'He's a superhero': Twins hold emotional meeting with injured U.S. soldier

KANSAS CITY -- Sgt. 1st Class Cory Hicks relayed to Twins players on Sunday what it's like to experience war in its darkest moments -- with a smile on his face.

Hicks’ life changed in an instant, but he impacted those inside the Twins’ clubhouse just as quickly with inspirational words and positive interactions during a special pregame meeting Sunday in Baltimore inside the visitors clubhouse that the team was still raving about, and digesting the impact of, on Monday in Kansas City.

Hicks spotted the nose of a drone that got past active missile defense systems less than a second before the explosion that killed six of his fellow soldiers, leaving Hicks severely injured with serious bodily injuries and shrapnel to his face and skull. It entered his building in Kuwait on the morning of March 1 through the roof, roughly six feet away from Hicks, before it tore the structure apart, taking the life of fellow Minnesotan Master Sgt. Nicole Amor.

“It’s a wild story and it’s something that if somebody was to tell you that -- that wasn’t a solider -- you wouldn’t believe it,” said Byron Buxton, who has been hosting members of the military for unforgettable experiences at Twins games every Friday for years through Buxton’s Battalion. “It’s something that didn’t seem real. To be able to see Sgt. Hicks first hand ... it puts in perspective how lucky we are over here. ... Whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it with freedom.

“Don’t take a day for granted. He passed away, came back, that type of stuff. When you hear it, it sinks in. It resonates with you. ... Make sure you enjoy life to that day. ... And he [told us these stories] with a smile on his face, that was also big for me. Because when you go through something like that ... he was upbeat. He was inspirational.”

The meeting started when his friend, Nick Waterman, emailed the Twins to let them know Hicks, a huge Twins fan and Minnesota native, had been receiving medical care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for the past few weeks.

The club then called Hicks, who emphatically agreed to come to Baltimore during Opening Weekend to visit the team, and the Orioles helped set up field passes, two seats behind Minnesota’s dugout and a special meeting with the team pregame.

That’s when most of the team learned the gravity of Hicks’ situation.

“It sounded terrifying, he was recounting the event and how things happened and it sounded like a nightmare,” Joe Ryan said. “The alarms that went off, and then were shut off, and then explosions and seeing his fellow soldiers there and what was happening with them, going in and out, it was just pretty heavy. But great to see him and see some smiles on his face.”

Living in Minnesota, and coming straight back from Kuwait to Maryland for emergency treatment -- Hicks simply didn’t have much of his personal belongings the past few weeks, especially clothes. The Twins took care of that with a few swag bags of gear, including manager Derek Shelton, who took the jersey out of his locker -- not long before the start of Sunday’s game -- and handed it directly to Hicks to keep.

After Shelton talked with Hicks about his long recovery, he then threw in another surprise.

“[His rehab] is emotional because he’s had a lot of things that he’s had to deal with and he was very open with what happened and where the shrapnel hit him and I just said, ‘When are you going to be back [in Minnesota]?’” Shelton said. “‘We need to have you out for a game,’ and just off a whim I was like, ‘Well, you should throw out a first pitch.’ And to see his eyes light up there was really cool and I just told him, ‘You got to let the people at Walter Reed know that throwing is part of your rehab, because now you can’t bounce it.’”

“Changes the whole [perspective on life]. It’s a privilege that there’s people like that that support our country and defend us and go through the things that he’s gone through. That’s a whole different level of looking at life when you’re talking to someone that is fighting for our country.”

That message was relayed around the clubhouse on Monday from every player that had a chance to share a moment with Hicks, including the aforementioned Buxton and Royce Lewis, who both gave Hicks a signed bat after lengthy conversations.

“It looked like [Hicks] was about to cry. And it was like vice-versa, I’m sitting here trying to hold back tears from what you’re telling me happened to you and you’re crying over this wooden bat that we go out here and hit with a round baseball,” Buxton said. “It just means the world. ... That could have been something that got them out of a dark place, and he was special. He came in and told his story. I think that lit us up a little bit more than he actually thought it did. ... He’s special for sure."

Lewis added: “He was stoked, man. He said he’s been watching Twins games and it would be a bright light in time of a dark place for him, watching our games, so I’m glad the season’s back on for him.”

The similarities between military personnel and MLB players are few and far between, but Hicks' conversations went past baseball, and still had a lingering impact on many the following day. Whether it was changing their everyday viewpoint on life, their mentality when things don't go their way, their desire to give back or inspiring them to be a better person -- each player had their own takeaway from the emotional interaction.

“You talk to guys like that [who] are able to experience such horrific events and still be positive and still have smiles on their faces,” Austin Martin said. “It brings a perspective to us as baseball players, because we get upset if we get out or don’t get a hit in the game, and there’s people that are fighting for their lives every single day. It just brings you down to Earth, makes you remember how blessed you are to be in the position you are, and the reason why you are in the position that you are.”

Hicks' infectious attitude and pure joy of being in the Twins' clubhouse was a reminder that life is special. The fact that Hicks was still smiling through it all proves that.

“He’s a superhero. What he’s been through, and coming out on the other side, and still having a good perspective on life is tough,” Brooks Lee said. “Obviously we take the game we play as life or death, but that’s not how it should be. I think we have to recognize the people that serve our country, and they’re all patriots and we really appreciate it. That’s why we thank them every time we can.

“They deserve everything. They always will. They always should. It’s our duty to give back to those people. I’m not speaking only on baseball players, but just all of us together.”