BOSTON — You know what a great leadoff plate appearance looks like? It looks like this:
That’s how Toronto Blue Jays‘ Eric Sogard led off Friday night’s game against Chris Sale, the fire-breathing, hammer-throwing, seven-time All-Star. Sogard worked a 3-1 count, took a called strike on what should have been ball four, and then activated battle mode, fouling off five straight fastballs before serving one into left for a single.
Sogard didn’t only reach base after an 11-pitch at-bat — he took a piece out of Sale. He made him work. And he showed each of his teammates watching from the bench what the Boston Red Sox ace was working with that night.
That Sale went on to load the bases with a couple of walks later in the inning, and then gave up a two-out, two-run single to Freddy Galvis on his 33rd pitch of the frame, probably had something to do with Sogard’s battle. And the fact that Sale was out of the game after only five innings, his shortest outing since April, definitely did.
And yet, despite Sogard’s best efforts — he went 4-for-6 — the Blue Jays lost, 7-5. They do that a lot. Trent Thornton had a terrific evening, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven over 6.1 innings, before handing a four-run lead over to his bullpen. That’s when things went awry. Tim Mayza allowed Thornton’s second run to score, then one of his own. Joe Biagini, another. David Phelps coughed one up in the eighth, as the Red Sox tied it.
And in the 10th, Christian Vazquez took a 93-m.p.h. Jordan Romano fastball — the Canadian’s 40th pitch in his longest outing since late April — over the wall in right-centre to walk it off. Another defeat in a Blue Jays season that will not be short on them. They’ll try again tomorrow. But we’re here to talk about Sogard, and his current stretch of remarkably strong play. Because the 33-year-old just keeps coming up with big plate appearances.
“You know, I’ve gone through many ups and downs in my career,” Sogard was saying before the game. “But I feel like I’m finally settling in. I feel like I’m playing to my potential. It’s been great.”
Thursday, for the second time in his career, Sogard reached base in all five of his plate appearances during a 7-5 Blue Jays win over the Los Angeles Angels. He followed it up Friday with four more knocks, his club-best 21st multi-hit game, his fifth in his last six, and eighth in his last 10. He’s been, without exaggeration, one of the most productive hitters in baseball during the month of a June, entering Friday with a 1.051 OPS that ranked 17th across MLB.
The other day, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo called Sogard “one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball,” and he’s not wrong. Among AL players to make at least 50 plate appearances as a leadoff hitter, Sogard’s .899 OPS ranks fifth.
AL OPS when hitting leadoff (minimum 50 PA)
| Player | Leadoff PAs | OPS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yandy Diaz | 82 | 1.055 | |||
| 2 | George Springer | 215 | 1.037 | |||
| 3 | Austin Meadows | 181 | .994 | |||
| 4 | Max Kepler | 248 | .939 | |||
| 5 | Eric Sogard | 192 | .899 |
What clubs value in a leadoff hitter has changed a lot over time. It’s no longer the speedy, slap hitter trying to get on base for the sluggers. Many teams go with one of their best hitters atop the order, wanting to maximize the amount of plate appearances that talented individual receives. Aaron Judge hit leadoff for the New York Yankees on Friday. Max Kepler does it for the Minnesota Twins. George Springer, for the Houston Astros.
And on a Blue Jays team that entered Friday with the fourth-worst OPS (.681) in baseball, Sogard fits the bill. His .873 OPS and 133 wRC+ were second to only Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who had made 55 fewer plate appearances. His 9.5-per-cent walk rate trailed only Justin Smoak and Danny Jansen. His 13.5-per-cent strikeout rate was the lowest on the team by a considerable margin.
And even when he doesn’t reach base leading off a game, Sogard finds ways to contribute. The first thing he does upon returning to the dugout is walk up and down the bench telling Toronto’s other hitters what he saw. Hey, this guy’s fastball is cutting this way. Look for his breaking ball to bite that way.
“A lot of guys now in baseball have their at-bats and go look at video, see how they did,” Montoyo said. “But he goes over to every player and tells them what the guy throws. And everybody respects Sogard, so they listen to him.”
No manager enjoys delivering bad news, but Montoyo says his sit-down with Sogard near the end of spring training was one of his toughest. He had to tell the player who led the Blue Jays in doubles during spring that he hadn’t made the team. And it wasn’t only tough due to what Sogard provided on the field. Montoyo remembers being in a car with Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins while he was on the phone with David Stearns, the Milwaukee Brewers GM. Stearns was raving about the impact Sogard can have on a clubhouse.
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“He was saying, ‘Man, you’re going to be happy with this guy.’ He gave him all kinds of compliments,” Montoyo remembered. “And he was right.”
Sogard had other options this winter when he joined the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal. At such a low cost, plenty of teams were interested in adding a well-respected veteran who can still hit and plays multiple positions. But joining a young, developing roster like Toronto’s appealed to him.
“That veteran-presence role, the teaching role, was intriguing to me. These young guys are some special, special kids. This team has a bright future ahead,” Sogard said. “These guys are so willing to learn, so willing to get better every day. They’re always asking questions. They don’t mind if I see something and bring it to them. And they’ll bounce ideas right back.”
It wasn’t so long ago that Sogard was the younger guy himself, breaking into the majors with the Oakland A’s. The veteran he looked up to on those teams was Mark Ellis, the second baseman who spent most of his 12-year career with Oakland. He showed Sogard the ropes not only on the field but in the clubhouse and on the road — how much to tip clubbies, when to show up for the team bus, where to sit on the charter.
Ellis’s tutelage helped Sogard eventually establish himself as a full-time major-leaguer in 2013. But he missed the entire 2016 season after undergoing knee surgery, before spending a couple of frustrating, up-and-down years playing a part-time role with the Brewers. Last season, when personal issues he’d prefer not to publicize began negatively affecting his performance, he found himself out of the game entirely.
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“I almost put baseball on the side. I just had a lot of family things going on that needed to be attended to. I wasn’t there mentally every day; I wasn’t where I needed to be at the field,” Sogard said. “It’s tough. It’s really challenging. We’re still humans inside of our uniforms. I just needed to put the family first in that situation. And fortunately it worked out where baseball continued for me and I got back to the big-leagues.”
It took time. Sogard had to stomach that tough sit-down with Montoyo at the end of a strong spring training and head off to triple-A to continue proving himself. But three weeks into the season, Sogard was recalled and his bat has barely slowed since.
After that tone-setting leadoff at-bat in the first inning Friday, Sogard came back up in the second, worked a 2-2 count, and took a fastball the other way for his second base hit of the night. In the sixth, nearly a carbon copy, as Sogard drew a full count against Red Sox reliever Colten Brewer before lining a single to left. In the ninth with Ryan Brasiser on the mound, Sogard fell behind 0-2, before shooting a fastball right back up the middle.
In all, Sogard saw 35 pitches over his five plate appearances Friday. He’s averaging more than four pitches per plate appearance on the season. And he’s reached base in half of his last 46 trips.
That’s what you want from your leadoff hitter. Sogard’s never hit this well in his career — he won’t put up multiple knocks per night forever. But if he can keep doing those little things, like seeing a ton of pitches, like making a pitcher work, like being a source of information and guidance for his younger teammates, he’ll continuing providing more and more value to his team.
“Hitting leadoff, I’m kind of the first to go to battle. Obviously, trying to get things started and get on base. And I’ve been able to share with the rest of the guys what pitchers are working with that day,” Sogard said. “I feel like I’m still continuing to improve in this game. I still feel like I’m almost breaking out in the big-leagues. And I’ve got parts of like nine or ten years now. But it’s fun, you know? I enjoy it. And I think that’s what has allowed me to come to the park trying to make the most of every single day. I don’t want to let any time slip away.”
