With the New York Yankees, most of their Injuries were resolved due to the coronavirus and the delay at the beginning of the season. The delay has been kind to the Yankees allowing several players to be ready to play at the beginning of the season. One of those is centerfielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks had Tommy John surgery immediately after the 2019 season. Because of the delay in the season, he may become the first player to have that surgery and never miss a day of play.
Yesterday Hicks allowed access to him in a Zoom call that allowed the media to ask questions of him. There were a variety of questions posed. The first thing he was asked is his feelings about what happened to Masahiro Tanaka? Hicks: “it’s tough to see something like that happen, especially in something as simple as a sim game. It’s just one of those things that can happen. Unfortunately, it had to happen to him.”
Meredith Marakovitz pointed out that it had been long time since he had been at the New York Yankees Stadium and asked how are you feeling and where are you post-surgery? Hicks: “I feel really good, I feel my hitting is going well. Every day I feel stronger and stronger, overall the process has been good. I’ve been able to throw longer and to throw the ball harder. She then asked if he would be at 100% on day one? Hicks: “Ah a 100%, from what I hear it takes a while, but I feel really good and ready to compete.”
The New York Yankee centerfield was then asked is there a benchmark that will tell you when you are at 100%? Hicks: “I’m looking for more to able to throw with greater velocity, you know right now some balls come out, but there’s inconsistency, with Tommy John there is just some days it doesn’t come out (with the velocity you want). From what I hear this is normal in the process, you just try to grind it out.”
He was asked if he had any sense or response to what’s been going on around the county with the protests? Hicks: “As far as the protests and stuff like that, I mean, I feel it’s a strong movement right now and it’s something I definitely want to be involved with. This is something I’ve been going through in my life and black players but has been going unnoticed, so it’s something I want to be involved in. I’ve been out more in the black community to try to help black people out in general.”
Another question involved how he felt adjusting to the new normal, wearing a mask and stuff, has it impacted you at all? Hicks: “It takes getting used to, you have to wear a mask inside, and it’s hard on the field because you’re used to engaging in conversations and everything like that, and we are being told to keep our distance. But we understand what’s at stake here as a team. As long as we are safe I believe it will work.”
In a final question, he was asked what responsibility team members have for each other during this pandemic? Hicks: We can step up in regard to what someone is doing. You know if you feel somebody is playing with the lines. It’s important to our team, we all need to be accountable for what we are doing on and off the field. I just think if we hold each other accountable we’ll be fine. We need to win a championship and for everybody to be healthy.”
Some quotes were edited for clarity and length.