New York Yankees: Aaron Hicks doesn’t feel 100 percent yet, but he’s ready for Opening Day

As New York Yankees‘ outfielder Aaron Hicks reminisces his big home run in last year’s American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, he says he hit it while playing on borrowed time. He needed surgery to repair ligament damage in his throwing elbow, and he underwent it after the postseason ended.

He was slated to miss the New York Yankees’ first half in the 2020 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic struck and delayed the start of baseball for months. As it turns out, he will likely be a member of the Opening Day lineup and won’t miss a single game following Tommy John surgery.

“You always want to be able to be the guy that makes Opening Day,” Hicks said on Sunday. “I’m kind of just blessed to be able to have the opportunity to still make Opening Day and not miss a single game. That’s kind of what’s exciting about this whole situation for me.”

As of today, the only player to undergo the elbow surgery and not miss a game was Tony Womack, who went under the knife on Oct. 6, 2003 and started at second base for the Opening Day in ’04.

The Yankees are hoping he can throw without hesitation

The Yankees outfielder revealed that he doesn’t feel quite 100 percent yet, but that is to be expected, according to his explanation.

“It feels good right now,” said Hicks. “You don’t really fully feel 100 percent — they say it takes like a year to fully feel back to normal again — but I feel really, really good. The ball has been coming out really well this past week. I feel like I’ve been able to get a lot more carry on my ball, especially throwing to home [plate].”

The Yankees’ outfielder and two-way star says that he used to be hesitant when throwing, but that’s not the case anymore.

“There is something in the back of my head that still has that memory of what it felt like when I used to really let it go, especially during the postseason when I felt that pain,” Hicks said. “I really haven’t thought about it in a while. When a game situation comes up, I’m going to just do it organically and see how it goes.”

The Yankees are hoping he can make the adjustments he is working on, as he says he is tinkering with his right-handed swing, his natural side.

“I still feel like I’m a little bit behind against lefties,” Hicks said. “You want to see guys that kind of sling the ball, you want to see different stuff. I just feel like I’m a little behind the curve as far as my right-handed swing, but left-handed swing, I feel good.”