PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Sometimes the most compelling moment in a baseball game becomes a game within the game.
Sometimes two dugouts full of baseball lifers show up to work and see something no one can remember witnessing in the past.
Sometimes something that looks bad in a box score is actually great news.
Baseball is a weird, beautiful thing. It reminded us why Sunday.
If I told you yesterday that Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks’ first appearance in a game played in front of paying customers in 631 days ended with the 24-year-old righthander exiting the mound without securing an out as a trainer walked alongside him, your stomach would have dropped faster than Hicks’ power sinker.
While factually correct, that doesn’t begin to tell the real story of Hicks’ latest step forward in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Hicks on Sunday contributed to what we think might have been an odd and awesome chapter in baseball history. The encouraging oddity spoke to both his potential and the patience that should be practiced as one of baseball’s most electric relievers regains his footing on the mound.
After replacing starter Carlos Martinez for the fifth inning of what became a 7-5 Cardinals loss, Hicks and Mets second baseman Luis Guillorme found themselves in a battle witnesses won’t soon forget. Guillorme’s 22-pitch plate appearance included six Hicks pitches that hit triple-digits and 16 pitches fouled off before Guillorme took first base. Twelve minutes passed during the showdown Guillorme won when Hicks’ 85 mph slider barely missed the floor of the zone.
“You know what happened?” Mets manager Luis Rojas asked. “At one point, as long as the at-bat got, a lot of people in the dugout thought it was 3-2. And it was 2-2. When he took ball two, everyone was like, ‘Wait?’ We thought it was a full count. It was such a great at-bat. You have Hicks pitching there. He’s throwing 100 and 101, throwing this short slider that is tough to stay on.”
The Clover Park crowd cheered both pitcher and hitter after it finally ended. The clash provided multiple souvenir foul balls, a viral clip of Mets teammates cheering on the marathon, a Mets coach making a fine catch of a foul line drive on the 16th pitch and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina nearly ending the suspense with a near catch of a foul tip on the 17th. Then there were five more pitches after that.
“Definitely a good battle,” Hicks said. “It was probably the last thing I thought was going to happen, to be honest, because it’s never happened before. I don’t even think I’ve had a 13 pitch at-bat in my career, so it was definitely impressive on his part. I’m glad I battled and was able to throw that many strikes, and compete.”
Said Guillorme: “I’m just happy I ended up with the walk. Because if I would have gotten out, that would have been not fun for me. It would have been all that work, for nothing.”
No one keeps track of the longest plate appearances in Grapefruit League games, but the longest ones in games that count have been tracked since 1988, and since then there has not been one longer than Brandon Belt’s 21-pitch battle against Jaime Barria in 2018. Cardinals catcher Matt Wieters went 19 pitches before a fly out in 2020. That’s the closet thing Cardinals manager Mike Shildt could compare to Hicks vs. Guillorme.
Shildt had planned on one inning and about 20 pitches for Hicks’ first Grapefruit League appearance this spring. It just so happened that one hitter ate up all of the pitches. Ironically, the Grapefruit League started adhering to the three-batter minimum Sunday. There was no way Hicks was going to keep going. So, Shildt took a trainer with him to the mound, talked with the umpires and thanked all involved for exercising common sense. If there’s a fine, Shildt said, he’ll gladly pay it.
Most importantly, Hicks felt fine. Before, during and after.
More than fine, actually.
Velocity? Check.
Eight times against Guillorme, Hicks hit 100 mph or faster according to Clover Park’s radar system. His signature power sinker climbed as high as 101.4 mph, and that top speed came on his 20th pitch. That was after his 17th pitch hit 101.3 mph. Hicks said he’s been back in the triple-digits since November.
Accuracy? Check.
Hicks scorched a 100 mph sinker past Guillorme for a called first strike and then caught him unbalanced for a swinging strike two with a perfect 89 mph slider. Guillorme recovered admirably and entered defense mode. He fouled off two pitches before Hicks threw his first ball. He fouled off five more before Hicks threw two consecutive balls. He fouled off nine more before Hicks just missed the zone with another slider.
Hicks threw every one of his pitches for strikes — the sinker, the slider and even two splitters, a rarity. Before the game, Shildt told a reporter the goal for Hicks was to pound the zone. Nine of his 18 strikes in Guillorme’s plate appearance came in the first 10 pitches.
“I could not have been more encouraged,” Shildt said.
Some hitters would have been out six different ways by the time Guillorme finally walked. If some of his soft contact that trickled foul down both baselines would have been a foot or two to the left or right, he would have been an easy out. But Guillorme continued to find ways to stay alive, and other hitters will as well until Hicks throws more sliders like his second one, the one Guillorme couldn’t touch. That was Hicks’ biggest takeaway.
“My stuff could have been a little bit sharper,” he said. “My last B-game, I only threw fastballs. So, I was really just trying to dial that in. Today was more like, if I got ahead, throw a slider. It (the slider) is there enough to get a bunch of foul balls, but it’s not there as my putout pitch — yet. Not how I want. But we will get there.”
Expecting Hicks to be the sure-thing Cardinals closer at the start of the regular season is a bit unrealistic. He’s still pitching once every three days and it does not sound certain he will test his arm on back-to-back days before the season begins. Ryan Helsley, Genesis Cabrera, Andrew Miller, Giovanny Gallegos and perhaps some others could help divvy up early save opportunities.
“It’s been so long since I’ve competed, man, I don’t even want to talk about roles,” Hicks said. “Whatever I get is what I can be. I’m just excited to be here. And my stuff will determine if I’m in that role, or in another role.”
If Hicks continues to build off what we saw Sunday, it won’t be long before his stuff is appearing in the ninth.
