Cardinals’ Jordan Hicks refutes report of tension with teammate

Jordan Hicks is coming out firing at the media almost as hard as he does on the mound.

A feature this week by Mark Saxon of The Athletic discussed the supposed relationship between the St. Louis Cardinals rookie and fellow Cards reliever Bud Norris. The report said that the veteran Norris, who is 12 years Hicks’ senior, has been riding the 21-year-old “mercilessly” since spring training, reminding him to be on time to meetings and otherwise publicly calling him out for missteps. Saxon also wrote that Hicks was not a fan of the treatment.

Shortly after the piece came out, Los Angeles Angels reliever Keynan Middleton, who was teammates with Norris on the Halos last season, responded by tweeting out a message in support of the journeyman.

After being under his wing last year I can promise you he’s only looking out for @Jhicks007 bud is a big lead by example guy. Once I learned that our relationship changed forever. https://t.co/LZIwhkXyFY

— Major Key (@since93key) July 12, 2018

Hicks himself soon replied to Middleton’s tweet, refuting any notion by the media that he did not like Norris’ treatment and calling Norris a “solid vet.”

I couldn’t agree more, crazy what the media will do when they think there is a story solid Vet

— Jordan Hicks (@Jhicks007) July 12, 2018

The 33-year-old Norris, who is now on his seventh team in ten MLB seasons, has been the subject of controversy in the past. However, it’s clear that Hicks sees Norris as a constructive presence in his rookie year more than anything.