James Hicks making sure to 'soak it all back in' returning to mound

James Hicks knew something wasn’t right with his elbow.

One day before making his second start last year, he snap-chatted some of his friends. He told them, “There’s a high chance that my elbow blows out the next day.”

“I had some weird feelings going on in there that I had never felt before,” Hicks said in a Garnet Trust interview. “And I was like, well it’s probably too late now so let’s let it ride and see what happens.”

Only 2.2 innings into his outing versus George Washington, Hicks’ elbow gave out. He underwent Tommy John Surgery soon after, ending his first season at South Carolina before it really began.

“After I found out the news that it was fully torn, it was crushing,” Hicks said. “I gave myself a week, week and a half to be sad about it. Then after that I kind of locked back in after surgery.”

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While he was disappointed, his mindset changed when he realized he wouldn’t be alone. Other pitchers, such as Jack Mahoney, Jackson Phipps, Sam Simpson and Eli Jones also were recovering from the same surgery.

“Oh, it was great. It would have been really tough to do it on my own. It was so nice having people there every day to be with,” Hicks said. “I was going through the rehab and I would feel one little weird feeling and my brain automatically thought I messed it back up again. And I talked to them and they’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve had that before. It’s no big deal at all.'”

All of those pitchers, most who were further along in their rehab process, were integral in his mental health during recovery.

“I mean, I learned so much from them and what has made them feel better and what they do to get their arms ready and stuff,” Hicks said. “So by myself, I would not be doing as well as I am right now. They definitely helped me more than they will ever know.”

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Less than a year after the injury, Hicks has worked his way back.

Tommy John Surgery can put pitchers out of action from nine months to a year. In Hicks’ case, he immediately attacked rehab to ensure he’d be back for 2023.

“I just really took the time to focus on strength, getting healthy and working on my mechanics a lot,” he said. “I knew I needed to change some stuff in my mechanics, but I never really had a long down period to just focus on that. And so I kind of just switched the way my head worked — not being sad about it — but just attacking and getting better for when I come back.”

Hicks said he’s “pretty much” fully cleared and able to return to baseball activities. When he received the news, it was pure excitement for him.

“That was a feeling I haven’t felt before. I just didn’t know what to do with my hands,” he said. “It’s been 10 months of doing rehab every day without really an end in sight and then there it was finally. Everything I worked for and so it was unbelievable.”

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During the middle of rehab, the Baltimore Orioles selected Hicks in the 15th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He said it felt unexpected.

The night before he was drafted, he got a call from the Houston Astros, who told him they’d have enough money to sign him. An hour prior to the draft, he got another call from them, saying they no longer had the money for him. When hope felt lost, Hicks received a call from the Orioles, who had found money to sign him.

“I was like, oh cool, and then they called me back and said, ‘You know, never mind that’s gone,'” Hicks explained. “Then they just randomly took me and then they just kept throwing different numbers. I don’t know, it was a stressful time for sure.”

Throughout the whole process, Hicks’ heart remained with the Gamecocks. He felt there was still something to prove.

“I haven’t really shown at South Carolina what I’m fully capable of. I only threw seven innings, and I feel like I owe it to the fans and coaches and everybody here to come back and do what I was brought here to do,” he said. “Seven innings is not near enough. I wanted some more of it and I just love being here. I’m very happy with my decision and I wouldn’t change it.”

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With Opening Day a little over a month away, Hicks has started envisioning his first trip back to the mound.

“I’m definitely going to run out there and kind of take a moment to soak it all back in because I mean, the seven innings or whatever it was I threw last year was just a bite size. So now, I’m making sure to soak it all back in and enjoy it,” Hicks said.

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