The New York Yankees have been trying to keep afloat this season, having lost six of their past seven games mired in a 5-8 record early on into their 2016 campaign.
But don't even try to question Bronx Bombers' left fielder Aaron Hicks' sense of urgency. The 26-year-old did the unthinkable during the top of the fourth inning Wednesday night in what turned out to be a Yankees' 5-2 home loss to the Oakland Athletics.
After catching a Yonder Alonso fly ball in medium-deep left field, Hicks rifled a throw to home plate, cutting down A's third baseman Danny Valencia in an absolutely electric play.
"Felt it when I popped up after the slide," Valencia told ESPN about Hicks' rocket for an arm. "He has to make a perfect throw - almost unheard-of throw - to get me there and he did."
For a moment, Hicks' laser beam sucked the air out of Yankees Stadium, as the throw was so fast that it was almost as if fans couldn't believe their eyes and what they just witnessed.
But according to Major League Baseball, the heat-sinking missile from Hicks registered a clocking of 105.5 miles per hour by Statcast, as reported by ESPN. Why is that splintering speed relevant? Well, the MLB says it's the fastest throw Statcast has ever recorded by an outfielder in the technology's short history.
Check out the scintillating play and the call from the Yes Network's Michael Kay here.
We think it's more than safe to say that no baserunner will ever try the arm of Aaron Hicks ever again. No baserunner with a brain, that is. After watching this replay several times, we're still in awe. It's as if Hicks is loading up his rocket of an arm right in front of us, lasering his throw home with lethal accuracy.
Apparently, Valencia strained his left hamstring rounding the bases to head home, but we wonder if he would have had a chance against this Hicks' throw if he was perfectly healthy. The Yankees might want to keep Hicks in left field for quite some time to come. Having an arm this dangerous is still a big weapon in the Majors.
