Major Leaguer resume Vol.95/ WBC Player’s resume Vol.81: Eric Sogard(Free Agent) : Major Candidate for Team Czech: “Amazingly Versatile Artist!!”

​■Today’s player
Today's player's resume concerns a free agent Eric Sogard. He played in MLB for 11 seasons. Sogard, whose mother is Czech and obtained his citizenship in 2022. Sogard will be added to Team Czech in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

■The KAISPO's baseball analyst comments
“Sogard is a veteran utility player with good contact and defense. He played 815 games in 11 seasons in the majors. He was a regular at second base for the Athletics in 2013 and hit a career-high .290 with a .353 OBP in a combined 110 games for the Athletics and Rays in 2019. His versatile plays in hitting and fielding still impress me today. I genuinely look forward to seeing him in action again in the 2023 WBC.”

■Story
Eric Sogard was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 81st overall selection in the second round of the 2007 MLB draft after playing at Arizona States University. Sogard has played for the Padres' affiliates, the Oakland Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago Cubs.

In 2010, Sogard's big league debut year with Oakland, he appeared in four games, going 3 for 7. In 2013, the utility player played a daily second baseman for the Athletics, finishing at .266 with two homers, 35 RBIs, and ten stolen bases in 130 contests.

In 2017, the 36-year-old appeared in 94 games as a Brewer, primarily at second base with shortstop, third baseman, and left fielder, batting .273 with three long balls and 18 RBIs. In 2019, the good contact hitter played for the Blue Jays and Rays, marking a combined batting average of .290 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. He became a free agent after playing for the Brewers in 2020 and the Cubs in 2021.

■MLB Career Stats
At the end of the 2021 campaign, Eric logged .246 with 26 homers, 187 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases over 815 outings, mainly as a second and shortstop, third baseman, outfielder, pitcher, and DH in his 11 MLB seasons.
(MLB No.396 KAISPO No.1576)