New York Yankees fans have little faith in Aaron Hicks bouncing back from awful 2022: "He’s just a bad player" "Should have been gone years ago"
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks wants to put his brutal 2022 in the rearview mirror. However, Yankees fans would just like him to get out of the car.
Hicks, a 10-year big league veteran, had what he considers to be the worst season of his career in 2022. He hit .216 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs and was considered by many to be a defensive liability in the outfield.
He told NJ.com that he hit "rock bottom" last season, and according to The Athletic, he is seeking redemption this year.
Do you think Aaron Hicks will have a bounceback 2023 season? #RepBX https://t.co/3IMdCRmokw
"I felt like I was trying to force things that I normally wouldn’t," Hicks told The Athletic. "I was forcing myself to get big hits. I was forcing myself to swing out of the zone to do something to help the team win. A lot of that got me into trouble. Essentially, I just lost my approach."
However, most New York Yankees fans question what Hicks' approach has been for the majority of his career.
No. He has had 1 not-awful season in 6 years. He’s just a bad player. And Cashman’s obsession with him should have gotten him fired long ago. twitter.com/firesideyankee…
@FiresideYankees Bounce back from what??? In his whole career he’s had 1 decent season and that was in 2018! He should have been gone years ago.
@FiresideYankees When did he ever have a good enough season to bounce back to?
Are we expecting a bounce back 5 seasons to 2018? Even then he only hit .248.
He should not have been signed after one avg + season Cash gives him 7 yrs!
He’s not been good for yrs. There’s nothing left.
Hicks, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins, was traded to the New York Yankees on Nov. 11, 2015, after three largely disappointing seasons in Minneapolis. It's been more of the same for most of his seven years with New York, aside from a 2018 season that saw him hit 27 home runs and finish 22nd in the American League MVP balloting.
@FiresideYankees The odds of me winning the mega millions is greater than hicks having a bounce back season
@FiresideYankees Bounce back to where? To have a bounce back year you need to have had at least one good year. I don't think he ever had one with the Yanks
@FiresideYankees No. He's never had a decent season. Horrible player.
What most New York Yankees fans are asking is, "If 2023 is a breakout season, to what is he bouncing back?" Hicks has a .231 career batting average, with an on-base percentage of .330. He doesn't steal a lot of bases and is not a Gold Glove candidate. However, he does remain on the Yankees' payroll after signing a seven-year, $70 million contract in 2018.
@FiresideYankees I get mad when everybody knows this guy can’t hit the numbers are there and then do you think he will have a bounceback season, what bounceback he sucks his entire career, this guy can’t hit he had never hit He just can’t, stop acting like he was good before
@FiresideYankees Pretty hard to be worse. But even his best is mediocre
@FiresideYankees This guy actually thinks he’s good and was insulted when he was tanked out of that Tampa game and then benched. Get rid of him. He’s was and will always be a selfish player. Trade him even if you have to pay most of his salary. He’s saying what he thinks the fans want to hear.
Some fans see Hicks as "an athlete," and in that, they keep hoping that the 33-year-old will break out and become the baseball player that the Twins hoped for in the 2008 draft.
@FiresideYankees I think so, he’s a tremendous athlete and if anybody can bounce back it would be Hicks. Even if Hicks, in a semi full time role, can produce .245/20/60, with 15 SB and play quality defense…that would be great!
When will the New York Yankees have their fill of Hicks?
Hicks said in The Athletic that "baseball wasn't fun" in 2022. But most Yankees fans think that Hicks himself hasn't been fun to watch for the near-entirety of his time in the Big Apple. However, with the team neglecting to bring in anyone else to man left field this winter, it looks like Hicks will be back in a familiar – if unwelcome – place on opening day.