Sogard is satisfied with role
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As far as Eric Sogard is concerned, David Wright can have the face-of-baseball title, even though it belongs to Derek Jeter.
Sogard’s perfectly fine as the face of second base for the A’s. Even if it’s in a platoon role. “I’m very happy facing the right-handers,” said the humble Sogard, who played for bits of three seasons before breaking through in 2013. After a monster spring training, he appeared in 130 games, hit .265 and won over fans who admired his hardnosed play and bespectacled presence. “The A’s love the matchups. If they leave me in against lefties, that’s fine. I’ll give it a go. But I’m all right with how the team is set up, and that’s with platoons and matchups.”
Typical Sogard. He accepts a limited role when others might not. He’s OK stepping aside when a lefty is pitching when others might not be. He embraces Nerd Power when others might not. He shrugs at the attention he got in MLB Network’s face-of-baseball contest when others might not.
Is Sogard really faceof-baseball material? Good guy, but hardly. Just ask his brother.
“I think it started off as a little joke,” said Alex Sogard, a relief pitcher in the Astros’ farm system. “I think he knows he’s not one of the main faces of Major League Baseball. He’s obviously not the biggest name on the A’s. But he has a huge fan base. They love him out there.”
The Sogards are 14 months apart. Eric is 27, Alex 26. Raised in Phoenix, they were teammates in Little League, travel ball and high school — and on a summer team in Bend, Ore. — but never faced each other in a game. The closest they came: Alex (Oregon State) warming up in the bullpen when Eric (Arizona State) came to bat. Alex didn’t get the call.
A Sogard-vs.-Sogard showdown is a goal for both (“hopefully one day,” Alex said), and it’s possible with the A’s and Astros in the same division.
Alex is 6-foot-3, five inches taller than his bro, and he struggled in Triple-A last season, mostly with control, but produced a 2.88 ERA in 16 Double-A appearances. He’s in the Astros’ minicamp in Kissimmee, Fla.
The brothers got their start athletically in backyard Wiffle Ball games with their father, Rudy, and didn’t play tee ball because … well, it’s more challenging at age 5 to hit a ball that’s curving rather than stationary.
Alex said he’s kidded by peers that he should wear glasses like his brother. He sticks with contacts.
“All he really needs to see is the signs and the catcher’s glove,” Eric said. “Me, I’ve gotta see what they’re throwing, I’ve gotta see 96” mph.
Eric received much love while winning four rounds of the face-ofbaseball event, falling in the finals to Wright. Now that he has the face of just another ballplayer, what’s next?
“I think I can do better, obviously,” said Sogard, adding he’d like more walks (he had 27) and steals (he had 10). “Personally, I consider last year my rookie year. It was the first time I played consistently. It was a good year, but I know I could play better and hit better.” Hamels fatigued: Philadelphia pitcher Cole Hamels won’t throw off a mound for at least another week after feeling fatigue from his latest throwing session.
The Phillies’ Opening Day starter in 2013, Hamels entered spring training behind schedule following biceps tendinitis in November. Hamels said after Saturday’s mound session, his third of spring training, he doesn’t feel 100 percent.
“I believe I threw 35 pitches,” the 30-year-old left-hander said. “To my body it felt like a thousand.”
Hamels was scheduled to face hitters for the first time in a bullpen session Thursday but that was canceled. Asked whether he believed he could join the Phillies’ rotation in April, Hamels was noncommittal.
“I think that’s the last thing I’m going to think about,” he said.