ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When Yankees switch-hitter Aaron Hicks batted from the left side last season, he was almost always greeted by an infield shift — a wall of defenders camped in shallow right field.
So it was a striking moment in New York's dugout when Hicks — facing a traditional infield alignment — hit his first clean single to right field early this spring training.
“He probably hasn't seen that hit in about eight years,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Hicks and the rest of baseball's most frequently shifted batters are getting used to a new reality — or rather, adjusting back to an old one — after Major League Baseball passed rules limiting infield shifts ahead of this season.