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"

Division Series - Cleveland Guardians v New York Yankees - Game Five
Aaron Judge looks over Aaron Hicks of the New York Yankees.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

When will the New York Yankees have their fill of Hicks?

Aaron Hicks of the New York Yankees draws a walk against the Cleveland Guardians.
Aaron Hicks of the New York Yankees draws a walk against the Cleveland Guardians.

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.

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