Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Aaron Hicks Pulled From Game After Dropped Fly Ball

Hicks was booed even louder than usual on Friday night in the Bronx before he came out of the game, fresh off two mistakes in the outfield.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — Last month, Aaron Hicks called his performance against the Rays at Yankee Stadium "embarrassing" after he missed a fly ball in center field, continuing to struggle at the plate.

Almost exactly one month later, Hicks was having a similar type of night in pinstripes with Tampa Bay in town. 

This time, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn't let him finish the game.

One inning after Hicks dropped a fly ball down the left-field line, failing to track down another line drive in his direction, Estevan Florial jogged out to replace him as Boone presented the defensive substitution to home plate umpire Laz Diaz.

The back-to-back misplays came in the fourth, with New York already down 1-0. Hicks sprinted after an opposite-field shot from Wander Franco with runners on first and second. Right as he crossed the foul line, the ball deflected off his glove, landing on the warning track and bouncing off the wall. 

Instead of pouncing on the ball to throw it back into the infield, Hicks wandered with his head down for a few seconds. It looked like he thought the play was ruled foul. Once he realized it was still in play, both runners came around to score.

On the very next pitch, with boos still raining down on Hicks, Randy Arozarena ripped a 104.4-mph line drive over Hicks' head in left. It would've been a tough play, but Hicks overran it, flailing his glove back in an effort to haul it in. It was another RBI double, giving Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. 

The boos continued to rain down on Hicks after that play. He even heard "Joey Gallo" chants. Those boos grew even louder as the outfielder ran off the field when the Yankees got out of the inning. Hicks walked straight through the dugout before disappearing into New York's clubhouse.

Hicks has received minimal playing time over the last few months, a result of his poor numbers throughout a rough campaign. The 32-year-old watched as the Yankees acquired Andrew Benintendi ahead of the trade deadline. Rookie Oswaldo Cabrera, who had played four games in the outfield in his minor league career, has been used over Hicks as well. 

The switch-hitter did make an impact offensively recently. In Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Twins on Wednesday, Hicks drove in three runs with a double, his first extra base hit since a home run back on July 9. Still, Hicks is 10 for his last 75 at the plate, hitting .211/.326/.296 across 115 games this season.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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