Orioles’ Aaron Hicks enjoying change of scenery – The Denver Post

As Aaron Hicks said hello to his former Yankees teammates and coaches on Monday, he displayed an unfamiliar aesthetic.

Yes, the black and orange apparel he sported offered a sharp contrast to the road grays and pinstriped whites he wore between 2016 and May 19 of this year. But Hicks’ beard also stood out as he took the field at Yankee Stadium for the first time as a member of the Orioles.

“I had to shave the top and my face for eight years,” said a laughing Hicks, who is bald.

The 33-year-old didn’t chuckle much during his last few seasons in the Bronx, as injuries and prolonged struggles turned fans against him and limited his playing time before the Yankees released him on May 20. In doing so, the team ate the remaining three years and nearly $30 million left on Hicks’ contract, including this season.

It didn’t take long for Baltimore to sign Hicks on a minimum salary deal. The flyer has paid off, as the outfielder entered Monday’s return to the Bronx with a .263/.379/.475 slash line, four home runs, eight extra-base hits, 12 RBI and a 139 OPS+ over 26 games for the O’s.

Hicks credited his turnaround to consistent opportunities, which were hard to come by with the Yankees.

“I feel like the whole time I was just trying to fight for playing time,” Hicks said of his final days in New York. “To be able to come here and play every day, it’s been huge.

“Change of scenery has been good.”

Hicks debuted for the Yankees in 2016 following a trade from the Twins, and he inked a seven-year, $70 million extension following a career-year in 2018. But he appeared in just 303 games for the Bombers after that, and he slashed .218/.330/.360 over that span.

Hicks hit .188 over 28 games for the Yankees this season before the club cut ties with him.

“He was one of those guys that kind of got in the crosshairs of that a little bit,” Aaron Boone said of fans booing Hicks toward the end. “And a lot of it was not his own doing. He had some serious injuries that kind of derailed him a little bit and cost him time, and then he was unable to find that consistency. But he did a lot of really good things here, too.”

Hicks’ injuries included Tommy John surgery in 2019 and a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist in 2021. His 2018 season saw him hit a career-high 27 home runs, and he added a clutch dinger during the 2019 American League Championship Series after delaying the Tommy John procedure.

On Monday, before starting in left and batting seventh, Hicks mentioned playing in the postseason when talking about his favorite memories with the Yankees. Alas, his tenure with the club didn’t end the way anyone involved had hoped.

“Opportunities and injuries and stuff like that kind of happened,” Hicks said. “I kind of went down a struggling road, which I really couldn’t get myself out of it. I feel like when I started to have success, I really wasn’t given an opportunity. Now that I’m over here, I’m getting a lot of opportunities and I’ve been trying to make the most of it.”

In addition to more playing time, Hicks has spoken about standing taller in the box when talking about his resurgence in Baltimore. He’s also enjoyed being one of the few veterans on a youthful Orioles team that leads the Yankees in the race for second place in the American League East.

Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde also highlighted Hicks’ “veteran leadership” when discussing the “huge boost” he’s brought to Baltimore.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Hyde continued. “I was hoping he could fill the void a little bit for us, play some outfield defense, give us a good at-bat. He’s always walked. We don’t have a ton of older veteran presences in our lineup. So I was hoping that he could come here and just kind of play easy and play like he has nothing to lose, and he did that.”

Hicks downplayed the idea that this four-game series is a chance for him to prove the Yankees wrong. Instead, he spoke of the relationships he’s maintained since departing.

When Aaron Judge injured his toe a month ago at Dodger Stadium, Hicks sent his former captain a check-in text. Hicks also said that he regularly speaks to Willie Calhoun, and Jose Trevino, Nick Ramirez and Luis Rojas were among those who received on-field greetings Monday.

“When you change teams, you want your friends to do well,” Hicks said.

Boone shared a similar sentiment, though the Yankees manager threw in a caveat.

“It will be good to see him out there,” Boone said. “Hopefully we can contain him a little bit.

“But to his credit, he could have taken his ball and gone home, and he got right back out there and threw himself in the mix. I know he’s worked really hard to continue to earn opportunities over there.”

POST PERFECTION

Odds suggested that Monday’s starter, Domingo German, wasn’t going to out-do his last outing, when he threw a perfect game in Oakland on June 28.

German became the 24th pitcher ever to twirl such a gem, as well as the fourth Yankee. His pinstriped predecessors didn’t fare that well in their first starts after becoming baseball immortals.

David Cone threw his perfect game on July 18, 1999 vs. the Expos. His next start saw him allow six runs over four innings against Cleveland, but only two were earned. Cone struck out seven, walked four and gave up two homers.

David Wells threw his perfecto on May 17, 1998 vs. the Twins. He went seven strong against Boston in his next start, though he also served up two longballs while totaling three earned runs. Wells also walked one and struck out five.

Don Larsen, who threw his perfect game against the Dodgers on October 8 in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, had the longest layoff between his historical feat and his next appearance. The late pitcher didn’t start again until April 20, 1957. Larsen lasted just 1.1 innings after permitting four earned runs.

AARON JUDGE UPDATE

Boone said that he anticipates Judge doing more than just throwing on the field before the All-Star break, but the manager didn’t know specifics yet. Judge began playing catch during the Yankees’ recent road trip to Oakland and St. Louis.

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