Sogard Leads List of Former BJ’s in Postseason

Former Bee Jay Eric Sogard has made a name for himself. The Oakland second baseman wears eyeglasses during games and A’s fans have taken notice with a gigantic banner in the outfield seats which reads "Nerd Power." But his career has been anything but nerdy as he has played all or part of four seasons in Oakland. This year Sogard had 368 at bats while hitting .266 with two homers, 35 RBI’s, 24 doubles, and three triples. His OPS was .686 this season. He is the starting second baseman for the American League West champs.

Sogard played at Arizona State and played for the Liberal Bee Jays in 2005 for coach Jim Merrick. Sogard swung the bat effectively for that BJ team hitting .347 (33-for-95) with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 22 RBI… also had a .952 OPS (.436 on-base percentage + .516 slugging percentage) for a BJ team which actually did not make the NBC World Series. Liberal was 19-21 that season and took third in the Jayhawk.

Sogard is not the only BJ connection to the postseason. Dodger pitching coach Rick Honeycutt played for the 1974 and 1975 BJ’s. Pirate third base coach Nick Leyva played for the 1974 BJ’s with Honeycutt. In addition, TBS broadcaster Joe Simpson played for the 1972 Liberal Bee Jays