Arlington, Texas — He’s got them all shaking their heads in wonder down here.
Former Tiger John Hicks has done what no other player in Rangers history has ever done: He’s hit four home runs in his first four games with the club.
“There’s some loud sounds coming out of that bat right now,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “It kind of gives a jolt to everybody in the lineup.”
Woodward should have hung out on the back fields in Lakeland while Hicks was taking batting practice and stand next to the old indoor batting cage that was behind the outfield fence on the turf field, the one with the aluminum or metal roof.
He’d hit ball after ball off that roof and the sound, it was like shotgun blasts.
The power display should not be a surprise. This is a guy who took Justin Verlander, his fellow Goochland (Virginia) High School grad, deep twice. He’s homered off C.C. Sabathia, Felix Hernandez, Trevor Bauer and hit a pinch-hit game-winner off Alex Colome in his last at-bat as a Tiger.
Hicks hit his fourth homer, as well as a tie-breaking two-run single, in the Rangers’ 10-5 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night.
His four home runs have come against the Mariners and Tigers, the two teams who have given up on him. Coincidence?
“I’m kind of running out of teams I played for,” Hicks said with a chuckle to Dallas reporters on a Zoom call Tuesday night. “I probably know half of that team over there. There is a little added enjoyment to do it against a team you played for.”
Hicks, who hit 13 home runs in part-time duty with the Tigers in 2019, didn’t play at all in 2020. The Rangers took a flier on him, signing him to a non-roster deal on Feb. 12. He’d only hit three home runs in 122 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock before the Rangers called him up.
But he was hitting it hard and had a .793 OPS.
“We knew he could impact the baseball,” Woodward said. “That’s why we got him. He’s always been able to do that. We just felt we could get him a little more in the strike zone and help his approach a little.”
That’s exactly what’s happened. Although his home run Tuesday off Jose Urena was a slider that hung up at his shoulders.
“Fortunately, I’ve gotten good pitches to hit and thankfully hit them well enough they went over the fence,” Hicks said. “I’m not trying to hit the ball right out of the pitcher’s hand. Just trying to be relaxed.”
At 31, after being out of the game for a year and unsure if he’d get another opportunity, Hicks, at the very least, deserves a chance to relax.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky