Aaron Hicks did something no Yankees home run hitter has done in 62 years

Mark Townsend
·Yahoo Sports Contributor

Given the New York Yankees rich history, there aren’t many firsts left to be accomplished by a player wearing their famous pinstripes. However, some feats remain a true rarity. That’s the category that Aaron Hicks’ big game on Friday falls under.

In his second game since coming off the 10-day disabled list, Hicks hit not one, but two home runs in the Yankees’ 8-6 win against the Tigers. A multi-homer game also isn’t rare. However, the unique combination of home runs Hicks hit is one no Yankees player has accomplished in 62 years.

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In his first at-bat, Hicks hit a 408-foot drive that ricocheted off the center field wall and bounced far enough away from center fielder Leonys Martin that he was able to race around the bases with a two-run, inside-the-park home run.

Actually, racing might be an understatement. Based on the Statcast data, Hicks was flying.

Only Eduardo Nunez of the Boston Red Sox has clocked a faster home-to-home time since Statcast started tracking in 2015. He clocked in at 15.87 seconds on his opening-day inside-the-park homer this season.

This was the beginning of Hicks’ big night. In the sixth inning, he got the Yankees on the board again, this time with a conventional home run that cleared the wall in right center field.

According to Katie Sharp of River Avenue Blues, when Hicks’ second homer landed he became the first Yankee with an inside-the-park homer and a conventional homer in the same game since Hank Bauer on May 30, 1956 against the then Washington Senators.

That covers a lot of ground and several generations of Yankees legends.

In fact, the last Yankee to hit an inside-the-park homer was Curtis Granderson on Aug. 21, 2011 in Minnesota. That part alone doesn’t happen all that often. That Hicks added a conventional homer made his night pretty special.

Yankees' outfielder Aaron Hicks completed a unique feat by hitting an inside-the-park home run and conventional home run in the same game. (AP)
Yankees’ outfielder Aaron Hicks completed a unique feat by hitting an inside-the-park home run and conventional home run in the same game. (AP)

The Yankees are glad to have Hicks bat back in the lineup. He missed two weeks with an intercostal injury. Above all else, his presence gives the Yankees a true center fielder on defense. What Hicks contributes offensively is almost a bonus given the depth of their everyday lineup. Needless to say, the Yankees enjoyed the spark Hicks provided on Friday.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Yahoo Sports Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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