still a distant dream for the Astros, new manager A.J. Hinch had two important conversations with second baseman Jose Altuve. One was a get-to-know-you chat after Hinch’s hiring following the 2014 season. It dealt with routine stuff. Only in attempting to change the culture of the Astros, nothing was routine.