Scott Sizemore was happy, but not satisfied.
It was 10 a.m. and the 29-year-old was back inside a major league clubhouse, having played only two games over the past two seasons following two surgeries to his left ACL. He was smiling about the role his wife, Brooke, played in his recovery, smiling about having an opportunity he feared might have been lost forever.
“The last two years have been extremely tough, a grueling two years of rehab,” Sizemore said in the morning. “To get a chance to be under the lights again, it’s a rewarding feeling.”
Just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, not long before the lights went down, Sizemore was back at his locker, having matched his two-year total in one day, a day he’d been waiting for for far too long.
Starting at third base in both games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Sizemore went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run in the nightcap, contributing to the only two runs in the second game of the Yankees’ two wins over the Cubs.
On Tuesday, Sizemore was with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, waiting on a call he never could be sure would come, but in one day, everything changed. Everything was how he imagined it could be.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Sizemore. “I’m definitely glad I’m here and I’m just going to try to make the most of the opportunity.
“I felt pretty relaxed out there. I was more nervous waiting to come to the field today. It was still a pretty surreal experience to be back out on a big league field so soon, I really wasn’t expecting to be up this early in the season. It was pretty cool.”
Having previously played with Oakland and Detroit, Sizemore signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in January. He hit .316 in spring training, but was passed over in favor of Yangervis Solarte and Dean Anna. But after a slew of injuries to start the season, Sizemore — who hit .344 with Scranton this season — was called up to provide infield depth.
He said he feels about 95 percent of what he was before the injuries, but when he was out on the field, he said, he felt like he had never left. Now, he hopes to play well enough to never leave again.
“It felt pretty normal. I think having been in the big leagues before, obviously experience helps you out a little bit,” he said. “Obviously it’s just a couple games. But to overcome what I feel like I have, it’s been a long road, but it’s definitely rewarding to have a little success early and kind of relieve the pressure early, if there is any, and just play the game.”