Sogard ready to keep memorable year rolling with Brewers
A common refrain voiced by most major-league players when discussing their lives during baseball's shutdown has been how much they enjoyed and appreciated the extra three months at home with their families.
Put Eric Sogard at the top of that list.
The Milwaukee Brewers infielder and his wife, Kaycee, are the proud parents of five children, daughter Saydee (6 years old), son Knix (4), daughter Priar (21 months), daughter Leyla (15 months) and son Rye (4 months).
The Sogards adopted Leyla as a newborn late last April. With the COVID-19 pandemic having not yet been unleashed on the world, Eric, then just beginning his season with the Toronto Blue Jays, had precious little time to spend with Kaycee and their latest addition at home in Arizona.
The couple was preparing for much the same this season with Rye, who was born and adopted March 11, a month into spring training. Had all gone as expected, Eric would have had about two weeks at home in the Phoenix area as camp wound down before he headed north with the Brewers.
But March 12, Major League Baseball hit the pause button on spring training and the season. And that paved the way to tremendously valuable family time for the Sogards.
Eric left no doubt Thursday how thankful he was for that.
“It was absolutely amazing just being at home during that time and spending some summertime at home
and being able to use our pool, which I feel like we rarely get to use,” he said.
“Last year when we adopted Leyla, I only got to see her one or two days for the first month or so she was with us. Adopting our second baby, Rye, being able to be there on a daily basis and just spend all that time with the kids was truly a blessing.
“Obviously, I miss playing baseball. But I couldn’t have found anything better to do other than spending some time with family, which was great.”
Sogard, 34, was a fan favorite his first go-round with the Brewers in 2017.
So, too, was the social-media-savvy Kaycee, who entertained many fans with updates on the family. And who could forget the adorable video of Saydee crying her eyes out in San Diego after the Padres nullified a 10th-inning home run by her father with a walk-off blast of their own in the bottom of the inning?
Sogard was released by the Brewers on Sept. 1 of the following season and then resurrected his career in 2019 by hitting .290 with 13 homers and 40 runs batted in over a combined 110 games with Toronto and the Tampa Bay Rays.
That performance led to a reunion with the Brewers, who signed Sogard to a one-year, $4.5 million free-agent deal on Dec. 20 with a team option for 2021.
He was a utility man extraordinaire in his first tour of duty in Milwaukee and his versatility will again be put to use, although it would appear that he and fellow veteran Jedd Gyorko will split time at third base as part of a leftyrighty platoon.
“I think Sogie brings a number of things,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “The first is he brings tremendous versatility; he can play second, third and short. He’s comfortable
The children of Brewers infielder Eric Sogard and wife Kaycee (from left): Knix holding Leyla; Priar; Saydee holding Rye.
out in left field as well. I don’t think we’re going to need him out there, but if we were (to need him), he could certainly do just fine out there.
“He’s also coming off a really exceptional offensive year last year. Remember, Eric had a really good offensive year for us a couple of years ago, then had a challenging year, and then put up a really solid year in Toronto and Tampa Bay last year.
“We think that’s much more representative of the type of player he is going to be with us.”
Sogard, viewed throughout his career as the bespectacled overachiever, got a good deal of his baseball work in during the shutdown at the Brewers’ Maryvale facility, joining a group that at times included as many as 12.
Eventually the green light was given to restart the season, and the Brewers opened summer camp July 4 at Miller Park. There was great interest as a handful of players throughout the majors opted out due to concerns about their health or the health of their loved ones.
It certainly would have been understandable if Sogard had chosen to join that group. But he said he and Kaycee didn’t consider that as an option, and the entire family is back living together in the Milwaukee area.
Other Brewers players have chosen to go it solo for the two months.
“We were always in,” Sogard said. “It never really crossed our minds, to opt out. We thought we were in a good position health-wise that we could be able to kind of get through whatever it took, always kind of stay prepared and ready.
“Fortunately it worked out. It’s something we always kind of were just waiting for the call, waiting and ready to go.’’
Now Sogard finds himself back in the thick of preparations. With opening day only a week away, with an eye on doing his part to keep his family, his teammates and his teammates’ families safe as teams continue to navigate the pandemic.
“That’s what’s going to keep the season going, making sure everyone is following the protocols,” he said. “We have to stay on top of things and communicate with our families about that aspect.
“But I think when we’re at the ballpark, we’re able to be in our realm and focus on what we have to do. I think that’s going to be important to playing our best. We’re going to have to focus on the game, one day at a time.”
With such a large, vibrant family, Sogard was asked if he’s been able to get enough rest from day to day.
“Luckily, they all sleep really well so I’m able to get my sleep while they’re sleeping and I’m able to rejuvenate and recharge my batteries,” he said with a laugh. “But I enjoy being around them. And they know I can’t do as much as I normally do once the season starts but I just love being around them and watching them play.
“Any time I get to be around them, it’s a lot of fun.”
There was more family fun shared on Twitter over the weekend when Saydee had one of her baby teeth pulled out by a string attached to a baseball that was tossed by Kaycee and hit by Knix.
It’s the kind of stuff that’s much needed and much needed in the midst of a pandemic. And just another day in the life of the Sogards.
“She’s a little trouper,” Sogard said. “I think we mentioned that idea of tying the old string to the baseball early on, and she was terrified of it originally of course, but she decided she wanted to go for it. Knix was always ready to roll. We had faith in him, that he was going to get the job done and get the barrel on the ball.
“The tricky part was tying the string to the tooth. It definitely built up some anxiety with Saydee since it probably took us a good five minutes to get it on there. But once we got it on there, it was one take, good to go.”