Sogard Loses out to Wright in MLBN's Face of MLB Competition

After a three month long, hard fought, Twitter battle by the fans, David Wright the third baseman of the New York Mets was named Major League Baseball Network’s (MLBN) Face of MLB for 2014. The competition began with 30 different “faces,” one for each franchise, pitted against each other in a bracket-style competition. On Thursday it was whittled down to just two, Wright and Oakland Athletics’ second baseman Eric Sogard.

Eric Sogard (Image courtesy of Christian Peterson/Getty Images)

The vote was close and the battle intense. Wright received 51% of the fan votes to Sogard’s 49%. Neither player was expected to be in this position back in December. Not with the faces of guys like the New York Yankees Derek Jeter, the Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz and last year’s winner, from the Cincinnati Reds, Joey Votto in the mix.

The Oakland fans, however, took it upon themselves to launch a campaign much bigger than anyone could have thought possible. The Nerd Power campaign stems from the fact that Sogard is one of very few, if any, ball players that still wear their glasses on the field. Unfortunately for the Sogard, the A’s and their fans their ridiculously hilarious, creative tweets just weren’t enough to over take the Mets’ fans and their Captain America campaign for Wright.

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Greinke Injured, CrAzy A's Fans and Trying to go to EVERY Single Home Game in a Season

Just a quick update because it is something I think is pretty news worthy .... I know that all injuries should be newsworthy but some more than others and I kinda felt like writing for bit since I am awake from voting for my boy Eric Sogard for the Face of Major League Baseball. Which is pretty freakin' awesome because it shows the power of a true fan base and a tight knit one. We are seriously AmAzing and it's not just this competition - not at all! We are creative, we love our players and they love us! We are crAzy but we are cool too. The RF Bleachers (I'd say we again but gotta give credit where credit is due!) make friends with the players from other teams and in turn they love us all! It's greAt and incredibly cool. We've also been called the loudest fans in baseball ... just ask the Detroit Tigers .... even after being shut out by Verlander in game 5 (yes, I do realize this has happened twice) - we still gave our players a five minute standing ovation ... so while we may be NERDS (both baseball and otherwise) ... we are the coolest nerds you will ever meet and by far the best fans in baseball .... but I completely digress ... 

Michael Hickey/Getty Images 

My point in starting this was really as the title may suggest that the Dodgers' star pitcher - well after Kershaw of course - Zach Greinke was forced to leave their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks early due to a calf injury. He faced only retired only one batter Diamondbacks leadoff hitter, Tony Compana on a first pitch fly ball to left. On his third pitch to second baseman Cliff Pennington Grenke landed wrong on his right leg. He threw one more pitch and hobbled a bit off the rubber and out came the trainers. Greinke threw two warm up pitches before being taken into the clubhouse for treatment. Greinke was diagnosed with a mild right calf strain. While this might not sound bad and doesn't sound like a big blow to the Dodgers, it could be. With the compressed Spring Training schedule due to the team's early start to the season in Australia there could be a question as to whether or not Greinke can start the season on time. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's outfielder Josh Hamilton recently suffered a calf strain that has him sitting out from Spring Training for the next couple of weeks. The injury makes it even more likely that Kershaw and either Hyun-Jin Ryu or Dan Haren will  be the starters for their opening series down under. There is a chance that this was just a cramp. Greinke says he's had them before and could pitch through it but at this point since it is still February there is no reason for the Dodgers to want him to do that ...

I mean that makes sense doesn't it? It's Spring Training, he's their second best starter and he actually told the press at one point that he had "absolutely no excitement about going to Australia." He did kinda try to correct that comment yesterday saying, 

If we're going to be there, and we obviously are, yes I'd like to pitch there," he said. "My comments, I didn't realize they would cause a stir. I'm looking forward to playing over there. No one wants me to say it, I had to vote to go, my vote was not to go. Now that we are going, I want to be there. I don't want the team to go and me sit here and watch. I don't want to go and watch. I want to play. I want to pitch good, I want to win games. You're forced to do what you're not used to do, it's harder to be able to do it to the best of your ability."

That last part of the comment was referring to his being outside his comfort zone by having to change his pitching routine and preparation for the trip to Australia. Again, I don't blame the guy because shit who wants that? I'd LOVE to go to Australia dont get me wrong but I get annoyed when I have to watch my team open in Japan (and now they are talking about Taiwan for next year ... why always my A's?? I mean seriously!!) and I just have to wake up in the middle of the night not travel there and play the game! I mean shit, that would suck. I once tried going to every single home game one year (made it to 78!) but that was rough and all I had to do was show up and sit there ... but some days the couch and a tv can be much more appealing ... Just sayin' - I'm not the perfect fan but I do try ... So yeah, I will leave y'all with that and of course this ...

 If you are awake and it is before 5am on the West Coast  - wait! What the hell are you doing reading this ... get back on Twitter and VOTE #EricSogard 4 #FaceOfMLB! I so hope I get to write about this in the morning saying that he is the winner!! #NERDPOWER!!!! (I'm even wearing my own #RallySpecs as we speak because I'm cool like that and because I am incredibly blind ...)

It's Sogard vs. Wright, East Coast vs. West Coast in Face of MLB Finals!

The final two contestants in MLB Network's (MLBN) Face of Major League Baseball competition were announced on the show, The Hot Stove, this morning. The final two will be Eric Sogard of the Oakland Athletics and David Wright of the New York Mets. It's a battle of East Coast versus West Coast and a battle of a big name player in Wright versus a virtually, until now, unknown player in Sogard. 

Sogard's fans have made his "Nerd Power" extremely hard to beat. Their tweets, along with his teammates tweets, have been hilarious and the internet "memes" have been as well. The Athletics and their fans are supporting Sogard in this way but they are not offering prizes or follows for votes. Sogard is a great face for the Athletics. He is an underdog, a status the A's themselves embrace. He is the epitome of small market teams and the adversities they face in the shadow of so many big market teams. 

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MLBN's Face of MLB Competition Down to the Final Four!

If you haven't heard about it yet then you must not have a Twitter account. MLB Network's (MLBN) Face of MLB is a bracket-style competition that faces off each of the fan voted "face of the franchise" players against each other. The competition is now down to the Final Four: David Wright of the New York Mets, Eric Sogard of the Oakland Athletics, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners and Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays.Not who you thought it would be, huh? While Wright and Hernandez may be big names, not one of the teams is a team that gets a lot of press on a regular basis. First are two east coast teams, both usually overshadowed by the New York Yankees and then there are two American League West teams. Let's face it, not many in the eastern U.S. stay up late to watch the A's battle the Mariners!

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MLB Network's Face of MLB Fan Vote: Just who is This Guy with the Glasses?

Getty Images

If you are a big baseball fan or even just a causal baseball fan you probably watch MLB Network (MLBN) from time to time if not, like me, multiple times per day. If you have watched MLBN in the last month then you are probably wondering, "who is that guy with the glasses?" I don't blame you, he is on the Oakland Athletics who, less face it, no matter how good they are just don't get a lot of press. Just look at Josh Donaldson's snub from last season's All-Star Game

I have to pause here because I am sure you are probably wondering, "Who the heck is Josh Donaldson?" Well, he is the All-Star caliber, finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2013 and very dedicated third baseman for the Oakland Athletics. But this article is not about the Oakland's Bringer of Rain.

Again, where am I going with this right? How in the world is this all still related to that guy with the glasses, right? I'm just trying to show you how little press the A's get each year except talking revolving around their "old stadium' and "small fan base."

Each year MLB Network holds a fan decided competition online. A "face" of each Major League Baseball organization is chosen and they then compete go head to head against each other in a bracket style playoff.

(Image courtesy of Jamey Van Dyke @PerfectGameGear)

This year the Face of the Oakland Athletics as voted on by the fans is, second baseman, Eric Sogard. He's a nice guy who quietly does his job and does it well. Until now was only known for making pitcher Matt Garza a little too mad for knowing how to bunt properly and for as, previously mentioned, wearing glasses. Sogard is one of very few, if any, major league players who wear their glasses on the field. Stephen Vogt, Oakland's catcher, said of Sogard,

“I think he’s what the A’s are all about, he’s under-the-radar and very good, the epitome of the Oakland ‘As.

Over the past year Sogard and his glasses have gotten the attention of the Oakland fans. The A's, who do have a somewhat smaller fan base than say the New York Yankees, have quite a mighty one. Oakland fans have been called by many the loudest fans in baseball. Now they are trying to make themselves nationally heard in MLBN's Face of the MLB competition.

Sogard as everyone's favorite professor Dr. Indiana Jones (Image courtesy of Omar G @Omar01)

Sogard is a fan favorite because everyone loves a guy with glasses and a lot of hustle. His nicknames include The Professor and Harry Potter (I once heard someone yell, "Expelliamus," in a game where Sogard turned a double play). His other monikers, often used as hashtags to identify him on Twitter, are NerdPower and RallySpecs. At one point his glasses even had their own Twitter account.

Since being voted as "The Face," as his teammates now call him, Sogard surpassed the Chicago Cubs' first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Colorado Rockies' fan favorite, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the first and second rounds of the bracket. Even more surprising was that he beat out Tulowitzki by a whopping 68% of the fan votes. Sogard was of course very humble on the subject of his new celebrity saying,

“Obviously, it started as a joke more than anything, but the fans are starting to grab a hold of it and run with it. Obviously, my baseball credentials don’t match up to Tulowitzki, but it’s great to see the power of the Oakland fans when they come together.”

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