NEW YORK –- Mike Ford grew up envisioning a day where he would be asked to wear the Yankees pinstripes, the Belle Mead, N.J., product having counted Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter among his favorites on the dynasty-era teams that seemed to conclude each October in a dogpile near the mound.

"They won every year when I was younger, so it was pretty easy to like them," Ford said.

Ford attended many games at both the previous and current Yankee Stadiums, yet the 26-year-old was unsure if he would have an opportunity to take the field. A lefty-swinging first baseman, he made a trip unlike any of his previous to the Bronx on Tuesday, summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace the injured Greg Bird on the active roster.

• Bird placed on IL with torn plantar fascia

"It's been awesome," Ford said. "Just from being around here, I have a bunch of friends, family. The phone has been [ringing] nonstop. A bunch of my friends from college all live in the city now, so it's been an awesome day. It's been a day I've waited for a while now. I'm just really happy to be here and help the team win some games."

Utilizing a new all-fields approach, Ford was off to a sizzling start with the RailRiders, for whom he was batting .410/.467/.897 with four doubles, five homers and 14 RBIs through 10 games. Ford signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent in 2013 after three seasons at Princeton University, where he pitched and played first base.

"Choosing Princeton out of high school kind of hurt my Draft stock a little bit," Ford said. "I chose it for other reasons, to set myself up for after baseball. Coach [Scott] Bradley being there was a big reason I chose that. [The pro career] was just a grind from the beginning, keeping the faith. Sometimes it wavers, but if you stay positive, good things can happen."

Luke Voit started at first base on Tuesday against left-hander Chris Sale, but manager Aaron Boone indicated that he plans to find at-bats for Ford, who could potentially start on Wednesday against right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

"It's a lot of work to get here, but even more to stay," Ford said. "I'll just kind of be on top of things, but not try to press, just stay within myself for my main goals. I'm a pretty confident hitter in the box, and if I can just bring that here, I can help the team win and showcase what I can do."

Yankees sport 42 for Jackie

The Yankees commemorated Jackie Robinson Day on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with all players and on-field uniformed personnel wearing the No. 42. Boone, left-hander CC Sabathia and right-hander Dellin Betances laid a wreath by Robinson's memorial in Monument Park, and a pregame video was shown on the scoreboard.

Change of plans

Aaron Hicks had a seat reserved on a commercial flight that would have delivered him to the team's complex in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday evening, but the rehabbing outfielder approached general manager Brian Cashman that day, asking if he could remain with the big league club instead.

"I talked to Cash and said I wanted to be here with the team," Hicks said. "I can finish a little bit more of my rehab stuff here, especially when it comes to hitting. When I'm starting to take BP, I'd rather take it with the guys that have seen me play every single day and work on that before heading out."

Hicks said that he could take on-field batting practice prior to Thursday's game against the Royals. Hicks was in the outfield early on Tuesday, throwing, taking grounders and running, and he also performed tee-and-toss exercises in the batting cages.

"I took some really good swings today," Hicks said. "I was really striking the ball the way I wanted to, and hitting pretty much to all locations. I felt good."

Holding pattern

When Miguel Andújar's right labrum tear was announced on April 1, the Yankees said that two weeks would allow them to determine if the infielder could avoid season-ending surgery. That date has passed, but no decision has been reached.

"We don't know yet," Boone said. "He's down there [in the batting cages] hitting today and continuing to increase his throwing. I would say we're not at the point where we know one way or the other. He's got to still build up throwing-wise and continue to gain that confidence and then get to that point where we think he can really not have to get this thing fixed."

This date in Yankees history

April 16, 2009: The Yankees played their inaugural game at the current Yankee Stadium, a 10-2 loss to the Indians. Sabathia threw the building's first pitch, Johnny Damon recorded the first hit and Jorge Posada hit the first home run.